You know that orange juice you have every morning?
You know what's in that?
Corn.
And you know what's in the maple syrup on your pancakes?
You know what makes it taste so good?
Corn. When you're good and help with the trash...
...you know what makes the big, green bags biodegradable?
Do you?
Corn.
Corn starch.
But Daddy's company didn't come up with that one. DuPont did.
Porsche or Porsche? I've heard it both ways.
Three years in Germany, I should know. What's German for "corn"?
The German word I really like is kugelschreiber. That's "pen."
All those syllables just for "pen."
Archer Daniels Midland. Most people have never heard of us.
Chances are, they've never had a meal we're not part of.
Just read the side of the package.
That's us. Now ADM is taking the dextrose from the corn...
...and turning it into an amino acid called lysine. It's all very scientific.
If you're a stockholder...
...all that matters is corn goes in one end and profit comes out the other.
We have the largest lysine plant in the worid. That's where I come in.
- Hey, Kirk. - Mark.
- When are we gonna hit some balls? - Anytime.
What do they pay Kirk? What does a guy like that get?
I bet he gets a hundred grand.
He's just gonna sit behind that desk and ride it into the future.
Good morgen.
- Morning, Mark. - Morning.
They have lysine results.
Great.
We adjusted the dextrose levels again, but the virus keeps showing up.
I thought we had it surrounded this time. We started a new set of cultures.
We'll get it. We just have to stay after it.
The things eat sugar and that's what we're giving them.
A warm place filled with sugar.
The fucking thing is supposed to produce 113,000 tons annually.
We're not gonna get anywhere close to that.
We've got over $150 million in costs over there, guys.
Do the Japanese have these problems?
I don't give a shit about the Japanese.
You've gotta get the goddamn lysine bugs...
...to eat some dextrose and shit us out some money.
We're having problems with this virus.
I don't want to hear about the virus.
How much are we losing a month?
We are down like seven million per.
That's not gonna fly much longer.
You want to go in next month, tell my father we're sucking the hind tit on this?
I sure don't.
We're number 44 on the Fortune 500 list, Mark.
I don't want this turning us into number 45.
Fix it.
Feed a chicken corn and it gets sick, like what happened to the first settlers.
Pellagra disease. Niacin deficiency.
Gave them all sorts of problems: dermatitis, ataxia, even dementia.
Feed a chicken corn and lysine and it goes from egg to supermarket fryer...
...in six months instead of eight.
Mark?
Where are you?
Hey, you look great.
Oh.
They got the first wall of the stables up today. See that?
You know they're doing a new thing in hydroponics?
They're now feeding lysine to the jumbo shrimp.
Can you imagine that?
You're a jumbo shrimp and one day some corn goes floating by.
What do you think about that?
Weird, right?
There's an opening in the plant in Mexico.
They might need me to go down and set some stuff up.
What do you think about Mexico?
I thought we were getting horses.
Toro.
That's what Spanish bullfighters say.
But it's also what the Japanese call the high-end tuna sushi.
Toro. Raw fish.
Who went first on that one? The guy without the grill.
I've been to Tokio. They sell little-girl underwear...
...in the vending machines right on the main drag, the Ginza, or whatever.
Guys in suits buying used girl panties. How is that okay? That's not okay.
Yeah.
There's a Mr. Nakawara calling from the Ajinomoto Corporation.
He says you know him and he needs to speak with you.
Yeah, put him through.
It's the Japanese. There's this guy, Nakawara. He works at Ajinomoto.
He was here a couple weeks ago. You met him.
I've been talking to him at work, but sometimes from home...
...because of the time difference.
Mick, this guy knew everything. Everything.
He says to me, "Hey, you know that total nightmare you guys had May, June, July?"
Before I ask him what he's talking about, he goes:
"Those months when ADM was losing $7 million a month in the lysine business."
Mick, I couldn't believe it.
He goes on to tell me that one of our highest-paid employees...
...is actually an employee of Ajinomoto, who is sabotaging the plant.
They're injecting a virus into the dextrose and contaminating the whole deal.
That's the problem.
I'm telling you, Mick, it's like Rising Sun.
It's like the Crichton novel. It's just like that.
I go, "Why are you talking to me?" Know what he says?
Yeah, I know what he says.
How much does he want?
Ten million dollars.
Ten million, but that gives you the identity of the saboteur...
...the secret identity, and a new lysine bug that is immune to the virus.
We have the plant up and running in three days.
How well do you know this guy?
I met him when he was here. We've spoken on the phone half a dozen times.
So not very well.
Very well? No, I wouldn't say that.
If you hear from him again, talk him down on the price.
Find out the least amount of money he'd settle for.
I mean, if we can get a bug that's resistant to the virus, this might be worth it.
But keep this secret.
If there is a mole, I don't want him to know that we're on to him.
Absolutely.
This would be a great Place for some outlet stores.
People would come from all over southern Illinois, probably Missouri.
Famous name-brand labels and appliances...
...at savings of up to 50 percent every day.
Maybe a food court with a Mexican place.
The birds eat the bugs, the cars eat the birds, the rust eats the cars...
- ...and new construction eats the rust. Corky!
Alexander says there's a bat in his room.
The FBI?
God, no.
I thought you wanted me to talk him down on the price. And I was doing it.
We're not gonna sit back and let the Japanese fuck us sideways.
I don't understand. We weren't gonna mention it and now he's in on it?
Of course he's in on it. If there's a mole, it's a security issue.
I'll be sitting in with the FBI.
I already told you everything there is to tell.
I mean, what is the point?
Mark. Calm down. All right?
We don't like the idea of talking to the FBI any more than you do.
They're just gonna tape the guy's calls, ask you a few questions. No big deal.
Questions?
Jesus.
Mark?
The FBI?
Why do you have to talk to the FBI? It's their plant.
Just... Just let them talk to the FBI.
Babe, I am really uncomfortable with this.
There are some things that are going on here.
What does that mean, "things"?
It just... It means that we have to be careful.
Well, whatever you do, Corky, no matter what's going on...
...just be honest with them and tell them the truth, okay?
He said he wanted the money wired...
...into a numbered account in Switzerland...
...and then also in the Caribbean.
Uh... And when did you last have contact with him?
Two days ago.
But I think he's getting suspicious.
I've been dragging this thing along. I think if we don't make a move...
I mean, he could already have backed down here.
And these calls, they've been coming in on your home line?
Well, I have an ADM line at my house. It's a business line.
They've been coming in on the business line.
Well, I think we should start with...
...putting a recording device on your phone.
There's a sale at Bachrach's.
They have those Oscar de la Renta ties that nobody buys.
What are they, two for one for another week?
Diagonal bands of color hanging around your neck.
They never put the nice Brioni ties on sale.
I should just get all my ties in Paris...
...wear them once or twice and shove them in a duty-free bag.
Nobody gets stopped at customs for ties.
I can help with that.
So...
...that's it, then.
I can go?
Listen. Why don't...? Ahem.
I'd like to come out tomorrow, get on that phone.
Great. No problem.
- Thank you for your time. - Thank you.
You told the truth, Mark. That's all you can do.
I never even had the chance.
They were watching me the whole time.
Cheviron was in the room.
Mick Andreas gets the vice president of the United States as his godfather.
He goes to Richard Nixon's house for Thanksgiving.
It's not like his parents died in a car accident...
...and he ended up in an orphanage.
Mick's dad wrote a check to the Nixon campaign.
It wound up in the account of the Watergate burglars.
Did he admit it? I don't think so.
Besides, ADM probably owns the FBI.
They probably wanted me to move into Dwayne's old house...
...because they got it wired like in a Crichton novel.
Marty Allison called.
And Sid Hulse wants to know if you can have dinner at 7:00 instead of 7:30.
Great earrings, Ginger.
Bet you can see those shining from space.
Mark got them abroad.
I can't remember where.
Nigeria?
Not funny, Sid.
You're telling me.
So, Sid, you're off tomorrow?
Where to?
West Coast swing.
Gotta get up there. Kick some Japanese butt.
I'm not gonna see you for weeks?
Maybe longer if I get lost in the Ginza.
Have a great trip, Sid.
Just tell them everything.
We'll leave.
I don't like what this company is doing to you.
This is a chance to start somewhere new.
Remember, you said Mexico?
I may tell them at some point. But now, I gotta toe the company line here.
Mark...
...if you don't tell them, I will.
I can't.
Not now.
Hello. Please.
Agent Shepard, my wife, Ginger.
Ma'am. I know it's late.
I'll be out of your hair in a minute.
Great. Maybe a cup of coffee for Agent Shepard?
Okay.
Just show me where the line in question...
It's that one over there.
There should be a TV show about a guy who calls home and he's there.
He answers, he's talking to himself, only it's someone else.
He's somehow divided into two and the second one of him drives away.
The show is about him trying to find the guy.
I'll give you a call tomorrow. We can test it out.
Great. Great. Okay. Thank you for coming by.
- Good night. - Night.
Good night, Mrs. Whitacre.
Good night.
- Are you gonna say something, or am I? - Don't.
Brian?
Hey, got a minute?
Um...
Can I talk to you in the car?
Sure.
We could go back inside if you want.
They might have it bugged. We're safer out here.
Bugged?
What?
Who?
Us?
All right, there's things I know. If I decide to tell you...
...could I be prosecuted?
I cannot provide you with immunity, but any information...
...about your involvement in criminal activity...
...would be discussed in a favorable light with the U.S. Attorney's office.
Okay. Everything I told you yesterday about Nakawara was true. Absolutely.
Except one thing. He never called me on my business line.
Well, why did you tell me that he did?
Before I spoke with you yesterday, I was coached by the guys at ADM...
...to tell you that he called on my business line, not my home line.
Why?
What I'm about to tell you, it involves something very large.
This Nakawara extortion thing is nothing compared to it, nothing at all.
This involves price fixing in the lysine business.
- Now... - Wait, hang on.
Take some notes.
- Okay, go on. - Price fixing in the lysine business.
I have been in several meetings with our Japanese and Korean competitors...
...over the last few months, where the sole purpose was to fix the prices.
ADM made me go to those meetings.
See, that's why they wanted me to lie.
Because the Nakawara calls came in on my home line...
...but so do the calls from the people we're fixing prices with.
They don't want you to hear those.
They instructed me to tell you the Nakawara calls came in on my ADM line.
But I realized that once you guys started digging around in the records...
...you'd see I have all these calls to Japan.
Right? That's what scared me. Nobody's got more calls than me.
So if you figure out the price-fixing thing, I'd be the fall guy.
Who told you to participate in these price-fixing talks?
I'm operating under the direction of Mick and Dwayne Andreas.
He seems like a real good guy.
I hope he doesn't mind me calling him Brian instead of Agent Shepard.
I might even try Bri out.
This must be very different for him...
...talking to a guy like me instead of a bank robber or a drug dealer.
I could see us fishing or whatever.
What a good listener. You don't meet one of those every day.
Morning.
What happened last night?
What do you mean? Nothing. Well, they put a...
...recorder on the phone.
That's it?
Well, yeah.
He said when Nakawara calls...
...I just flip a switch and record the conversation.
Yeah?
- Oh. Put her through. - Make sure you do it.
They have ways of checking up.
Sure thing.
Hi, hon.
What?
Slow down, honey, slow...
What?
A pound of bacon, a peanut butter sandwich, some vitamins.
Anything that ADM has a hand in, it's all fixed. That's what he's telling me.
I mean, basically...
I mean, everyone in this country is a victim of corporate crime...
...by the time they finish breakfast.
You think the automobile companies can't make a car...
...that gets 100 miles to the gallon?
You think the networks don't know who'll win the Worid Series...
...before the season starts?
Paranoid is what people who are trying to take advantage...
...call you to get you to drop your guard.
I read that in an in-flight magazine.
One potential problem I see moving ahead with ADM is this guy Cheviron.
He wants to be kept in on the loop on everything that we're doing.
I want to meet Mark Whitacre.
You said they were only gonna tap one line. One line.
- They are only monitoring one line. - That is not true.
That is absolutely not true. I just got off the phone with my wife.
Some woman named Regina at the phone company called her...
...and said that both my lines are tapped. My home phone.
Come on, Mark. The phone company doesn't call people and say:
"Hello, we just wanted to let you know that the FBI is tapping your phone lines."
Then why would Regina say that?
She didn't say it. You're saying it.
Call my wife.
- Call Regina. - Fine. Mark.
I will. All right? I will.
Good.
I don't like wool on skin.
Not even that merino wool they have at Marshall Field in Chicago.
Ginger likes it because it's formfitting, but she likes avocados.
And who wants that texture in their mouth?
Who'd make up someone named Regina? It's the capital of Saskatchewan.
FBI, Shepard.
Hello, Brian. It's Mark Cheviron at ADM.
Yeah, Mark.
I was talking to you guys a couple days ago about which of the lines...
...at Mark Whitacre's house you would be monitoring...
...and we had agreed it would only be the business line...
...so that's all you did, right?
I really can't answer that.
Uh... Okay.
Thank you.
We have decided we will no longer be cooperating with any further FBI requests.
I knew it. I knew it.
I told you and you wouldn't listen. You said, "Just the office line, Mark."
Evidently, they were lying to us too.
Well, evidently, you can't keep track of what the FBI's doing.
Yeah?
The call you were expecting, Mark?
Well, put him through.
It's a Swedish deal I'm working on.
- Mark Whitacre. - Hey, Mark, it's Brian Shepard.
I told Shepard we're done working with him now.
Hi. So good to hear from you.
I want to bring my supervisor by to meet you.
This weekend be okay?
Well, great.
Well... So Mr. Andreas is in my office right now.
Okay. - So I'll talk to you later.
- Okay. - Good.
What do I do if this Shepard guy calls?
You let me know about it, and I'll tell my dad.
But you're done talking to them.
Absolutely.
Okay, guys, I'm gonna go over the rules.
There's no running, no pushing, no horseplay by the pool.
And when you have fished all the leaves out...
...you go into the garage and get the cover for the pool.
And I'm gonna go get your dad when he's done...
...and he's gonna come and do an inspection.
- What was that, honey? You already told us this.
Honey, well, I'm going over it again.
Now, what is the scoop with all my phones being tapped?
The only listening device was the recorder, Mark.
We had a trap-and-trace device on your home line, but we can't listen in on that.
However, the phone company calling your wife...
...and telling her about our intel gathering...
Well, my face is red on that one.
Shouldn't happen.
- Did you bring the expense reports? - Yeah. Yeah.
Okay, this is Mexico City, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokio.
There was a meeting of the Corn Refiners Association in Florida last week.
Mick and Terry went to that one.
They were doing the regular meeting during the day, and at night...
...they'd get together with our competitors and work out how to fix the prices.
Watch. In about six months, the price of a liter of soda pop...
...is gonna be about 5 cents more.
Well, when's the next meeting?
January. Somewhere in Asia.
Mark, I gotta ask you. Why are you doing this?
We know you lied about the phone line, and you're afraid of that.
But now you're telling us all this other stuff out of the blue. Got to ask you why.
Well, because things are going on I don't approve of.
Now, I'm a biochemist. I'm a technical guy.
And they pull me into the business side...
...and suddenly I find out all these things are going on that are illegal.
If I want to grow with ADM, I gotta learn the business side.
And so suddenly, I'm lying. They're making me lie to people.
I lie to you.
I mean, I feel real bad about that.
You look at yourself as wearing a white hat and they're wearing black hats?
Absolutely. Something like that.
When I was a kid, my folks died in an automobile accident.
I was maybe 6 years old and a wealthy man from Ohio adopted me.
Guy owned amusement parks. He did very well for himself.
I caught a big break there, real big break. I went to a good school and all.
Now I adopted two kids of my own. I'm trying to do the right thing here.
Well, Mark...
...do you think you'd be wiling to go a few steps further in helping us?
What does that mean?
Would you...
...be willing to wear a wire?
We don't have any other sources at this time. We...
We need your help.
We'll be there with you all the way. It won't be easy.
I'll use my beeper to signal you when it's time to set up a meeting.
When you hear this...
You know. Right?
...you call me.
He's watched closely at work...
...and there's reason to believe that ADM has bugged his home.
He's under a great deal of pressure. I mean, you gotta feel for the guy.
He tells us the truth one day...
...and wakes up the next with two lives instead of one.
Well, the good news is he decided to wake up and tell the truth.
There are these butterflies in Central America.
They're blue and orange and yellow and have poison in their wings.
Just enough poison to stop a bird heart.
But the birds know this somehow, so they don't eat them.
But there are other ones, butterflies...
...they're orange, blue and yellow too, but no poison wings.
They're just flying around, looking dangerous, getting by on their looks.
Hey, Mark.
- Hi, Brian. - Ready to make the call?
Hey, wait up, dipshit. - We're gonna do it here?
We can't get a room. There's problems with that.
Um...
I don't know, it just kind of seems, you know, awkward.
It's the best I can do right now.
Okay.
Just...
Hold the microphone against the receiver and I'll hold the recorder.
009...
...454...
...58822.
Thank you.
- No, no, put it on the receiver. - Mr. Yamamoto, please.
The receiver.
- I have it on the receiver. - On the receiver, where you hear.
I'm on hold.
Hello, Mr. Yamamoto. It is Mark Whitacre.
Hi, sir. How are you?
No, I'm doing a lot of traveling this week, a lot of traveling.
How are sales?
Certainly we need to, in terms of our...
In terms of our big customers...
...we definitely need to be thinking about a good price, yes?
It's better to maintain a price of $2.50 in other countries...
...and $1.05 for the United States, and just like that, there it is: price fixing.
Well, this is great, Mark. This verifies everything you've been saying.
Yeah.
- Thank you. Thank you so much. - Yeah. Absolutely.
I like an indoor pool. Year-round usage.
I like the steam off it in the winter. Very mysterious, that steam.
Well, Marty...
...when you started work at ADM, how much money did you want?
I wanted 50 grand.
But I went and told Terry, "We can't get this guy for less than 75."
- Yeah. - I got it for you. You were the first I hired.
You've always been really generous with me. And I appreciate it.
Here's what I want you to do.
I want you to write down a name.
Okay. What's the name?
Nordkron Chemie.
What is that, like, a Nigerian name or something?
I like my hands. I think they're probably my favorite part of my body.
I think that can be used to my advantage in social situations.
If I can get people focused on my hands, I can get a good result in a meeting.
Eye contact is real important too.
Hey, I'm gonna check messages.
You have one message.
My phone died. I was on with the plant.
Is there a payphone, a public but kind of...?
- Across the lobby. - Right.
- Mark, this is important bioproduct stuff. - I know.
Hi, Dave. How's Holly doing?
She's good. - Great.
It's the plant.
FBI. - Brian, it's Mark.
I told you, I'm out of town on business this week.
The case is getting some attention from the Bureau.
There's another agent working with me.
I can't talk right now. I have a meeting.
I have people waiting for me. Bye.
I'm here, Dave.
Being able to do two things at once is a big part of success.
I try and do abdominal exercises... Isometrics.
...even when I'm at a meeting.
Tensing. Holding.
Then releasing.
I'll floss in the shower while the conditioner is in my hair...
...when you're just supposed to leave it in.
Those things can really add up to a significant time savings.
Hey, Kirk.
I'll be heading to Europe...
...and I thought I could just hand deliver that check for the ABP deal in person.
Remind me. ABP deal?
It's a threonine microbe. They're making substantial improvements.
We want to get into the market. That's the invoice.
We'll just overnight it.
I'm gonna see this Thorstensson guy, so I'll just hand it to him.
The metric system never panned out. We had rulers...
...with inches on one edge, centimeters on the other.
I pronounced it "centimeters" instead of "centimeters" and nobody corrected me.
They let me walk around stupid. I'm not upset we never crossed over...
...though it's helpful to know the conversions.
The liter bottle is the thing that caught on...
...because it's a nicer word, "liter" than "quart."
Quart.
Mark, it's Marty calling again.
Message deleted.
FBI, Agent Shepard.
Brian, it's Mark.
Look, it's been hard for me to return a page...
...as I am out of the country at the moment.
Listen, we need to know if you've had any further contact with Nakawara.
I told you already that the guy stopped calling.
Well, what about the price fixing? Have you been able to make any more tapes?
I think you guys hanging around has everybody scared straight.
The word is we're doing everything by the book now.
Mick said it's over. No more price fixing.
What? When did this happen, this conversation?
Everything has changed. I got lysine up and running. The virus is gone.
Mick brought me into his office, he sat me down.
He said, "Whitacre, from now on we're doing things your way."
Mark.
Look, Mark, the FBI knows about the crimes.
We're gonna investigate either way.
Either way? What does "either way" mean?
We really need to get together.
It is a different approach there now. Iâ€™m telling you, it's all...
Everything's changed.
My plane is boarding. I gotta go. I gotta go.
Ah!
- Everything okay? - Yeah, fine.
Kids.
- Where were we? - We were discussing bonuses.
And we should be discussing Ferraris.
You have Full federhaltertinte all over your shirt.
Ow.
One of the Japanese guys told me a story.
This lysine salesman is in a meeting...
...with someone from ConAgra or some other company.
And the client leans forward and says:
"I have the same tie as you, only the pattern is reversed."
And then he drops dead, face down on the table.
Alive and then dead.
Brain aneurysm.
Maybe everyone has a sentence like that, a little time bomb.
"I have the same tie as you, only the pattern's reversed."
Dead. The last thing they'll ever say. Something like...
High-fructose corn syrup. There it is again.
He said that Andreas called him into a marketing meeting.
He might be late.
If he doesn't show, the government ought to charge him for the room.
And here it comes.
Shepard.
I can't come to the hotel tonight. I'm still at work.
Mark, this is the third time.
I gotta go. I have work to do.
- Mark, you can't keep canceling. - Look, I can't live two lives.
They just offered me a $100,000 raise, okay?
I'm not gonna lose my job because of you guys.
I have a family. I'm building stables across the road.
- But you told us... - The price fixing is over. It's over.
Hey, Mick. I'm getting off the phone now.
Mark, listen to me.
The only logical thing for you to do is cooperate.
What happens if I don't?
Then somebody else will, and you'll end up being a defendant.
The tapes don't say anything, because it's over. Mick said.
We have a whole new policy.
Fine, if that's what he said. Then I want to hear the tape. We need tapes, Mark.
Okay, I never made any tapes.
I never made any because there's not gonna be anything on the tapes.
It's over, and they'd just be stupid tapes.
- Mark, come on. - Look, how...?
You tell me how I can prove it to you, and I Will.
Mick Andreas and his dad would never lie for me.
They say we're in it together. What a joke.
Team-building offsite meetings at some lake in Wisconsin.
I can't protect these guys if they're breaking the law.
Hey, I tried. Anybody could see the choices I had.
I did my best for ADM. You don't see them here in the chair.
Hey, how'd I do?
Mark, we have some problems.
Wait a minute. I was looking at the thing. The needle didn't even move.
Mark, you don't know how to read a polygraph.
Well, first of all, they're not 100 percent accurate.
Mark, you splattered the walls with ink.
Come on. Extortionists just don't leave their name and number, then go away.
I know it's tough...
...keeping it all bottled up inside, keeping it a secret.
But there's only one good choice for you. That's all there's ever been.
There's something you're not telling us...
...but the only way to protect yourself is to be completely honest.
Okay.
You realize...
...that this can all be used against you in a court of law.
I'll have to write it all up, and you'll have to sign it.
We're going to find out what's going on, Mark.
You're not leaving this room until you tell us what's going on.
So before you answer any more questions...
...I want you to think about Ginger...
...and your family, and your career.
What happened with Nakawara?
Is there a mole?
Well, yeah, I think there has definitely been a mole, before, at ADM.
- I made it up. - Jesus, Mark.
I had to.
Look, we've had problems with viruses at the plant...
...and we're way behind our projections.
Dwayne is thinking about shutting us down and everybody's looking to me.
It's all "Blame it on Whitacre." That's how it is over there.
We're talking about my job here.
I came all the way over from Europe, relocated my family. They made me a VP.
Uh... Uh... What about the price fixing? It isn't over, is it?
I mean, there's no new attitude, right?
It's been going on as recently as three weeks ago. Nothing's changed.
It's not just lysine. It's citric, it's gluconate...
A guy left the company because he wouldn't do it. He was forced out.
The gluconate guy, he's out of a job.
I met with the guys from Ajinomoto just last month in Chicago.
The whole point was to actually set volume levels.
You set the volume levels, determine what the market is...
...and then you figure out workable prices. We got another meeting next month.
If there's anything else you want to add, now is the time.
What else is there?
Seven-thirty a.m., March 17th...
...1993.
I have parked the car. I am approaching the entrance to the office.
Entrance breached.
Terrance Wilson. President of our corn businesses.
Did our friend from Japan call last night?
No, he wasn't in.
Well, I spoke with Mimoto and he is pissed.
He says there will be no peace in lysine...
...until we bring production down to the levels we promised.
Well, in '92, we did exactly what we told him we would do in terms of volume.
Exactly. Now, no promise.
He says he wants to talk to you.
Yeah? Well, I'll be right there saying, "Listen here, you mousy motherfucker."
That was Terry Wilson talking about setting volume...
...and price levels with our Japanese competitor...
...Ajinomoto Corporation.
By the way, there was no discussión with Mimoto last night.
I did that for illustration purposes only.
I repeat, no discussión with Mimoto.
Morning, Mark. - Good morning, Liz Taylor, secretary.
- Please, come in. - Hello. Good morning.
Good morning. Hello. Good morning. Good morning.
Before we even deal with Latin America...
...we have to agree that we are gonna swap numbers.
It's the only way this is gonna work.
Keep everybody on target. It's possible to do. Got to be very careful.
Need to check your phones.
Excuse me, I need a comfort break. Pardon me.
Side two, tape one.
I've got well over two million frequent flyer miles.
I'm pretty much platinum across the board.
I get a letter from the CEO every year, thanking me.
It's a form letter. It looks like he's signing it.
They probably walk in and he signs like a hundred while he's on the phone.
Oh, it went great. I think we're gonna be able to keep it at a buck and a quarter.
Now what happens? Something you breathe in on an airplane, some bacteria...
...and now it's in his hands, the cup, the phone.
Probably got it from his kids and now I'll spend the weekend with it.
I'll miss a few days or Alexander will run a fever and who pays for that?
Where does the FBI weigh in on that as a cooperating witness?
What does it say about exposure to airborne contaminants?
Tape seven, side two. Chicago O'Hare.
Once again, Terry Wilson representing ADM.
Representing Euro lysine, Alain Crouy and Philippe Rollier.
That's a French company.
That's a big break right there. Absolutely.
There's no choices to be made, no debate.
You're an ant, you just eat it.
...part of the worid where it works...
...and the rest of the worid where it doesn't.
It will not last.
- Terry, Alain, Philippe. - Hi.
We obviously would play the game.
- But the Koreans and the Japanese... - They cheat.
Then it won't work.
Well, you make it work in the other divisions. Tell them.
Terry doesn't like me very much. He's got blotchy skin.
What causes that blotchiness?
It must mean something medical.
He'll have a stroke and someone will say, "He was blotchy. It happens."
If prices went up in Europe, it's because we talked in Mexico first.
That's right. You made it happen.
It was our pleasure.
Mark, these are just the kind of tapes we need.
And we're getting our marching orders from Andreas. See? Goes right to the top.
We need to improve the quality of these recordings.
Hey, Rusty.
Take a look at something.
What do you think?
That's a nice briefcase.
But wait.
There's more.
That...
...is a Nagra SN.
Had the Bureau custom-make it for me.
Mark Whitacre, secret agent 0014.
Why 0014?
Because I'm twice as smart as 007.
Ah. Thank you again.
What happened to that girl who worked for us?
Didn't she move to California? What was her name? Tina?
Oh, Tina. Yeah, she's getting married.
Ugh. My Tina's getting married?
She's getting married two or three weeks from now.
Oh-ho-ho-ho.
Well, that won't last long. She's a bit of a dodo-head.
She'll be back.
I just hope she doesn't get pregnant and fuck up that body.
She had a nice body. It'll ruin her tits.
When polar bears hunt, they crouch down by a hole in the ice and wait for a seal.
They keep one paw over their nose so that they blend in...
...because they've got black noses.
They'd blend in perfectly if not for the nose.
So the question is, how do they know their noses are black?
From looking at other polar bears?
Do they see their reflections in the water, and think, "I'd be invisible if not for that."
That seems like a lot of thinking for a bear.
Remember to pat them down for wires before the meeting.
What? New policy.
Whenever we meet with the Japanese.
You're kidding, right? I didn't get a memo.
- I didn't get any kind of memo on that. - He's kidding. Relax, Mark.
They don't have the balls to mess with ADM.
When it's over, the board of directors at ADM is gonna understand.
They're gonna see the position I was in. I acted in everyone's best interest.
That's the only conclusión they can reach.
I'm the youngest división president they've had.
I speak a number of languages fluently.
Would you like some coffee or fruits?
No.
Mark, no.
- No. - I told him the camera was in the lamp.
We already spend more than one year to get better market situation in lysine.
We talked a little bit about it in Paris...
...but we need to come to an understanding on volume.
- We have public shareholders. - Can you...?
You need to widen out a little.
We need to show them working together.
Now the question is:
If the market grows, who gets it?
If Kyowa Hakko, Miwon and Cheil Corporation each get 2000 tons...
...we can divide up the rest.
If we're gonna have any stability at all.
We need... We need some specific number.
Well, what would you be willing to accept? Isn't that really the question?
ADM has already eaten all the growth.
We have a lot more capacity that we're not using.
We could be growing 20,000 tons. Isn't that right, Mark?
I'm going in. We gotta shut this down.
No, wait. Hold on.
- I need your input. I think he's got it.
ADM will be allocated its recent production, plus...
They talk about Paris.
I can't understand. The meeting.
We have a big board of directors.
They have a big board of directors. And shareholders.
And they're all suffering together.
Well, where's the agreement? I mean, this is just a discussión.
If there isn't an agreement, what are they doing there?
You're getting bogged down with the words. Just look at the actions.
Look what happens right here. Okay?
See what he's doing?
Yeah, I've looked and I just see a chart with a bunch of words.
I don't even see any numbers on that. I mean, I can't pinpoint an agreement.
What more do you want? The guy is standing there...
...dividing up the market, plain as day.
It could just be a proposal.
All the other companies weren't there. No one used the word "agreement."
I'm telling you. From the perspective of the Justice Department, it is not enough.
We're having another meeting to work out some of the issues in lysine.
We have to divide up the volumes and set prices for some of the markets.
Europe again?
Europe is out.
There is a price-fixing investigation in the cement manufacturing business there.
It's got everybody spooked, so we're not going there.
We can't videotape in Japan. That's not gonna help us.
Hawaii.
- Hawaii? - Hawaii.
Oh!
Okay. So everybody just...
Goddamn it, Mark. Look at the size of this. That's bullshit.
Yeah.
Can you call and get us a bigger room?
This is the only room they have. - Will you call them, please?
I will. I will. Make yourselves at home, please. I'll call. I'll call.
Do you have a suite perhaps that's a bit more roomy for us?
The Makuaha Room. Yes. Is that your biggest room? It sounds big.
But it is, I see. I see. And for the whole day?
Okay, so this is it. We're here, we're stuck.
Okay, then we'll make do. Thank you.
Looks like we are here to stay, definitely...
...so let's settle in, and...
...start.
Oh, no.
Well, I'd like to welcome everybody here.
Let me just...
Indulge me for a second. I think you might be more comfortable if I move the chair...
Thattaboy, Mark.
We have an old saying at ADM. I think it applies here.
"It's better to have the elephants inside the tent pissing out...
...than outside the tent pissing in."
Outside piss?
It's better to be part of the group.
What he's saying is, the customers are our enemy.
The competitors are our friend.
It's important we have all the producers involved, including the Cheil Corporation.
I want to know why we have been excluded from association in the past.
We need to be part of this.
- Yeah. - How can we know that ADM Will stay...
...at agreed-upon levels?
Well, it would be our preference that we simply trust each other.
And if we find out someone's been lying...
...we'll just hire some Mafia figure to rub you out.