- (director) Quiet on the set. - (bell)
- Quiet on the set. - Scene one, take ten, marker.
(phone rings )
And... action.
Joel Levison's office... No, I'm sorry, he's not in yet. May I take a message?
- Yes, Mr Levy, I'll tell him you called. - Sandy, you never say that.
He's either in a conference, in a meeting... He's always in. Who was that?
- A Larry Levy? - I hope there was nothing in the trades.
- Was there? - I don't know, the mail's late.
Well, go get 'em. Now! I want them back here before he arrives.
Griffin, hi. A-Adam Simon. I know we're not supposed to meet till next week but...
- I didn't realise we were meeting. - I wanted to plant a seed in your head...
I'm booked up. I can't hear a pitch now.
- A planet of the future with two suns... - Who plays the sons?
- No, suns. Large solar discs. - Run it by Bonnie Sherow.
The pictures they make now are all MTV. Cut, cut, cut.
The opening shot of Welles's Touch Of Evil was six and a half minutes long!
- Six and a half, Walter? - Well, three or four.
He set up the whole picture with that one tracking shot. My father was key grip.
What about Absolute Beginners? Man, that was an extraordinary shot!
- Never heard of it. - Julien Temple. It's an English film.
We're talking about American movies. Orson Welles was a master.
- ( Griffin ) Hi. A Pellegrino, please. - (Jan ) I've got Calistoga.
- Buck, how are ya? - Good, how you doin'?
Good. What do you got for me?
- OK, here it is. The Graduate, Part Two. - Oh, good.
Now, listen, the three principals are still with us.
Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katherine Ross.
- Mm-hm. - 25 years later. So are the characters,...
- (buzzing ) - ..Ben, Elaine and Mrs Robinson.
Ben and Elaine are married... still.
They live in a big old spooky house up in Northern California somewhere.
- And Mrs Robinson lives with them. - Mm!
- Her ageing mother has had a stroke... - Mrs Robinson?
- Yes. She has a stroke, so she can't talk. - ls this gonna be funny?
Dark, weird and funny, with a stroke. Maybe it's not a stroke. Maybe it's...
- Anyway, go on. - It's a malady of some sort.
She's in the bedroom upstairs, listening to everything.
- Their daughter just graduated. - That's good. Young blood.
- 22, 23, like a junior Julia Roberts. - Julia Roberts. Great.
- What should I do with these scripts? - Ah, that goes to Bonnie Sherow.
And find out from studio security how Adam Simon got on the lot.
- (Buck) OK? - Yes, go ahead.
Julia Roberts comes home with their daughter, the graduate.
Griffin loved it. He said to r-run it by you.
- A hardy band of human survivors... - Listen, write this down.
- They have no history, only mythology... - Listen, can you write it down?
- ( man shouts ) Whoa! - You gotta visualise it.
- ( collision ) - ( Adam ) Oh, man!
- Jimmy, are you OK? What happened? - He oughta look where he's going.
- Are you all right? - I'd like to say my name is Jimmy Chase.
(Bonnie) Open your eyes.
He just came out of nowhere, ran into the cart. I never saw the guy.
( Adam ) Yeah, yeah, Jimmy, it's OK.
- (Jimmy) Hey, that's Adam Simon! - How ya doin', kid?
- (Bonnie) You all right? - ( Adam ) Yeah, it was good.
( man ) Rebecca DeMornay. Actually, you're much better looking.
- No, I'm not Rebecca DeMornay. - Dead ringer.
Thank you very much.
- Know where Joel Levison's office is? - The Mr Levison, head of the studio?
(guide) It's moving. It'll rip your heart out.
This is where we make the decisions to give a green light to a picture like that.
We're gonna go about 1 7 storeys high.
We'll continue using Sony products. Domo arigato to the Sony products.
ln fact, if you need someone to eat some sashimi with you, give me a ring.
Here's Levison, right here.
- ( Celia ) Good girl. - (Levison ) Traffic was impossible.
- ( Celia ) Morning, Joel. - (Levison ) Sandy, park the car, please.
- Morning, Marty, Annie, Frank... - Hi.
- What are the Japs doing here? - So, what's all this talk around here...
- ..about, er, heads will roll? - The bank's putting the screws to us.
Harvey Goldman's son's coming out from Boston.
Reggie Goldman's a pipsqueak! You can't be serious.
You know, some changes are going on around here. It's always the way.
Happened at Paramount three years ago. Columbia's going through it now.
I hear we're looking to replace Griffin.
- Griffin? No! With who? - Berg, Kirkpatrick. Maybe Larry Levy.
- (phone rings ) - Yeah?
Yeah, w-well, I wanna know w-why the security's so lax, that's why.
I'm in the middle of a pitch now. OK.
- Listen, go ahead. - Yeah, OK.
- A TV star goes on safari to Africa. - ( Griffin ) A TV star in a motion picture?
- It would be played by a star star. - A movie star playing a television star.
Julia Roberts would be good, Dolly Parton would be good.
Right. You know, I... I like Goldie.
- Great, cos we have a relationship and... - Goldie Goes To Africa.
- She becomes worshipped. - Worshipped?
- Well, she's found by this tribe. - Small. Of small people.
And this tribe worship her. But then...
I see, kind of like a Gods Must Be Crazy but the Coke bottle's a TV actress.
Right. Out Of Africa meets Pretty Woman.
And she has to decide whether to stay with the TV show...
..or save this entire African tribe.
- Where's Griffin Mill's office? - Right here.
- Hey, you're Martin Scorsese! - No, but I know Harvey Keitel.
I know you do. Hey, I loved Cape Fear.
(Walter) My old man worked for Hitchcock, too. Rope. It's a masterpiece.
The story was no good. He shot the whole thing without cuts. I hate all this cut, cut.
What about Bertolucci, that great tracking shot with Winger in Sheltering Sky?
I didn't see it.
Touch of Evil, that was the one.
Bonnie, I was here at eight o'clock.
No, you were in the commissary. Who were you with?
- I was in with, um... Alan Rudolph. - What were you doing with him?
We had a coffee and he was telling me this idea he had.
Whitney, you're my assistant. Don't get involved with writers.
I was just listening to this amazing idea he had.
( Griffin ) lnteresting. What's your pitch?
- Well, does political scare you? - Political doesn't scare me.
Radical political scares me. Political political scares me.
- This is politely politically radical but... - ls it funny?
- It's funny. - It's a funny political thing.
- It's a thriller, too. - It's a thriller.
- And... It's all at once. - So what's the story?
Well, I want Bruce Willis. I think I can talk to him.
It's a story about a senator, a bad-guy senator at first.
He's travelling around the country on the country's dime,...
..you know, like that Sununu used to.
So sort of a cynical, political thriller comedy?
But it's got a heart in the right spot.
- And, anyway, he has an accident. - An accident?
Yeah, and he becomes... clairvoyant, like a psychic.
Oh, I see. So it's kind of a psychic political thriller comedy with a heart.
With a heart. Not unlike Ghost meets Manchurian Candidate.
- Go on, go on, I'm listening. - Anyway, he starts to read minds...
..and when he gets to the President's it's blank. Completely blank!
- (Jan ) Can I get you anything? - A beer, please.
- We don't have beer. - OK, wine. Red wine, please.
Of course, someone gets killed at the end. They always do in political thrillers.
(phone rings )
- Griffin Mill's office. - I know. Can you put him on?
- It's an intriguing idea, Jim. - (Jan ) May I ask who's calling?
We've got to get somebody really dangerous.
- I'm with you there. - Bruce Willis or Mel Gibson.
- Let me get back to you. - Thanks.
Bullshit, lady! He'll get back to me?
- Seen my Binaca anywhere? - Do you know how often I've heard that?
- (Jan ) Who is this? - If you don't get back to me...
- Who was that? - I don't know, he didn't say.
- What d'you mean, he didn't say? - Griffin, how are you going to cast this?
The lead character is a 50-year-old female circus performer. A fire-eater.
Let me read the coverage.
Are we still having lunch with Aaron Camp and his people?
- Yeah, what time? - I made it for one o'clock.
- Bad day? - He's having writer's block.
Griffin, you have a meeting with Harders and Frank South.
- What time? - At three o'clock.
I'll be here. Put this morning's meetings in the computer.
- All right. - Thanks.
- Going now? I'll go with you. - No, I'm going to see Levison first.
Order me a Caesar salad and a Crystal Geyser.
Thanks.
OK by five? Thanks, Sandy.
- Hi, Sandy. Hi, Celia. - Oh, um...
Griffin, you can't go in there, he's in a meeting!
- A dime a dozen out here. - It's all right, Celia.
Griffin, this is Reg Goldman. You know his father, Harvey.
Yes, of course. Hi, Reg. From the bank in Boston, right?
- Reg is out here for a couple of weeks. - Great. Business or pleasure?
A little of both, I hope.
Reg is thinking of getting into production, Griffin.
Oh, really?
(Reg ) Beats work, doesn't it, Griffin?
Like to play some tennis, though. Do you play?
Tennis? No, no, no, I er... ( chuckles ) I'm too busy.
See, I was just asking Walter here, d'you know Meg Ryan?
You know if she's seeing somebody?
Um, yeah, Reg, she's married.
Shit.
What about Winona Ryder?
Um, well, you know, actually, Walter is the guy to talk to.
Walter's got everybody's number.
- (Levison ) Was there anything? - Er, no, you're real busy.
I want that number, goddamnit. I want that woman.
Oh, boy! What about this one here? Has she done anything?
Celia...
Griffin,... don't ask.
''Don't ask,'' you don't know? Or ''Don't ask,'' I don't wanna know?
Just don't ask.
Look, if it's Reggie Goldman you're concerned about, forget it.
But be nice to him, he represents a lot of money for this company.
It's not Reggie Goldman I'm worried about.
- It's Larry Levy. - Larry Levy?
Larry Levy's at Fox, isn't he?
( chuckles ) Huh!
Oh, come on, Celia!
Sandy, a call for Celia on line one.
- Should I be looking for a job? - Celia, are you there?
Joel Levison's office.
Oh, Brad! Yeah.
What?
No, we couldn't sign Anjelica Huston. She's booked for the next two years.
Yeah, like a ghost story but that's not like Ghost.
- Well, not... - ln which, maybe,...
We should be...
Could be called Unnatural Lives. It's a supernatural thing.
Joel. Griffin Mill. Friend of Jennifer's.
No, no! You're Griffin Mill?
- Yes. - Really?
- Good to see you. I'm a great fan of yours. - I have that tie.
- You do? - Mr Mill, how are you?
OK, how are you doing, Natalie?
- Did you order for me? - Yes.
- Hi! - Hi, everybody.
- How are you? - Lunching with the enemy.
(groaning, chuckling )
- Oh, come on! - What's this we hear about Larry Levy?
Larry Levy? If he had half a brain, he'd be dangerous.
- (laughter) - Aaron says he's coming to the studio.
Aaron says, eh? Why would you believe anything he says?
Well, he said it. It's the authority he said it with.
- Look who's over there. - Who?
Anjelica Huston and John Cusack.
- Levy? - He's in over his head.
- He's gonna drown over there. - He's quite the golden boy at Fox.
Did you see that thing on him in Variety last week?
Oh, two pages!
Anjelica, Griffin Mill.
- Oh, hi. - Good to see you. You're looking great.
Hello, Johnny. Griffin Mill, big fan of yours.
- Gonna be in Telluride this year? - Yeah, probably in Park City.
- Oh, great. We'll see you there. - OK.
- Ai-yi-yi! - So, what's happening with Glass Box?
Can we talk about something other than Hollywood?
- We're educated people. - Sure, Mr Griffin.
( all laugh )
- I'll call you later. - OK.
(Jan ) Shouldn't you talk to somebody about this?
- What? - The postcards. That's five in two weeks.
- Seven, actually. - Why don't you talk to studio security?
I'm supposed to call Walter Stuckel and say what?
''Walter, someone's sending me poison-pen letters.''
''Could you make me the object of more ridicule and abuse...
..now things are shaky for me here?''
I don't think so, Jan.
- I think they're coming from a writer. - Which one?
Take your pick.
- Anything else? - Your attorney phoned.
There's a party at his house tonight.
Tell him I'm in a screening.
- Not that attorney. It's Dick Mellen. - Oh, Dick. What time?
Cocktails at 7.30, dinner at eight. Oh, and Bonnie Sherow is here.
- If I have to read one more goddamn... - Send her in. Oh, here she is(!)
Griffin, can we go to the Springs this weekend?
I wanna have a massage, I wanna have a long soak in a hot mineral tub.
And I wanna have margaritas administered intravenously.
I have a party tonight at Dick Mellen's. You wanna come?
Oh, God! Movie stars and power players.
- And vodka. - Sure.
It'll be an early dinner and we'll go to my place afterwards.
- Can we? - Yeah.
( chatting )
( man ) Brokaw looks like he has absolutely no retention.
Ted Koppel looks loose. He goes after it, digs in and he doesn't get thrown right in.
- Hi. - How are ya? ( chuckles )
Marlee, this is Bonnie Sherow.
She read, um, Tales Of Fury.
- Oh! - I loved it. Yes, I read the script.
It was wonderful and you're perfect for Ariel.
- I think so, too! - Yeah!
We were gonna make just a couple of changes in the third act.
- You should set up a meeting. - Yeah.
- Yeah, sure. - Yes. Call. You have my number?
Yeah, absolutely.
Excuse me. I've got to go say hello to these people here.
You don't talk about script changes at parties.
I'm sorry.
- How are you? - Don't you look beautiful!
- You know Bonnie Sherow. - B... Of course. How are you, dear?
- It's good to see you. TriStar, right? - No, she's at the studio.
Yeah, that's... that's what I meant.
Bring Mr Mill a martini and, Bunny, how about you?
- ( Griffin ) Actually, I'll take a Ramlösa. - (Bonnie) I'll have a martini.
(Mellen ) OK. One of each.
Rod Steiger's here. Why don't you er... talk to him about the Rudolph project?
He's not that hot on it, but see if you can get him to at least read it.
- OK. - You know who's here? Harry Belafonte.
- Harry! Come and say hello, will you? - (Bonnie) I love Harry Belafonte.
Harry, say hello to a couple of people.
- Griffin Mill. - Hi, good to see you.
This is Bonnie Sherow. She's just gaga over you.
I'm a big fan of yours! I saw you accept the Nelson Mandela Courage award.
Who's the guy in Ghostbusters, you know, the villain in Ghostbusters?
Um... I... I... You got me there.
I got this, um...
I got this postcard.
You know, harassment kind of stuff. You know!
I don't! Tell me, what are you talking about?
Well, I... It's some writer I must have brushed off.
Folks, get something to eat. There's some lovely stuff over there.
We will in a few minutes. Thank you.
- Your hands are as cold as mine now! - I think... Would you like one of these?
- Um, I don't think I do. - That one, right there.
Not threats?! You talking about threats?
N-No.
Y-Yes. I don't know.
He's pissed off.
I thought writers were your long suit. You're the writers' executive, aren't you?
Are you pitching me a dream?
That makes me think you're not sincerely interested.
It depends how good the dream is, Jeff.
Levy's here.
No, thank you.
- Dick, Dick, what's he doing here? - Goldblum? He's a friend.
- No, Larry Levy. - He came with Sally. He's a buddy of...
What's going on with my job?
Larry Levy, everywhere I look he's in my face.
Larry Levy's a comer. That's what comers do, they get in your face.
You're a comer, too. You can handle him. Stop worrying about it.
- So the rumours are true? - Rumours are always true.
I'm always the last to hear about them.
You're the last to believe. I've told you that before.
- So am I out? - No, but start thinking about a roommate.
Relax, you can handle this. You can make him work for you.
- Larry? - Dick. Sorry to crash your party.
- (Mellen ) You know everybody? - (Levy) I will before the night's out.
(Mellen ) You will indeed. It's a good crowd of people.
( Griffin sighs )
- (Reg ) Great party, Dick. - Good. Did you get some food?
Not yet. We're gonna...
Listen to this. ''He lifts her dress, she kisses him harder.''
''He puts his hands in her underpants. She grabs his shoulders.''
''He pulls her dress above her waist. He rubs against her wide, soft belly.''
''Slowly, he pushes her panties down to her knees. She is faint with passion.''
''She arches her back and he lowers her down onto the buckboard.''
''The horses snort and whinny. They, too, seem to be feeling her passion.''
''The camera moves in on the nostrils of the horse...
..as the buckboard begins to shake.''
(laughs ) My God! Can you believe that?
Steve recommended this. He says they're really hot for it at Universal.
- They're gonna have a bidding war. - I heard a pitch today that wasn't bad.
- Stuck on a story point, though. - I'm the story editor. Go.
New York City, Madison Avenue, big advertising agency.
Account executive makes a presentation to a potential client.
The client promises to get back to him.
- Does it have to be advertising? - That's not the problem.
The account executive keeps waiting for the client to call him back,...
..to tell him what he thought of the idea, to tell him if he got the job or not.
But the client never calls.
The account executive gets so pissed off and so frustrated...
..that he becomes obsessive. He decides to drive the client crazy.
- What does he do? - He sends him threatening postcards.
Not important. Here's the problem.
How long do you think...
..the account executive harasses the client before becoming dangerous?
Does it have to be advertising?
- How long? - All right. If it were me...
- One month? - Three months.
I don't know. More. Five months. To be dangerous, five months.
That's what I thought.
- Who's the writer? - I don't know.
You don't know the writer who pitched you the idea?
His name... I don't know. It's a couple of kids. Er,... TV writers.
Hm. Can we go to bed now?
I'm starting to wrinkle.
(Burt laughs )
- (Levison ) See you tomorrow afternoon. - (Levy) Absolutely.
Burt. Larry Levy. If you remember me, I hope there are no hard feelings.
- I was only working for Kastner. - Yeah, right.
- Bye. - Take care.
- Who's that? - An exec over at Fox. Until now, anyway.
- Morning, Mr Mill. Welcome to Geoffry's. - Hi, Susan. How are you? I'm... with Joel.
- Hi, Burt, Griffin Mill. - Hi, Griffin, good to see you.
- Griffin, nice to see you this morning. - Hi, Charles, how are you?
- Asshole. - One of a breed.
Mm. No, actually, he's not one of a breed. There's a whole breed of them.
They're breeding them, actually.
( Griffin ) Joel, your scheduling is so tight, the guy didn't even finish his breakfast.
(Levison ) He'd eaten. Gets up early.
- (Levison ) You went to Mellen's last night. - ( Griffin ) Take this, please. Yes, I did.
- How is he? - I'd like a Vittel water.
( sighs ) He's fine.
You left early. Why?
We had to work on the er... on the museum party.
- I will not work for Larry Levy. - I'm not asking you to.
I report to you. If I have to report to Larry Levy, I quit.
You can't quit. I won't let you quit.
You have a year and a half on your contract...
..and I will sue you for breach if you don't show up every day...
..with a smile.
- Why Levy? - Levy was available.
He's good on material, you're good with writers.
We're a team. He's a new member of the team, that's all.
He can make us all look good.
This is a red-wine glass. Can I have my water in a water glass, please?
- Well? - I'll have to think about it, Joel.
- I want an answer this afternoon. - Well, I have to go out to Palmdale.
Director of The Lonely Room is giving Lily a hard time.
I'll be back around five.
- So call after five. - I'll get back to you.
(Burt) ..you haven't died on us. So he's still hanging on.
(phone rings )
- (Jan on intercom ) Griffin. - Yeah?
- Joel Levison. Put it through? - No, no, I'll get back to him.
- Tell Joel Levison you'll get back to him? - Yeah. I wanna hear what he's gotta say.
- How did this get here? - With the mail.
Yeah, but this does not have a postmark. This was hand-delivered.
Not to me. It came with the mail.
Jimmy?
- Huh? - ( Griffin ) You know anything about this?
- Who delivered it, where it came from? - Mailroom?
I wanna know how it got to the goddamn mailroom.
- Find out for me, get back to me. - OK. Sure.
- You go with him. - You want me to go to the mailroom?
Yes, I want you to go to the mailroom.
And while you're there, I would like a copy of The Lonely Room rewrites...
..in white pages, no colour. And find out how this got in my mail.
Yes, sir. You'll get your own phones, I take it?
Yes, I can get my own phones, Jan.
Son of a bitch!
Five months. One, two, three, four, five, April.
Pitches. Richard Fielder. David Lucas.
- (door closes ) - Adam Silverstein.
Bill Lindstrom. David Kahane. Sandra Potenza.
lncoming.
lncoming. Unreturned...
..calls. Bill Lindstrom again.
Nancy Franklin. Wouldn't be a woman.
David Kahane.
Bill Lindstrom. Come on. Sort, sort, sort, sort.
Come on.
Come on. Kahane, Kahane, Kahane.
Lindstrom. White pages.
Lindstrom.
Disney. Strategic planning. Wouldn't be him.
What was that other guy's name?
Kahane. Kahane. J, K...
Kalchime. Kahane.
''Unproduced.'' Got ya!
(dialling )
(distant phone rings )
(phone rings in the house)
- (woman) Hello? - Hello, is David Kahane there, please?
( woman ) David!
( woman ) Dave?
- Hello? I'm sorry, I forgot. He's gone out. - Oh, I see.
- Who's this? - This is Griffin Mill.
- Oh, the dead man. - What did you just say?
- Hm? Oh, nothing. - About me being a dead man.
Just, um... a nickname David has for you.
( Griffin ) I see. That's a funny nickname.
( Griffin ) I suppose your husband doesn't like me very much.
I don't have a husband.
( Griffin ) David doesn't like me very much.
- David's, er... gone to the cinema. - When will he be back?
When the film's over, I presume.
- And you are...? - June.
- June...? - Here we go. You want my last name.
You won't be able to pronounce it.
- Try me. - Gudmundsdottir.
- ( Griffin ) Goodmansdotter. - Gudmundsdottir.
Goodmonsdottir. How's that?
Hey! Very good!
Thanks.
( Griffin ) What do people usually say?
Oh, don't ask. Like, anything from... Goodogswater to Goulashwallop.
(laughs ) Are you English?
Yep. Well, no. No, not really.
Well, where are you kind of, sort of not from?
Well, do you want the long story or the short one?
The long one.
No, you'd never believe it. The short one's... Iceland.
Iceland? I didn't know anyone came from Iceland.
- I thought it was just a block of ice. - It's very green, actually.
Really? I thought that was Greenland.
No, Greenland's very icy, Iceland's very green.
They switched names to fool the Vikings, who tried to steal their women.
Oh, I see.
No. Blue sea.
- Red Sea. - No, no, no. No red.
- You're a painter. - How did you guess?
So what movie did David go to see?
Um, he went to the Rialto in Pasadena. He always goes there.
- What's showing? - Um... Bicycle Thief, I think.
It's a good movie. Have you seen it?
No, I don't go to the movies.
You don't? Why not?
Oh...
Life is too short.
I've got to hang up now.
A ladro! Acchiappatelo!
(crowd) Acchiappatelo! Acchiappatelo!
- David Kahane. - No, you have the wrong guy, man.
David Kahane.
Griffin Mill.
Griffin Mill. Yeah?
Great movie, huh? So refreshing to see something like this...
..after all these... cop movies and...
..you know, things we do. ( chuckles )
- Maybe we'll do a remake of this. - You'd probably give it a happy ending.
Oh, no, no, we'd keep it pure.
Pure. Right(!)
D'you wanna write it?
- Don't fuck with me, Mill. - I'm not.
- I said that I'd get back to you, didn't l? - Yeah. About six months ago.
- I thought you'd forgotten. - You were angry.
- Maybe. - D'you wanna talk about it?
- OK. Sure. - Great.
Let's let the studio buy us a drink.
(laughs )
Well, if you don't mind a place where you don't have any suck with the maitre d',...
- (laughs ) - ..I know a bar down the street.
Let's go.
- (Kahane) Have you ever been to Japan? - # Hito to onaji koto o surunda...
Yes, I was there once on a location scout with Steven... Spielberg.
I lived there for a year.
- A student year abroad. - Right. I wish I'd done that.
Well, I think about it a lot. Never forget it.
You should write about it.
I did. Don't you remember?
- What? - Arigato.
My idea about the American student who goes to Japan.
That was my pitch, the one you were supposed to get back to me on.
You don't remember, do you?
- Course I remember. - ( applause)
You never got back to me.
Listen...
I was an asshole.
All right? It comes with the job.
I'm sorry, I really am.
I know how angry you must have been.
I'll make it up to you, that's what I'm here for.
I'm gonna give you a deal, David.
I'm not gonna guarantee I'm gonna make the movie, but I am gonna give you a shot.
# Let's forget the time...
Let's just, um... stop all the postcard shit, all right?
I'm here to say that I would like... to start over.
Friends.
Fuck you, Mill. You're a liar.
You're steppin' over the line, David.
You didn't come here to see The Bicycle Thief.
You came in five minutes before the picture ended.
Nearly tripped over my feet.
What'd you do, call my house?
Uh? Did you speak to the ice queen?
You'd like her, Mill. She's a lot like you.
All heart(!)
( singing continues )
You're on my list, pal.
Nothing's gonna change that.
See you in the next reel, asshole.
# Let's forget the time
# That you nearly broke my heart
# Go everywhere we've been again
# Let's begin again... #
(Kahane) # Baby, let's start again
# Let's start over from the start... #
(deactivates alarm )
Nice boat you got there, movie exec.
It's me, the writer. You still wanna buy my story?
I told you I'd give you a deal. Stop by the studio and we'll work something out.
Oh, and who will I ask for?
Larry Levy?
What's Larry Levy got to do with this?
- How do you know about Larry Levy? - Don't you read the trades?
The New York Times business section? He's moving in, you're moving out.
They say you can't make a deal. Yesterday's news.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute!
Can I borrow your mobile phone? Huh?
Er, Larry Levy. Yeah, Larry, David Kahane here.
Listen, Larry, guess who's making promises about getting pictures made.
To writers in parking lots.
Guess what dumb, son-of-a-bitch executive...
..is trying to take advantage of... of me!
I mean, do you realise how unstoppable this guy is?
You know, I cannot wait...
..to tell the world that when Griffin Mill can't cut the pressure at work,...
..he drives out to Pasadena...
..to pick fights with writers!
Tell Larry Levy to give me a call.
The word is out that he's gonna start making meaningful pictures at the studio.
Let's... Let's forget this. Stop all the postcard shit!
( shouts ) I don't write postcards, I write scripts!
- ( shouts ) We were both wrong, OK? - No, you're wrong,... buddy!
You're in over your head, that's why you're losing your job.
And then what are you gonna do?
Huh? I can write. What can you do?
(deactivates alarm )
I said let's forget this.
( metal bar clangs )
Oh, shit!
Mill, are you OK?
Are you all right?
(Mill yells )
( shouts ) Keep it to yourself!
Keep it to yourself!
Keep it to yourself.
(breathes heavily)
Kahane?
(dog barks in distance)
(glass smashes )
You know what's interesting? I mean, who's writing this new ending?
Who wrote the new ending of Fatal Attraction?
The audience.
A million-plus screenwriters, the audience wrote that ending.
But who's to say what it would have done if you had left the original ending?
You can't say. But you can say that it's done almost 300 million worldwide...
..with the ending selected from the test screen.
Larry Levy, I don't believe you've met my assistant, Whitney Gersh.
- No, I haven't. Nice to meet you. - It's a great pleasure to meet you.
- (Levy) Bonnie, how's your picture? - Doing well, doing well.
- How well? - It was our first test.
Excuse me, Walter. Um, Joel, Griffin still isn't in,...
..but I think we have to start this meeting.
OK, Celia. Thank you.
You remember a movie called DO A?
Sure I do. Eddie O'Brien and Pam Britton.
Disney did a remake in '87 or '88.
Yeah, well, I think we've got pretty much the same situation.
Keep our noses clean, Walter.
( chatter)
( man ) It's a shame to waste the picture.
Who said we're wasting it? Where did that come from?
You know what's interesting? We are all too busy to go and see movies.
Griffin, you're late. They're waiting inside.
You ought to try it sometime, to actually rub shoulders with the great unwashed.
(Levy) We need to give them the kind of pictures they want,
not the kind these writers want to give them.
I know you guys spend a lot of time with writers...
..and, believe me, you have my deepest sympathy, but...
Hello. Sorry I'm late.
( Celia ) You certainly are.
(Walter) Jan, can I talk to you, please? A couple of minutes in your office is fine.
Griffin, you missed the formal welcoming ceremony this morning.
You know Larry Levy.
Of course. Hi, Larry.
Hi, Griffin.
Larry was able to get out of Fox a week earlier than he thought...
..and come aboard as of this morning.
Great. Let's er... Let's start.
ln fact, Larry was just in the middle of something.
Oh, no, I wasn't. I was just killing time waiting for Griffin.
Oh. Well, no, finish. What were you saying?
I was just saying I've yet to meet a writer who could change water into wine...
..and we tend to treat them... like that.
- ( whispers ) - Not at this studio.
Million, million and a half of these scripts. It's... It's nuts.
And I think avoidable.
Griffin, when was the last time you bought a ticket to see a movie?
- Actually paid your own money to... - Last night.
ln Pasadena. The Bicycle Thief.
- You went to see The Bicycle Thief? - I love that film, it's a great film.
Art movie. Doesn't count. We're talking about movie movies.
Jesus, people...
All I'm saying is there's a lot of time and money to be saved...
..if we came up with stories on our own.
- Where are these stories coming from? - Anywhere, it doesn't matter.
Um,... the newspaper.
- Pick a story, any story. - ( clears throat) All right.
''lmmigrants protest budget cuts in literacy programme.''
Human spirit overcoming economic adversity.
Sounds like Horatio Alger in the barrio.
Put Jimmy Smits in it, you got a sexy Stand And Deliver. Next?
- Larry, this isn't my field. - Marty, it doesn't matter.
- Just give it a shot. You can't lose here. - OK.
How about ''Mud slide kills 60 in slums of Chile''?
That's good. Triumph over tragedy, sounds like a John Boorman picture.
Slam a happy ending on it, the script will write itself.
- Bonnie. Here, give me the paper. - Gee, I don't know, Lar.
Give it a shot.
''Further bond losses push Dow down 7.1 5.''
- I see Connery as Bond. - That's funny.
I'm glad Oliver Stone wasn't listening to you. Where would we have been?
We wouldn't have had to sit through Wall Street, for one thing.
- What did Wall Street do worldwide? - 7 0, 7 5, maybe 80.
- $80 million, a couple of Oscars. - OK.
I think Larry's point is well taken.
Let's move on. Griffin, can you give us an update on the Taylor Hackford project?
Griffin?
Yeah.
I was thinking what an interesting concept it is...
..to eliminate the writer from the artistic process.
If we can just get rid of these actors and directors, maybe we got something here(!)
( muffled laughter)
Hello, Walter.
Make yourself at home(!)
Mr Mill, I understand you were kind of late coming in this morning.
- You all right? - I'm fine.
Appreciate your concern.
What can I do for you, Walter?
Don't tell me you came here to... pitch me a story.
That's exactly what I've come to do.
It's a good one, too. It's about a writer. Sort of.
David Kahane.
- David Kahane. Who's David Kahane? - Oh, you met him.
I meet a lot of writers.
Uh-huh. But this writer that you met was murdered last night...
..behind the Rialto theatre in Pasadena.
Murdered?
Come to think of it, Pasadena's as good a place to die as any.
So what's the story?
25 words or less?
OK. Movie exec calls writer. Writer's girlfriend says he's at the movies.
Exec goes to the movies, meets writer, drinks with writer.
Writer gets conked and dies in four inches of dirty water.
Movie exec is in deep shit.
What do you think?
That's more than 25 words. And it's bullshit.
Pasadena Homicide doesn't think it's bullshit. They got a complete report.
You met Kahane at the Rialto, you got drunk with him at a Japanese restaurant.
He left before you did. That's the last time anyone saw him alive. Except you, maybe.
Why are you denying this?
Oh... What do the police think?
They think it's a... botched robbery.
The window of his car was busted.
He surprised someone trying to take the radio.
There was a fight, he was killed.
I didn't kill him, Walter.
But I went to see him.
I know I said I didn't, but I did.
Why'd you lie to me?
Well,... now's not a very good time for me.
Haven't you heard the rumours? I'm on my way out.
Just what I need, more controversy(!)
It's not a good time, Walter.
Look,... I am in charge of studio security in every definition of the word.
It is my job to take care of a studio executive,...
..should he be er, shall we say, under suspicion of murder...
..at a time when the profits are down and the company is vulnerable for a takeover.
It is my job to keep this very, very, very, very quiet!
- You wanna help? - Of course.
Then stop lying! ( sighs ) How many meetings did you have with this guy?
- One. - Not counting last night.
Not counting last night.
Why'd you go all the way to Pasadena to meet him?
He had an idea I was interested in, I wanted to talk to him right away.
His girlfriend, I guess she was a friend of yours, too.
Think fast!
( sighs ) Jesus Christ, Walter! What do you think? What is this?
It's called the third degree. Don't like it? Wait till the police are asking questions.
I'll go to the police right now! You come with me!
You're acting like someone who's guilty!
You're not guilty. Are you?
For the last time, I'm not a murderer.
- (beep) - Bad news?
- What? - The fax. ls it bad news?
No.
Business as usual.
The Hollywood system did not murder David Kahane.
Not the $98 million movie, not the $1 2 million actor,...
..not even the million-dollar deal that David Kahane never landed.
No, the most that we can pin on Hollywood...
..is assault with intent to kill.
Because... society is responsible...
..for this particular murder...
..and it is to society that we must look if we are to have any justice for that crime.
Because someone in the night... killed David Kahane...
..and that person will have to bear the guilt.
And if David were here right now, I know in my heart that he... he would have said...
..''Cut the shit, Phil!''
''What did you learn from all of this? Did you learn anything?''
( chuckles ) And I'd say ''Yeah, David, I've learned a lot,...
..we here will take it from here.''
And the next time we sell a script for a million dollars,...
..the next time we nail some shitbag producer to the wall,...
..we'll say ''That's another one for David Kahane.''
David was working on something the day he died. I'd like to share it with you.
''Blackness. A mangy dog barks.''
''Garbage-can lids are lifted as derelicts on the streets hunt for food.''
''Buzzing, as a cheap alarm clock goes off.''
''lnterior. Flophouse room, early morning.''
''A tracking shot moves through the grimy room.''
''Light streams in through holes in the yellowy window shades.''
''Moths dance in the beams of light.''
''Track down along the floor, the frayed rug.''
''Stop at an old shoe.''
''It's empty.''
That's as far as he got.
That's the last thing he wrote.
So long, Dave.
Fade out.
Thank you.
Who are you? You're not a writer.
No, I'm... I'm Griffin Mill. We spoke the night David...
Oh. Blue sea, white sea, yes.
It turned out you were right.
- What? - It was a red sea.
Oh. Yeah.
You're the only person I know here.
Listen, I'm really sorry about David.
He was a... a talent.
You really think so?
I always suspected he was...
..uniquely untalented.
It's nice of you to say that.
It's nice of you to come. Really, you didn't have to.
Well, I did. You know, I was probably the last... person to see him alive.
The police told me.
Well, not quite the last, surely?
No.
I'm sure this is a terrible time for you.
ls there anything you need or...?
No, really, I... I don't feel bad.
It's like when my parents died. I... I didn't feel anything at all.
They were just gone.
Oh, I'm sure... it hasn't sunk in yet.
It was years ago.
- No, I meant David. - Oh.
Oh, God! ( sighs ) These people.
I don't like it here. They're all expecting me to grieve and mourn and...
I can't talk to them.
David's gone and...
..I'm somewhere else already.
- Will you take me home? - What?
Will you take me home?
Sure. I'm right here.
They're very interesting. I like them.
- Would you like a drink? - No, thanks.
- Where do you show? - Hm?
- What gallery? Who's your dealer? - I don't have a dealer.
I couldn't sell these, they're never finished. Bickie?
No, thanks. They're never finished?
No, they're just... what I do.
For myself. What I feel.
You ask lots of questions, Mr Mill.
You're just like the police. That's all they did, ask questions.
They asked me a lot about you.
- Did they? - Mm-hm.
How long we've known each other, if you'd ever been to the house before.
Well, I suppose they have to ask those questions.
I don't see why.
Cos that's what police do.
- Can I ask you a question? - Sure.
Why was it so important to see David that night? What was so urgent?
( camera whirs )
Well, he pitched me a story a few months ago and...
- The Japan story, right? - Yes, the Japan story.
I liked it at the time, but it needed work, especially the ending.
I was sitting in my office that day...
..and it suddenly occurred to me how to make the ending work.
So, what was it?
- What? - Your idea for the ending.
- Up. - ( camera whirs )
- Up? - Up.
- What does that mean? - As opposed to down. Moods.
Happy as opposed to sad, hopeful as opposed to depressing.
- What did you think of his ending? - I never read it.
- You never read it? - No.
I don't like reading.
- D'you like books? - I like words. And letters.
But I'm not crazy about complete sentences.
Hm.
What did he think?
He walked out on me, actually. I don't think David liked me very much.
I think he just... didn't like happy endings.
Put your face here.
Great.
What are you doing? You're not gonna paint me, are you?
I might put you in one of my paintings.
There's one that I want to do of an Icelandic hero.
He's a thief and he's made of fire.
- But you might not like that. - Why not?
Because you're in the movies...
..and in the movies you can't have thieves as heroes, can you?
I don't know about that. We have a tradition of gangsters in the movies.
Oh, yes, but they always have to suffer for their crimes, don't they?
We should pay for our crimes, shouldn't we?
Oh, I think knowing you've committed a crime's suffering enough.
If you don't suffer,...
..maybe it wasn't a crime after all.
Anyway, what difference does it make?
It has nothing to do with how things really are.
You don't really believe that, do you?
I don't know what I believe, Mr Mill.
It's just... what I feel.
You know what you are, June whatever-your-name-is?
You're a pragmatic anarchist.
- (laughs ) ls that what I am? - That's what you are.
I never was sure.
Could I just... pick this up? Yeah?
- Ooh, it's heavy! - 37 ounces.
Look, look. (laughs )
I wanna thank my mother, and her mother and her father's mother, who was the...
( embarrassed chuckles ) Hello.
- Hello. - Meet Detective Susan Avery.
- Hello, Detective. - How d'you do? Sorry. My partner.
- Willa Broom. - Pleasure. Let's go in here.
This is the first movie studio Detective Avery's been to.
Well, aside from the Universal tour.
When my family comes I always take them.
I've been out there so often, I kind of feel like I'm ready to direct.
You'd probably do better than the film grads they give cameras to nowadays.
Sorry I didn't call when I heard Kahane was dead.
- Heard or read? - Read.
- Why didn't you? - Walter asked me the same question...
..and I wish I had a better answer for it, but all I can say is I didn't think about it.
Hm. How did you know where he was gonna be?
- His wife told me he was at the theatre. - Girlfriend.
- Girlfriend. I didn't know either of them.
I was restless, so I thought I'd go and see the movie and...
..if he was there I was gonna talk to him about a job.
So you got to the theatre, saw him and...
We had a drink in a Japanese place he knew about.
It was a wild, incredible scene, it was like Tokyo.
He left first. Why didn't you leave together?
Like I said, it was incredible, I was having a great time.
Then why didn't you stay longer?
Well, the people stopped singing and then it was just the bar and I don't drink.
- You drank with him. - Well, when in Rome...
- Did you know him socially? - No.
- Been to his house? - No.
- Know anything about him personally? - No.
Griffin, guess we're gonna let you get back to work now.
- Something's bothering you. What is it? - Well, I... I just have to ask you.
Did you see him in the parking lot after you left?
No, I parked on the street.
I drive a Range Rover, so I feel safer when it's visible.
Out on the street, who's gonna smash a window?
Hm. You mean, if you had a shitty car, you would have parked in the parking lot?
If I had a shitty car, I might be a dead man.
Somehow, I think you're a little too lucky for that. Thank you.
- OK. 63 take three, mark. - Wait one second.
Now.
Action!
No, goddamnit, Peterson, you listen to me!
I been around a while, I got a nose. This situation stinks.
It stinks for the company.
That's right, Peterson, the fucking CIA. You ever heard of it?
It's just the kind of operation those whizzkid fucks...