What Just Happened? (25 page)

S
COTT
: He's the coach of my kid's soccer team.

B
EN
: But Scott, c'mon. Leonard?

S
COTT
: What difference does it make if you're not interested?

B
EN
: A big difference. Loyalty matters to me. (
pause
) What'd Leonard say?

S
COTT
: He thought there were some interesting aspects to it.

B
EN
: What did he
say
?

S
COTT
: He said, ‘It's not a movie.'

B
EN
: There you have it.

Ben gives him a look as if to say ‘two producers can't be wrong
.'

B
EN
: Don't worry, Scott. I'm going to get
our
script made.

S
COTT
: Too bad about Jack, huh.

B
EN
: It's rare. Usually agents kill others not themselves.

S
COTT
: Out of the blue?

B
EN
: Hey, it happens.

S
COTT
: SUICIDE? It happens!

B
EN
: Stress. It builds up. I'll see you later.

Cut to:

INT. BEN'S BMW DRIVING DOWN SUNSET

Ben drives farther west until he enters a large circular driveway of ANOTHER HOUSE. This neighborhood is even more luxurious than the first. He honks. A very hot girl, Zoe, comes dashing out and gets in the car
.

Z
OE
: Hi.

B
EN
: Hey, baby.

He pecks her on the cheek
.

Z
OE
: I think Mom's in back if you want to say hi to her.

He thinks about it
.

B
EN
: Do I have to? Maybe, next time.

He's about to pull out of the driveway. He looks at her
.

B
EN
: What's with your eyes? They look red. Were you crying?

Z
OE
: Uh no. Just stuff.

B
EN
: Well, if it's boy stuff, you can always talk to me. I can tell you a few things. I know things your mother may not know.

Z
OE
: I'm sure.

B
EN
: No, seriously, you can ask me.

Z
OE
: I'm okay.

A beat
.

B
EN
: All right. Let me go talk to your mom.

EXT. MARILYN'S HOUSE/BACKYARD

He walks up the manicured stone pathway. Even though this relationship is two clicks back, it still seems to smart a bit. After all, they share a daughter and Ben's probably still on the hook for child support
.

B
EN
: Hi Marilyn.

M
ARILYN
: Hey, Ben.

B
EN
: What's with Zoe?

M
ARILYN
: Oh, girl stuff. I don't know.

B
EN
: Is she dating? Parties? She doesn't really tell me much. She keeps things pretty much to herself.

M
ARILYN
: I think she gets that from you. I think she tells us as much about what she does as you would tell me about what you do. Secrets seem to be the family hobby. I think it's in the DNA.

B
EN
: I suppose. (
he looks over the property
) Boy, this place has gone way up. I wish I still owned it.

M
ARILYN
: (
smiling
) Yeah. But you don't.

B
EN
: (
smiling back
) Yeah. I gotta go.

M
ARILYN
: Lookin' good, Ben.

B
EN
: You too.

Cut to:

INT./EXT. BEN'S BMW—MOMENTS LATER

Ben and Zoe drive south down Amalfi toward the school. Zoe has turned her music station on and her spirits have brightened
.

Z
OE
: You know not every seventeen-year-old girl gets driven to high school by their dad. I like it, makes me feel like a kid. (
pause
) I like to feel like a kid sometimes.

B
EN
: You
are
a kid and I'm a lucky guy. I still get to drive you to school.

EXT. PARKING LOT CROSSROADS UPPER SCHOOL

Z
OE
: So you think you'll pick me up and drop me off when I go to college.

B
EN
: You bet. If you'll let me.

Ben's BlackBerry lights up. Ben glances but tries to stay focused on his daughter
.

Text message in large caps, ‘JEREMY IS IN THE OFFICE! HELP!
'

Z
OE
: Let's just say it's negotiable.

B
EN
: I'm a good negotiator.

They smile at each other. Ben watches as Zoe gets out, meets up with her friends, and heads into school. As Ben drives away, he grabs his BlackBerry and pushes his speed dial
.

Cut to:

INT. BEN'S OFFICE

A VERY CLOSE SHOT OF A MAN'S SHAVED HEAD
.

SUPER
: 9
AM

His left ear holds four pierced earrings and on the side of his neck the word ‘chai' in large Hebrew lettering is tattooed in blue-black ink. He's wearing red lipstick. Don't be fooled by the extreme ‘get up,' this is a serious guy who considers himself a serious filmmaker. This is Jeremy Brunell, the English director who missed the preview from last night. Jeremy is on the couch dressed in black leather, a sleeveless, baggy T-shirt that
exposes wrist-to-armpit tattoos. Dawn sits at the other end of the couch taking notes
.

B
EN
: (
his voice is coming through the speaker phone, he's still in the car
) Jeremy, Would you please stop saying, ‘If they don't fuck up my cut, we may just have something we don't mind putting our names on.'

J
EREMY
: Mate, I don't wanna get too lofty here, but I made a film that doesn't wallow in the cliches of retribution. It doesn't try to satisfy by letting the audience ‘get even.' You knew I didn't do that stuff when I was hired.

Cut to:

INT./EXT. BEN'S CAR—SONY GATE

Weaving through traffic he arrives at the studio entrance
.

B
EN
: That's true. But let's just say when those that put up the
money
finally
see
the bad guys get away and the little pet dog get murdered, they get concerned.

J
EREMY
(
O.S
.): You said, Lou said, ‘it was a “
good
” movie.'

Cut to:

INT. BEN'S OFFICE

B
EN
(
O.S
.): She did. Three times.

J
EREMY
: Is that ‘concern' to you?

B
EN
(
O.S
.): A bit.

J
EREMY
: How's 'at?

EXT. SONY LOT

Ben closes his car door and marches toward his office
.

B
EN
: Jeremy, I don't know what
good
means in south London. But north of fucking Pico, at a preview
screening where Lou says ‘good' three times, it means drop your pants, bite down hard 'cause this one's gonna hurt.

INT. BEN'S OFFICE

J
EREMY
: Don't buy it mate. Were you watching the audience watch the movie?

B
EN
(
O.S
.): Of course I was.

J
EREMY
: What was their overall reaction?

B
EN
: Like they took their kids to Disneyland and watched Mickey Mouse douse himself with gasoline and set himself on fire.

A beat—Jeremy smiles
.

J
EREMY
: I'm okay with that. And anyway, we're two weeks away from the red carpet.

Ben is walking through the hallway leading to his office
.

B
EN
: The festival took the film because they want stars. They only saw a ten-minute reel. The studio could pull it from the festival with a phone call.

J
EREMY
: You're overheated, mate.

Ben emerges into the office with his BlackBerry still in his ear. For a moment his voice is coming from two different places. Without a beat he shakes Jeremy's hand, turns off his hand phone and sits behind his desk. He keeps the conversation moving as if all this was normal
.

B
EN
: I don't think so. We're going to have to accommodate Lou in some way. Throw her a bone. Do something … or the road could get a bit weird.

J
EREMY
: Are you saying you're not gonna protect my cut?

B
EN
: I'm your
partner
—of course, I'm gonna protect your cut.

Dawn stops taking notes from the meeting
.

D
AWN
: That's what Ben does.

B
EN
: Thank you. I just want you to understand the terrain we're about to cross. The preview was terrifying.

J
EREMY
: Stand united, and we'll prevail. Right?

B
EN
: All right. I'm here to support you.

J
EREMY
: Once I explain the raison d'etre of the thing to Lou, she'll listen.

Ben points to his own mouth
.

B
EN
: Before we go upstairs you might want to rethink the lips thing. Just a suggestion.

Cut to:

OMITTED

INT. EXECUTIVE BUILDING HALLWAY

Ben, Dawn, and Jeremy are making their way down a very long carpeted hallway, ostensibly on their way to a studio meeting. Jeremy's lipstick is still in place. Posters from movies made during the studio's long and glorious history line the walls
.

J
EREMY
: All I'm saying is … and I don't mean to flog it … is you should be proud, we went out on a limb with this one.

B
EN
: I am proud. Maybe too proud.

J
EREMY
: It's not just about the money.

B
EN
: We got the money but now we got to get the money back.

D
AWN
: Believe me, Jeremy—for Ben it's
never
really about the money. It's about pride. When he's
not
taking creative risks is when he gets nervous.

The three of them continue their long walk toward Lou's office in silence. They enter the building. Dawn signs them in
.

Cut to:

INT. LOU'S RECEPTION AREA—MORNING

Ben, Jeremy, and Dawn are seated on sumptuous couches behind a large glass coffee table
.

Other than that, the only other evidence that we are visiting a ‘movie mogul' office is a giant movie poster hanging behind Ben. The poster has no title, no star credits, no technical credits, just a GIANT BLOOD-STAINED REPTILIAN EYE BALL over a titanium black background with the words: DOMESTIC GROSS $410,000,000 strafed across the bottom. No other credits
.

There are two secretarial desks but only one is occupied
.

S
ECRETARY
: Ben, are you sure I can't bring you guys any water? She got snagged on this call. You know she hates to keep people waiting.

B
EN
: We're fine, Judy. Thank you.

She gets up and walks to Lou's door
.

S
ECRETARY
: Let me see how long she'll be.

She opens the door, leans her head in. We can only hear some muffled conversation. She quickly pulls her head back out and grabs a key
.

S
ECRETARY
: This could take a bit. I've got to run to the lady's room. I'll be right back.

Jeremy leans in to Ben
.

J
EREMY
: Couldn't be happier to get my day in court. I think it's better to do these things face-to-face. Don't you?

B
EN
: There's a strategy to all of these meetings, pal.

You have to decide what you want out of this before we go in there.

ACCIDENTALLY, THE DOOR TO LOU'S OFFICE SLOWLY SWINGS OPEN ABOUT SIX INCHES. Ben stops talking. They begin to make out Lou's phone conversation as glimpses of Lou can be seen as she walks back and forth in front of the door
.

L
OU
: I always listen … and when
we
talk, Joe, I want you to know I listen carefully. (
pause
) That's correct. It's not about being considerate. It's about doing the right thing. It's about caring for the people who work for you.

Jeremy smiles at Ben. He's impressed. Ben notices Jeremy beginning to stare at the ‘Reptilian Eye Ball' poster
.

L
OU
: We have gone over this now several times and in several ways. And I want to help, I do, but … I'm afraid
and I say this with great respect … I'm going to have to say, ‘no.' (
pause
) ‘No.' That's right. I know … what? Joe, that's not necessary.
That
is not necessary. I said … I said …

Jeremy stops smiling. They can see Lou pacing more rapidly. For the first time Lou changes her tone, loses patience. Jeremy looks back at the poster
.

B
EN
: (
acknowledging the poster with a bit of irony
) In the end, no director, no stars, not even a title. Just a number. A
big
number.

Jeremy looks back at the door where Lou is still talking
.

L
OU
: Joe, do not … DO NOT … I said do not make me have to reach down your fucking throat and RIP OUT YOUR FUCKING TESTICLES AND SHOVE THEM UP YOUR USELESS RECT …