How do you feel about losing your studio in Hollywood?
What the bank gives, the bank takes away.
Do you think you'll ever make...
Did you rebuild the sets three times?
I don't know what I like until I see it, then I know I don't like it.
You think having a few hits entitles you to waste that kind of money?
My pictures have earned over $100 million in rentals.
That's how come I can get the backing for the kind of things...
This time, they didn't back you. They pulled the plug.
I always said that if I had a choice of a way to die...
I'd want to be screwed to death. I think I just was.
How much money did you lose when they shut you down?
What about your famous art collection? Did you lose that, too?
Come on, you'll have everybody feeling sorry for me.
Are you through with Hollywood?
I think Hollywood's through with me.
I guess you prefer New York anyway. Things are more real.
Anyplace real when you're making movies?
- What directors influenced you the most? - Abraham Zapruder.
- Who? - Honest Abe.
Can you spell that?
J-F-K.
- Smile. - Hey, honey.
Man alive, ain't she something?
Over here, honey.
All right, baby. Right here, honey.
This is great being in the White House.
Hey, honey, say "cheese“ for papa."
Look this way, honey.
Let me see a little more flesh.
Out of the way.
Look this way, honey, say "cheese.“"
Your turn, baby.
Yo, you can't walk around, all right?
You wanna rent a camera or what?
It's cheap, $5.
This way, right here.
Give us a smile. Hey, honey.
Mary Jean, where'd you go to so quick?
I'm looking for Mary Jean. You seen Mary Jean?
There's no Mary Jean here.
Lady, don't lie to me.
I saw them taking pictures of her in a round room upstairs.
I don't know any Mary Jean.
Lady, bullshit. I don't wanna hurt you.
You threaten me, I'll call the cops.
I'm looking for Mary Jean.
My name's Mary Jean.
- No. I just saw her upstairs. - You saw me.
You ain't her.
My name is Mary Jean, or I can be anyone you want me to be.
Describe her.
She's got blonde hair. She's very pretty. And she's got green eyes.
Well, I'm blonde and pretty, and my eyes are green.
No. You ain't Mary Jean. You ain't my wife.
Are you sure?
Why did you have to find me?
Well, I did. Get on in.
- My head. - I'm sorry, I didn't mean it.
Make a left.
- Where is it? - It's over there.
Come on, Keefe. Don't be a bastard.
Put that down. Why don't we just go to bed?
It's been so long.
Don't you miss how I do it?
Pull the damn shades.
All he ever asks about is you.
He wouldn't even remember me.
I told him all about his mama.
Not me. About somebody you made up.
I told him I was bringing you back. Just like I told him when I left.
Watch. You watch it.
I wouldn't be any good for him. I don't know anything about being a mother.
You're supposed to be an actress. Why don't you learn the damn part?
No.
Anytime, but not now.
Tell him I'm dead.
Shit!
Why did you have to come now?
Any other time but now.
Now that everything's opened up for me for the first time.
Oh, hell, if you'd been any kind of success at all...
but hell, no, as usual.
That's right. As usual. But this time you're wrong.
Put that down.
My messages. Do you mind if I get my messages?
This is Andrea Wilcox. Any messages, please?
No, there aren't any calls for you, and your payments are two months behind.
We're going to have to discontinue service. Hello?
THE FILMS OF CHRIS NEVILLE
How many times did Mr. Neville call?
Three times?
Do tell him I won't be able to meet him out by Café Central as usual tonight...
but I'll be able to catch him probably about midnight, by the Red Parrot.
Thank you.
That was Chris Neville, the director, you heard?
Yeah, I heard. Dinner and what else?
I wouldn't lie.
You'd see right through that, wouldn't you?
Yeah, I can see this old guy has given your career a big old push, hasn't he?
Well, no sense blowing a relationship by coming on too strong.
Why, just last night, you know what he said to me?
"“How would you like to be in my new movie?"
Yeah, what he does in them $20 million porno flicks of his...
it ain't acting.
So you think explicit sex ain't acting?
Why don't you just go ask 10 or 15 million American wives about that one.
Because some things ought to be left to the imagination.
What about retarded imaginations like yours?
I ain't gonna argue with you. You just pack!
I remember you from school.
You were the one who was going around erasing all the dirty words...
off the walls of the johns.
You were always real good about rubbing things out.
You just go ahead and pick out what you need.
Get a move on and pack.
You should see his place in Greenwich Village.
It's a whole block long.
- He has terrific parties there, you know? - Come on, get in here and get a move on.
Sometimes they're even on TV, his private parties.
- All the big celebrities... - I read about it in People magazine.
And I could careless.
I'll just go and get my makeup together, all right?
Then I'll be going.
Bullshit.
Bullshit, nothing but bullshit.
I don't give a damn about him.
I don't give a damn about Chris Neville, and I don't want to hear about him.
Grab a toothbrush while you're in there, Mary Jean.
Shit!
Mary Jean, don't take any pills again, 'cause it ain't gonna work this time.
Shit.
Mary Jean, don't do this!
NEVILLE FIRED FROM 30 MILLION FIASCO
Newspaper.
That's it. Get them while they're down. They always get back up again.
Hi. Hello.
Hi, my name is Mary Jean.
I was here to a party once.
Of course, I didn't get in, but I was here.
Hello? I'm freezing out here.
Well, thank you.
Thanks a lot.
Who is that?
Hi.
What are you doing with that thing?
What does this do to you?
Jesus, that's real.
What makes it real?
Because I know it happened.
Would you know if you hadn't seen it on the news?
His face.
Nobody could fake that.
What makes it different? Come on.
Something.
I don't know.
What if there's no difference? Real death, make-believe death.
- So how's the party coming? - What party?
You mean all that buffet stuff and all.
I figured somebody would show up for the wake.
You're the only one?
Well, I'm just a student. NYU, Cinema Department.
I'm here to do a paper on you.
On directors that get canned off their own pictures?
I know you must feel real sorry about that.
I'm just hungry. Why don't you make me something to eat?
Didn't we go through this before?
Don't you know?
Ever remember an experience, then realize you only saw it in the movies?
Yeah, sure.
I guess you don't believe I'm really a film student now, do you?
I bet you think I'm one of those young actresses...
who would say or do anything just to get a part.
Well, do I get the part?
- Can you act? - Of course not.
Then you get the part.
You know, just today, I was telling someone...
that I met you and that I was gonna be in your movie.
But I just made it up...
and then I made it happen.
That's how we make movies.
We just make it up and then we make it happen.
I think we should do a slow dissolve to the bedroom.
At least I won't be an extra up there.
I'll call you when it's time for your entrance.
In key...
soft.
Get your gorgeous little bottom in here.
Time for your entrance.
You don't miss a trick, do you?
You like that?
We need all these lights?
Things you do in the dark don't happen.
Next thing you know, you'll want me to make love with my eyes open.
There.
You got star material, babe.
What's that noise?
It's nothing, it's just the air conditioner. Come on, come here.
Sounds like a motor. Like a camera.
Is that what you got in there?
Sure, all these lights. I get your game.
I told you I'd put you in the movies.
- I do it all the time. We'll look at it later. - Shit, you're just like all the others.
Come on.
No, I don't go that route.
I am a married woman.
Listen, I've read all about you.
They say this is the only kind of movie they're gonna let you make.
Where'd you read this, in the Enquirer?
They're not ever gonna let you go near a soundstage...
unless it's to shoot someone's ass. That's what they say.
What else? Come on, tell me some more.
Given $25 million, even a moron could have done a movie.
But not you. You're not so hot anymore, are you?
You're losing it.
You're losing it, aren't you?
Why, you're really losing it.
What happened to your special effect, babe?
I'm gonna come out looking pretty...
for your beautiful little camera in there, aren't I?
Aren't I?
You like that?
You're in the movies now. Enjoying it?
Come on, look in the mirror.
That's a take.
ANDREA
A Film by Christopher Neville.
I never met you.
Just wash it all away, no one will ever know.
If you're looking for Mary Jean, she's gone off.
- When do you expect her? - I don't.
Mind if I wait?
I'm her husband.
You better put your pants on if you're gonna try to throw me out.
You think I can't?
Judging by how you tore this place up, you're a pretty strong son of a bitch.
How'd you get in here? You seen Mary Jean?
Yeah, a couple of hours ago, out at Coney Island.
You ever been out to Coney?
She sent you for her clothes.
You better get the hell on out of here before y'all get hurt.
- Trouble, Lieutenant? - No, just getting acquainted.
Cops.
She put a complaint out on me?
What do you know about a red Plymouth station wagon?
- I own one. - Well, it's illegally parked.
- How long you been in town, Keefe? - Since yesterday.
Must have made you mad as hell to see her fooling around with these guys.
I would've beat the crap out of her.
- She deserved it. - I never hit her, never in all our married life.
Will somebody tell me what's going on here?
Nothing happened to her?
I thought that might occur to you.
She's not hurt bad?
You're going to have to identify the body. It's homicide.
I got a little boy.
He's 31 months old.
Are you sure it's Mary Jean?
Don't you know?
- I was here all last night. - Alone?
She knew other guys. You thought I was one.
Who else did she know?
- She never told me. - Book him.
You have the right to remain silent and to...
Wait a minute. There's another name.
There was some director. She said she was sleeping with him.
- She threw it out to me. - Ls that when you hit her?
I told you I never hit her, never in all our married life.
What's this director's name?
You must have known who he was. Christopher Neville.
From what I hear, he's got his own problems.
What?
He made this bomb with about $30 million worth of special effects...
that went down the toilet.
Just yesterday he got bounced off another picture.
And he can't get himself arrested.
This Neville character, he called yesterday...
and he left a message on her service...
saying that he had to see her last night.
Ain't you gonna do nothing about it?
You just gonna stand there?
Why don't you call up her service? She left a number on the phone.
Call her service. It's on the phone!
Okay, check the messages.
- Where's the phone? - It's right there.
Where's the number?
We're arresting you. Why don't you put on your pants?
Christopher Neville?
You know, if I was gonna murder anyone, I'd wear better-looking underwear than that.
Hello, this is Det. Vickers, Homicide Division, NYPD.
Were there any calls received within the last 24 hours...
for an Andrea Wilcox?
I'll check.
No calls.
- No calls, no messages of any kind? - No, Officer.
All right, thank you.
Wait a minute, I heard her repeat the message.
You're breaching, mister.
I heard her when she talked on the phone. She said something...
- about the Red Parrot. - Look, pal, do me a favor.
Call your fucking lawyer.
Here.
I gotta go take a leak.
If I had a story like yours, I'd be too scared to pee.
We gotta let him...
or the Supreme Court will reverse the conviction.
Check it out.
Yes, you have a constitutional right to pee.
Leave it open.
I can't piss with you guys watching me.
She might have been a good-looker, but she was a terrible housekeeper.
She don't look too good there.
Boy, these country boys sure can hold water.
Jesus, now I gotta pee.
- Where to? - Sightseeing.
- Want a tour? - Can't you just drive?
Looking for a hooker?
Shit, you don't have to pay for it. At least, not in this town.
No girls.
Want me to drop you at a gay bar? Don't be shy.
I'm looking to find out where Chris Neville lives.
- Chris Neville? The moviemaker? - Yeah.
Look on the unemployment line.
- He's a personal friend of the family. - Really?
Let me see if I can help you. Sam.
What do you want?
See if any of the drivers picked up the Neville guy.
Who the hell's the Neville guy?
The whacked-out filmmaker Neville.
He's in Soho, it's not far.
- He's on 12th street, near the river. - Where's that?
What street?
Sure you wouldn't want to see some female impersonators?
They got this small fan show all the way over west by the river.
You can't tell them from the genuine article.
Hello?
Hello, Mr. Neville, can you hear me?
Who is it?
My name's Keefe Waterman. I gotta talk to you.
Do I know you?
No, but you know my wife, Mary Jean.
Andrea Wilcox.
I can't hear you.
You're mistaken.
She told me all about it. You can't hide anything now.
You better come down here and talk this out with me.
Mr. Neville?
Mr. Neville, come on, what's it gonna be?
You came a long way to take a leak.
Son of a bitch.
Don't move, buddy.
Come on.
Feet back, spread out.
You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to an attorney.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Look at my nails. I never could've scratched her like that.
Bitten to the quick. Nervous?
You should be nervous.
Anyhow, lab says the scratches weren't made by fingernails.
Three witnesses saw you slapping her around on Broadway and 46th.
She hit her head as she was getting in the car.
Look, you came to take her home. When she refused, you assaulted her.
When she tried to get away, you killed her.
Then you drove the body all the way out to Coney Island and you took the train back.
I left her in my own car?
Now why would I do something dumb like that?
Come on.
Here's a special message.
Wiesenthal.
Waterman, how did you get to Thomas Wiesenthal?
Who is he?
Apparently, he's been retained to represent you.
Who is he?
Just about the top criminal lawyer in Manhattan.
You must have a guardian angel.
So, it appears your civil rights have been violated.
We may have to bring assault charges against the NYPD.
In the meantime, we'll get you out on bail. Make yourself comfortable here.
We won't need you gentlemen for a few minutes.
So you really think you're gonna be able to get me out?
You were clearly coerced into making damaging statements...
without the benefit of counsel.
You never said any of those things.
As for the car, that was registered in both your names back in Oklahoma.
Let them prove you put her in it if they can.
Aren't you the fellow that was on the committee with Senator McCarthy?
You're thinking of Roy Conn.
He's a nice guy compared to me. I'm mean.
Why are you being so nice to me?
I want a movie made about my life someday.
Come in, Chris.
This is Chris Neville.
So you put up the bail and you bought the lawyer here?
You did know Mary Jean.
Keefe, when you're in the movies, strange girls kind of flip out.
Meet one at a party, and you laid her.
Buy her a drink, and you're the father of her child.
Honestly, I don't recall Mary Jean at all.
So you mean that she made up the message and everything.
Don't put her down for it, Keefe.
She's just one of the pack.
Fresh out of high school, full of dreams...
dreams turn into lies...
lies turn into angles.
First thing these girls want when they roll into town...
is to have somebody buy them dinner at Sardi's or Elaine's.
Instead they meet a guy with a needle over at Port Authority.
It's just a couple of blocks from Sardi's.
If you will excuse me, I have to catch a shuttle to Washington.
Don't worry about a thing, my staff will take good care of you.
So why are you telling me all this?
Why do you want to help me?
When you got busted in front of my house, I got curious.
About you...
mainly about Andrea...
how she changed here in the city.
Yeah, she sure as hell did.
Used to be she was a good American mother.
Her hang-up was being young, pretty...
not gifted, right?
I want to tell her story, Keefe.
How this town chews beautiful girls up.
What do you want, my permission?
- Your participation. - Come again?
You're gonna be in it.
You want me to act?
No, not act. Be yourself.
I can't do that.
I always prefer to direct non-pros.
But don't you understand? It wouldn't be decent.
Maybe we could prevent this from happening to some other poor kid.
I couldn't do it. I just couldn't.
You can if you trust me.
After all, it's my bail bond.
Keefe, listen, I need this picture.
A lot of people out there think I'm finished.
I'm doing this the way I did when I first started...
16-mm on a low budget and I guarantee completion myself.
I don't even know what the hell you're talking about.
This is my last chance in this industry to prove I can still cut it.
After everything collapsed out in Hollywood...
I had kind of a breakdown, okay?
Then I lost this picture because I went over.
I guess I wasn't reliable anymore.
So now I'm not bankable.
I put up my fucking townhouse to finish this picture.
So don't turn me down, for both our sake.
You wouldn't make me do something that wasn't so, would you?
The idea is to make it real.
As totally real as I can get it.
Where are we going now?
I found you a place to stay.
Her apartment?
I took over the lease. You wouldn't believe the morbid creeps who tried to rent it.
The National Enquirer and the Star were in there taking pictures...
before I threw them out.
She used to read both those newspapers.
- What about all her things? - Where she left them.
Now how the hell am I gonna be able to sleep there?
I don't believe she was strangled in that apartment.
She wasn't. I know she wasn't.
Well, then, no ghosts.
Here are the keys.
What about the murder?
That gonna be in there, too?
You won't play that scene unless you belong in it.
Salvation Army.
- How you doing, man? - Good.
Here it is. Just like you ordered.
400 feet of reversal.
No protection print.
Ain't that a little risky?
- You run it through the lab yourself. - Like I always do.
- You didn't run any sine-X's. - No tests.
Processed it on my 12, just like you specified...
but if this don't come out, don't go chewing my ass.
Who'd you catch this time?
Not allowed to tell.
Listen, these big celebrities...
they do it different than anybody else?
Jesus, you know...
if they knew you had hidden cameras in that bedroom...
this footage could be worth your life.
Now, how would they find out?
If you ever get the itch to show this to anybody, I'd love to see this.
Grushkin, someday you see it on cable TV, huh?
Bill me.
Okay, John.
- Good night, Mr. Neville. - Good night.
Take me up, John.
A woman's work is never done.
You ought to tell your assistant not to let just anybody in the door...
who flashes a badge.
You can buy one of these anywhere in town for $5 or $6.
Not a very convincing prop.
Delroy. Homicide.
Excellent casting.
You're busy, don't let me interrupt you.
- You're putting fingerprints on everything. - Bad habit.
I'm crazy for touching things.
Just last week, I just had to pick up this murder weapon.
Almost cut my finger open.
Used to be I'd be talking to a guy...
I'd find myself touching the lapel of his suit...
the weave, the wear of the cloth. Didn't even know I was doing it.
Have to keep out of museums: Can't keep my hands off the paintings.
Cracking "P?
Different people have different ways of showing tension.
I know. I spent a couple of months in Cedars-Sinai once, resting up.
Doctors taught me a lot about dealing with tension.
So, is Waterman photogenic?
I don't know, I haven't seen the tests yet.
What's this picture supposed to be about?
Murder, what else?
Murderer plays himself.
Not your usual subject. No special effects?
People assume special effects means taking models, miniatures...
tricking them up, making them look real.
I'm taking reality and making it look like make-believe.
That's a special effect, too.
Okay. You got my $5.
I could use more than your $5.
I could use access to the autopsy reports, description of the wounds...
how they were inflicted.
Why don't you ask your star? He was there.
Play along, I'll see you get a nice screen credit:
"Without whose cooperation this picture would not be possible.“"
Change that to a conviction and you're on.
I'll arrange to screen the rushes for you daily.
Movies, just for you.
This is a scene-by-scene outline.
I'd appreciate your suggestions.
Any input you have. Anything you see, right or wrong.
You could act sort of as a technical advisor.
- Technical advisor? - Sure.
There are some sequences missing.
Those we improvise with your advice.
Okay.
When do we start rolling?
As soon as we cast our victim.
Someone so like Andrea...
that old Keefe will have to live the entire experience all over again.
Great.
Let me ask you something.
I know it's none of my business...
but what's with you and all these flowers?
Why are you so crazy about flowers?
I don't know.
They're just so beautiful. They die so quickly.
You know, you're right about that.
You better cast another actress or call this whole thing off.
It's Christmastime. I wanna go home and see my boy.
Oh, my God, have you seen this one?
Who submitted her?
Mercury Artists. They sent everybody in their files.
Have you seen her?
I'm sorry.
She's dead, and her own agent don't even know or care.
She was using another name.
She was probably hiding from her dues.
Look, call them up and offer her $1,500 a week.
That ought to shake them up a little.
This had nothing to do with her.
I lived with her and I took care of her.
And I took her to the hospital when we had our little son, Jimmy.
This wasn't her. This had nothing to do with her.
She had nothing to do with any of this!
Nothing!
You could never make me do anything.
All you could ever do is try and make me feel guilty.
The kid...
I had to get married on account of the kid.
I know I can do this part better than anybody.
You see, I knew Mary Jean personally.
For years and years, we were best friends. We were roommates.
We shared everything. Cars, clothes, boys.
I mean, I know her better than anybody.
That's fine, next. That's good, thank you.
Okay, let's move it along.
I'm not going with you.
You can't make me.
You can sit down. Next.
You could never make me do anything.
The kid. I had to get married on account of the kid.
All you could ever do is try and make me feel guilty.
Can you please tell me what this motivational thing is?
Motivation is getting a job.
You can't make me. You could never make me do anything.
All you could ever do is make me feel guilty.
Look, we got five other murder cases on our workload.
I just came from all the way up in Harlem.
Can't you see I'm doing a casting session?
Later this afternoon we got a script conference.
And this evening we're gonna go scout locations.
Locations? What are you, a police officer or are you in show business?
And all you could do is just try and make me feel guilty.
That's why I had to get married, because of the kid.
She's wrong.
Shit, I ought to squeeze that finger.
I'm not going with you.
You can't make me.
I don't believe this.
You could never make me do anything.
All you could ever do is try and make me feel guilty.
The kid... I had to get married on account of the kid.
Rotten.
I know, what can I say?
The kid. I had to get married on account of the kid.
Great. Terrific. That's fine.
You're all wrong for this part, so maybe you're all right for the part.
What we're going to do is...
say it all together.
I'm not going with you.
You can't make me.
You could never make me do anything.
All you could ever do is try and make me feel guilty.
The kid. I had to get married on account of the kid.
Great, terrific. You're all fantastic.
Everybody up. Thank you.
Now, we're looking for non-pros.
Keep your eyes open for anybody that reminds you of Andrea.
- That girl over there. - That one over there.
- Yeah, that chick and that chick? - That could be her.
Check her out.
Write your name down and your number.
Look at all these beautiful girls around here, man.
Go on. Take it easy, loosen up. Try and have a little fun.
She's good.
You set that all up. You set it all up.
Is that a threat?
I don't know what it is.
I hear the second murder is always the easiest.
You can tell your friends that I'm going back to jail tonight.
Do you understand me? I'm going back tonight, you can tell them now.
You don't get psyched out when I kiss you.
Come on.
Everybody blows once in a while. Calm down.
Look, I was over at the apartment today. Her rags are missing.
I gave them away to the Salvation Army.
I need them.
You never told me.
Get them back.
How am I gonna get them back now?
- Hi. - How you doing?
I donated some stuff the other day. I'm trying to get it back.
This hasn't been sorted out yet. You have to take it over there, upstairs.
- That way? - Right over that way.
All right, thank you.
He ain't gonna get anything back.
Can I help you?
I am trying to get some stuff back.
I got the receipt for my contribution.
- Receipt? - Yeah.
You want it back?
Hey, this guy's got a receipt.
You want to see something? Come here.
You don't know where you are.
Look at that. Want to go climb?
What do you want? Come on, go home with it.
What's your name?
Elaine, Elaine Bernstein.
You aren't one of those guys out to make trouble or something, are you?
No, I hope not.
Good, because you're never gonna get your stuff back. Look at this.
They belong to my wife. She died.
Then what do you need... Shut up, Elaine, it's none of your business.
- You work here every day? - Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I volunteer my time and my talent, or didn't you notice?
Mondays, I read to the blind at the lighthouse.
Wednesdays, I'm up in Harlem teaching kids the new math.
Weekends, I'm busy with my feminist things.
So I just don't have time to be a shopper's aid.
Why don't you just forget about the clothes and take a tax deduction?
I can't.
Say, you're awfully young to be a widower.
You need a nice vacation. Ever been to Amsterdam?
- Amsterdam? - Yeah, Amsterdam.
I never been there, but I hear it's a pretty nice place.
I'll tell you what, I'm organizing a charter tour there.
Fifteen people, 21 days, you get a Volkswagen and unlimited mileage.
Why the hell do you do all of that stuff?
It keeps me busy.
Where do you live?
Central Park West.
Hey, you got $850,000?
No.
My father's got the condo up for sale.
You know, I think there's somebody I'd like you to meet.
Trying to fix me up with a friend?
Can't you just shut up and nod your head?
Good.
GERARD BOLLE
Mr. Neville, you got a minute?
Speak, freak.
You know this new movie you're making, this murder mystery thing?
Everybody's talking about it. You ought to clean up on it, you know?
Here I go, being mercenary again.
I guess that's what holds me back.
I'm always talking about money.
I guess I don't know how to talk to an artist.
You ran that original footage?
Just to test.
Once I saw that rose on the pillow...
I had to see the rest.
It was supposed to be a surprise ending.
Ending? I thought that was the beginning.
Yeah, the surprise beginning.
I wouldn't want to ruin it for you, Mr. Neville.
You're one of those sensitive types.
It's wonderful that you notice things in people. Potential.
Tell me something, Grushkin. Did you find that last scene too violent?
Not for me.
Hey, Chris, can I have a few shots?
Chris, I think I found her. Take a look.
I guess that's about as close as you'll ever get.
No.
The eyes are wrong.
Make them larger, dumber.
Dumber? What are you talking about?
Look, suppose I don't want to be in your movie?
What else have you got to do?
I didn't come here for a job. I came here to do a favor.
That's not me.
Yeah? What's you, this nose?
It's mine.
Dr. Silverman, Madison and 74th?
Dr. Weinberg, 88th and Park. I don't like you.
It gets worse. Lam a maniac when I do a picture.
- He admits it. - Finally.
So you're gonna tell me what to do?
Yeah. First of all, keep your shoulders straight.
Stop using your hands when you talk. Worst posture since Quasimodo.
How are your tits? We're gonna have to see them in this.
It's so idiotic talking about it.
What are my parents gonna say?
They won't say anything about anything 'cause they won't have a little girl anymore.
So who will I be?
This?
That?
Look, tell them you went to Israel to work on a kibbutz or something, okay?
Don't talk to your parents or friends as long as you're working on the movie.
Get her someplace to stay, all right?
- What'll I bring? - Bring your body.
If you're using this picture for her hair, this isn't right.
Her hair color was much lighter than that.
Forget about this picture.
And these fingernails, who's doing these fingernails?
Her fingernails weren't red.
How did you know about her fingernails?
They were shorter, okay?
How did you know her hair color?
I saw the body at the autopsy, okay?
Just do something, okay?
Don't take it so seriously, okay? It's only a movie.
10:00 tomorrow morning, I want a transformation.
Yes, sir.
You got to be crazy to direct movies.
We got to be crazy to work on them.
Phone
Jimmy, I'm in New York right now with your mama.
There's people walking all over the place...
and presents in the window, and horses pulling carriages.
Yeah, horses.
Talk into the phone, honey.
Mama can't come to the phone right now. She's asleep, honey.
Not today, but real soon.
She's asleep. It's night time here.
I'm gonna bring her home, just like I promised you.
I promise I'm gonna bring her home.
It's been done.
Now that's fresh.
Some place, huh?
This is Mario at Mario's Real Italian Kitchen.
We got clams, we got lobster, we got spaghetti...
anchovies, lasagna, soup du jour.
We got the best cooks in town, the best sauce, the best garlic bread.
And don't forget Mario's mamma mia all-you-can-eat salad bar...
with all the radishes, carrots, shrimps, baco bits, lettuce, cottage cheese...
Swiss squares, celery sticks, Swedish meatballs, cucumbers, croutons...
and ten different dressings you can eat.
You want to eat till you die.
Come on down to Mario's Real Italian Kitchen in Paramus.
We'll feed you like your mama used to.
You don't talk to people. You just do routines.
I'm just trying to be charming.
I heard you're into special effects.
That's what the critics say. They say, "He's all special effects."
"Nothing but special effects. No content, no substance whatsoever.“"
You read that stuff.
I got a new one for you.
You want to see it?
Sure.
You're ready for it?
That's great. No strings attached.
Who made your head? Carlo Rambaldi?
Hello, Chris.
- Hi, Chad. How're you doing? - Pretty good.
I understand you're in preproduction of a nice little movie.
I was hoping to talk to you about negative pickup.
We'll be ready to deliver it for an Easter release.
Gosh, Chris, thanks for thinking of us...
but our plate's full.
We're just not looking for any pictures right now.
You know, I was this guy's agent for five wonderful years.
I sold him to every major studio in Hollywood...
and now that I run my own studio...
there's just no one to sell him to me.
Enjoy your lunch, Chris.
Bye, Chad.
How's your tennis game, Chris?
- Still beat your ass. - That's good.
Now I do feel sorry for you.
Sorry enough to sign your contract?
Wait till this picture's finished. They'll all be bidding for it.
Don't read it, just sign it.
Thank you.
Now you're in the movies.
Okay. (Tut!
How was that, everybody? Was that great, or what?
That was really terrific, all right, that's great.
I told you, you weren't needed on the set today, buddy.
- When did you get here? - I just now got here.
Weren't we in a Crest commercial together?
- Was it Jell-O? - No.
- Chris says to record this. - Don't worry, I'm getting this.
You know, it's amazing how they cast these things.
First job outside of commercials and I get to play myself.
Oh. Yeah?
You should have called some chicks.
If you ask me, she went both ways.
I got to explain something to you.
I thought you understood that everybody's playing himself here.
I mean, this is Andrea's husband.
Him?
I've got nothing against you.
- How long did you know her? - A one-nighter.
Then she never returned my calls.
And what did she say about me?
Nothing. Honest, friend, nothing.
Did she tell you we had a baby?
She was proud of not having stretch marks.
- Come on, let's go. - I want to watch, I want to see this.
Stand off to the side. Take it from the top, come on.
Come on, let's get back to work here. Let's start again.
Will you get out of the scene, please?
I hardly remember screwing her.
Put a little more heat into it, all right?
On your marks. Let's have a slate, please. Slate it.
Cue track, 33.
Action. Come on, get into it now.
Come on, put something into it. I want some steam out of this thing.
You make dirty pictures.
Forget the kiss, go to the husband.
Take me back.
Better get security over here, there's going to be trouble.
You bastard!
How the fuck should I know she was married?
Cut, print. Beautiful.
Come on in.
Surprised you still want to talk to me.
It was the first time I've ever been exposed to violent emotions.
My parents were always quiet together, like two old friends.
The men I knew were irritable sometimes, but never furious.
I think if they were, I would've laughed at them.
But not at you.
You could have killed that guy.
Maybe I wanted to.
I know you're still hung up on your wife.
But I'd like to think what you did had something to do with me, too.
I mean me, as me.
It did.
I'm afraid of you.
I've never let myself be really frightened of anything.
I don't want you to be afraid.
I don't even know if you've killed anyone.
You had plenty of provocation.
You got to believe that I didn't.
No, don't tell me that.
Just let me feel something.
Let me be alive.
This is a big mistake.
Keefe wouldn't take her back to a sleazebag motel room and then kill her.
Is there any evidence that he killed her back at the apartment?
Absolutely not.
- Or in his car? - No.
You told me she had traces of soapy water on her body.
That she'd been bathed.
Okay, I can buy the motel room angle...
but why the lavender sheets on the bed and the red walls?
Production values.
Look, I've been working on your dialogue...
revising some scenes...
polishing it up a bit.
This is a total rewrite.
I know the typing is bad but I added some great touches.
Look, this is still my picture. I want you to stay off the set while I'm working.
You directors get so worried when somebody tries to take your picture over.
I still want you at the dailies, but stay off the soundstage.
You barring me from the set?
You son of a bitch.
Mary Jean, don't you run away from me again.
Go away.
You're my wife, Mary Jean.
Not anymore.
Honey, that cut on your head's still bleeding.
I don't care.
What the hell...
Keep it going. We'll pick it up.
You can't make me go away. You could never make me do anything.
Your line is...
All you could do is make me feel guilty about that kid.
Had to get married on account of the kid.
'Cause going and getting rid of it could've been a sin, right?
And when it was kicking hell out of me...
if I complained, I'd feel guilty about that, too.
I'm sick of having that kid thrown in my face.
- The kid, the kid. - No.
I had it, I nursed it, I got it out of diapers.
- Now I'm through. - No!
"No, he ain't an “it." He's a human being!
And if you knew him you wouldn't say that!
I hate him!
No, you don't hate him!
Okay, cut, that's terrific.
You son of a bitch! You made me hit her!
This is really gonna be good. That's great.
Why did you talk to me like that?
It was as if I was somebody else, I was so much into it.
I ain't doing this shit anymore!
Talk to the boy, okay?
Why did you want to go?
Can't we just get out of here?
Why?
Because for a minute there you were just too much like her, that's all.
I know I was.
It's sick. I mean, it's really sick, and it's making me sick.
We got to quit. We just got to get the hell out of here, that's all.
Quit halfway through? I'm not gonna do that.
For the first time, I have something to be when I wake up in the morning.
I know who I am.
And no one's gonna blow that for me.
You never cared about being an actress before, never.
Actress?
This isn't a career, just this part.
What about when the picture's over?
When this is all over, what are you gonna do after that?
Can we get back to the story again? Everybody back on the set now.
Come on, shot 74.
Sit down.
Okay, wait, I got a great idea.
Nice romantic touch.
Rose on the pillow, okay? Nice and...
Now where would I get a notion to do something like that?
Would you stand back, please, so we can work?
It's symbolic, okay? Rose is on the pillow.
Here, get rid of these. These weren't even in the shot.
You two make nice love now.
You make love with each other, real creative stuff...
really make some heat in this thing.
No.
Get in the bed.
That's great.
This is a closed set. Let's lock it up.
Take those cowboy boots off. You wouldn't have those on, come on.
Take your clothes off. Socks too, come on.
Who makes love in their socks?
Only Gary Cooper or somebody like that.
I ain't doing nothing in front of all these people. I ain't doing that.
Okay. Everybody's off for the rest of today.
That's it. It's a wrap for today.
Bring me that camera over there, I'll shoot it.
Take off the bathrobe.
Come on, everybody gone.
Ditch the trunks, too, come on.
Now you two, come on.
This is wrong.
I don't care.
I just know that I'm hooked, and so are you.
Okay, you can relax now.
You're in privacy. Take her in your arms.
Get on here.
Keefe, take off the necklace.
Take the necklace off. That's right.
Up and off, that's good. You're in the light.
Don't give the boy so much encouragement. Treat him like Andrea treated him.
UP, Up, raise up...
and touch her neck...
just lightly. That's beautiful, that's good.
Now kiss her...
kiss her passionately.
Where's the rose? Pick up the rose. Lift her up and put the rose underneath.
That's it.
Now look at the camera, Elaine, look at the camera.
She's your wife.
She lied...
she never died...
you never killed her.
Shut up!
This is the age of the nonentity...
the glorification of the nobody, as long as they're victims.
Look at the virtually nonexistent careers of a Dorothy Stratten or a Frances Farmer.
What makes them worthy of a $10 million eulogy on film?
Murder, madness, suicide...
that's what stars are made of today.
- Good night, Sardi. - Good night, Mr. Neville.
I must've passed you on the elevator.
Figured you'd probably be upstairs, cutting away.
I'm exhausted. I got to get some rest.
We're gonna talk first.
What now?
The home movies of my boy.
Who says I've got them?
The police. They told me they just released them to you.
Research, okay?
You're gonna use them in the film, aren't you?
Maybe.
I'm mixing in actual footage. It's part of the concept.
I'll tell you something.
You can do whatever the hell you want to me...
but you ain't messing with my kid.
We'll talk about it tomorrow.
I want that reel of film.
All I have to do is make one phone call, and you're back in the joint.
So don't push it.
Think I found the shot you've been looking for.
I told you the medium close-up. Don't you hear me when I'm talking to you?
Doesn't anybody hear me around here?
Somebody left the piece of film I need back at the other editing room.
Where's Chris? I got a message from Chris I was supposed to be here.
I sent that.
That's about what I'd expect of you.
Wait, I want you to see something.
I am really not interested.
This is our son, Mary Jean's and mine.
You wanted to know all about her, didn't you?
Sure hope this thing works. It's been through hell.
- Did you run it for her? - Yes.
Take me to Andrea's apartment, on the double.
You got the loop hole wrong.
Here, shut the gate.
Get the lights.
What's happening?
God damn it, you don't know what you're doing!
I don't know how to...
Turn the damn thing off.
- I think it's getting stuck in the... - It's ripping up all the film!
It's slicing it to pieces. Turn it off!
Wait a minute! Damn, I don't know how.
Pull out the goddamn plug!
Don't take it so seriously, come on.
It's my baby, look at this.
No, it's mine.
Original reversal. No prints.
- I thought... - I know what you thought!
Scratched or split, total wipeout.
I guess that just means you're gonna have to shoot the whole thing over again, right?
Nothing to it.
I could duplicate the performance as long as I have you.
Go home. Go back to the hotel. I'll call you later.
Take the reels off the machine.
Hand them to me.
I had difficulty getting this sequence.
Waterman didn't want to go bare-ass.
Had to clear the set.
Run that back a little, will you?
Back it up 100 feet.
On the pillow, the rose.
Kind of grabs you. Wish I'd thought of it.
Who did?
Keefe.
I resisted at first, but he talked me into it.
Thorns.
Scratches on her back.
I feel left out.
Stay that way.
Look, if it's too weird, the rose can go.
It's my favorite shot. We're picking Waterman up.
Guess that fouls your picture up?
I only had one more scene to shoot...
but it's only a retake. I can double them.
Look, after the arrest, could I steal a couple of shots in the prison?
Neville...
I don't care what you do as long as I get my screen credit.
Associate producer, separate card, and all paid advertising.
Don't talk, listen.
They're going to arrest you again, this time for keeps.
Don't fall apart.
Look, I want to help you. I owe you.
Make yourself invisible, then come to my house tonight.
I'll have people there until 11:00. Come after 11:00.
- Got it? - Yeah, okay. I'll be there.
You're late but you're beautiful. Come on in.
Well, I did come, after all.
It's awful about Keefe.
Thought we weren't going to talk about him.
What's the difference if I talk about him? I'm thinking about him.
Or will that ruin your evening?
I mean, look at this, everything's so carefully planned.
You don't do things, you stage them.
Keefe couldn't have done all those things they say he did.
I used to think he was guilty, too, but now I...
He's schizo. If he found you here with me, he'd probably cut your throat.
Don't worry, he'd end up cutting off his little pinkie...
before he got around to that.
- He's a klutz. - Ls he such a lousy lay?
None of your business.
I mean, you dug him. Then, whammo! Total rejection.
He wanted me to be like Mary Jean, not Andrea.
Mary Jean, exactly like her. So I was.
Come on, don't make me beg for it.
Usually you get the girl to go to bed before you give her the part.
What do I have to gain?
I'm used to working out of sequence.
Anyhow, I didn't know you then.
Who am I?
I used to be a lot of different people.
None of whom I particularly liked.
Lately, I have been a bitch.
That's gone over really big with everybody...
except me.
So whom exactly are you inviting to bed?
Why don't I mold a whole new personality?
After all, you have the perfect raw materials.
First guy who ever wanted to get my pants off to mold my personality.
Come on, don't shoot me down, come inside.
- I don't want to. - Why?
I still don't like you.
That's no excuse.
Hey, don't rush it!
What's this, an original idea?
I thought I saw this someplace before.
It's a bit I thought you'd like.
It's a joke if I lay down on that. Ouch!
Don't these things ever go off?
Just close your eyes.
Look, I never could've scratched her. Look at my nails.
Lab says those scratches weren't made by fingernails.
That's more like it.
There's somebody in the house.
- Just stay. - Hello?
Stay on the bed.
Get back on the bed!
Don't move, I'll be back.
Who's there? Who the fuck is there?
I can't find my way in here alone.
Get the fuses on the floor by the bar, quick!
He killed Mary Jean and he's trying to kill us all!
Turn on the lights, get the lights turned on, quick!
We discovered a hidden camera behind the mirror in Neville's apartment...
which he used to photograph the murder of Andrea Wilcox.
We also suspect that he was connected with the strangulation...
of Leon Grushkin, a film lab technician.
I always had a feeling about this Neville.
What about the movie Neville was making? Will that ever be completed?
Who knows?
Someone may come along with the skill and insight...
and knowledge of police procedures to put all the pieces together.
It would make one hell of a picture.
Thank you.
Thank you, Det. Phillip Delroy.
Pan American Airlines flying to Dallas, Fort Worth...
is in its final boarding process at Gate 12.
Final call, please.
Waterman, Mr. and Mrs.
Almost missed it.
That would've been sad.
I mean, our little boy is going to meet us at the airport.
Wonder if he'll recognize me. It's been so long.
Don't worry about it, you look just like your pictures.
Enjoy your flight.
There will be a complimentary luncheon and a movie.
Come on, Mary Jean, we're gonna go home.
Hurry up, folks, you're gonna miss your flight.