(film reel clicking)
Downloaded from YTS.MX
Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX
(typing)
- The night was cold and dark.
Hmm.
Mm.
The night was dark and windy.
Cut to a single of...
Jamie?
Jordan?
Jimmy.
No.
Jason?
Ah...
John.
That's it, John.
We see the look of desperation and longing on John's face
as he thinks about
Sarah, wondering where she is.
(crickets chirping)
He goes to the window and breathes in the night air,
hoping to clear his head.
It doesn't help.
(dramatic music)
He knew there was another world, a greater one.
One with girls.
He just needed one thing,
the keys to his father's car,
which were surprisingly easy to acquire.
He drives all night, scanning the empty streets
that extend in every direction.
Searching for something, anything,
that would take him out of himself.
Waiting for the world to open up and invite him in.
Until finally...
It did.
He crosses the threshold now.
Going back is no longer an option.
He tries to play it cool.
(steps on can)
Which would of course be a challenge.
Despite the party and the music and the beer,
nothing could stop him from thinking about her.
And then, when he least expected it,
and then he...
What, then he what?
(upbeat music)
♪ Let's go to the movies ♪
♪ Pretend like we're moving ♪
♪ Up on the screen, yeah, look at us now ♪
♪ Let's skip to the ending ♪
♪ I won't make you ask me how ♪
♪ My day went ♪
(crickets chirping)
(hose running water)
(skateboard wheels rolling)
(wind blowing)
(whirring)
(psychedelic music)
(chatting)
♪ Please don't leave ♪
♪ I'm just a boy ♪
♪ Who can say that you want me ♪
♪ I can say that you want me ♪
♪ So please be mean ♪
- Nice place.
♪ I love you in ♪
♪ Dreams I don't leave ♪
♪ When I sleep but I won't eat ♪
Do you wanna do some coke?
- Yeah, of course.
(loud upbeat music)
- Why am I not surprised?
- Oh, fuck.
I'm sorry, it's-- - It's fine, it's fine.
- Whatever.
(sighs)
- You're supposed to be in Poughkeepsie.
God, you look like shit.
(upbeat music)
- Did you really have to add that last part in?
- What happened to a finished script in six weeks?
- I'm still finding the story.
- You're supposed to do that before you raise the budget.
I have thirty four thousand dollars,
of other people's money in my bank account.
- Nora, you gotta relax.
I'm close.
- Are you? - I'm really close.
- Then why didn't you make contact?
- 'Cause I got a beer bottle thrown at me.
(sniffing)
- Well, it looks like everything is a go, then.
You know, it's really hard to make a movie
when you don't have any actors or crew,
or anything, really. (sighs)
- Maybe it's about me doing it.
Maybe it's interesting.
- No, it's not.
- We did it before.
- One week.
You have one week to get your shit together, or I walk.
- Think you need to do a little bit of this. (giggles)
- A little bit?
(chatting)
(bell tinkles)
- Heyo, heyo!
Come on, big guy.
(giggling)
Damn.
- A little extra virgin olive oil on the right over here,
it'll grind like a beast.
I swear to god, it enhances it like crazy.
- That's the stupidest shit I've ever heard.
- Virgin olive oil, you can get it anywhere.
- You're a fucking idiot. - Try it.
- I'm not gonna put olive oil on my fucking board
- Why don't you try it first and then tell me?
- Hey!
Yeah, yeah, green shirt!
Come here.
- I actually think I'm all set.
Thanks anyway, guys.
- You board?
- Um...
Yeah, a little bit, from time to time.
Just kinda skate around and uh, cruise.
- Looks like a sick board, come here.
Come here for a second.
- Stop, stop, stop, stop
- Fucking Christ. (shushing)
- Hey, hey, you want some?
- What is it?
- I don't know, my stepdad made it, come here.
It's all good.
- We don't bite. - Yeah.
- He made it?
- Shit yeah, just can't buy this shit at the store.
This bottle's 150 proof.
- Is that a lot?
(laughing)
- God, just looking.
- Ah, it's not that much.
- You can find out. - Yeah.
- It's good.
- All right. - It's like water.
- Go for it.
- Take a sip. - Okay.
- Yeah.
Word.
- You got it, you got it.
- Yeah, you got this, man.
- Yeah, mm. - Yeah.
- You got it, you got it? - Smooth.
- Come on. - Down the hatch.
Yeah, that's it. (coughing)
Yeah, actually,you hold onto that.
- It burns.
- No, no, no. - Yeah, it should.
- Just keep it down. - It's a good burn.
- Yeah.
- All right, I gotta go home.
- Where you gotta be right now?
- Home.
- Why?
- Because I, um...
- Why don't you take another sip?
- Yeah, take another sip.
It's gonna be smoother than the first one.
- Yeah, it's like easier.
- That's always how it is.
Smoother, you know? - Yeah, it's better.
It goes down better. - You know what to expect.
- All right. - Yeah, yeah,
There it is, you got it.
- There you go, there you go, ooh.
- I know that face. (coughing)
It's a good burn. (chuckles)
Know what's best? Take another, take another right now.
- What? - Take another,
Take another shot.
- I just did two.
- No, no, no, this is how it works.
It's either shot or trick, bro.
- Shot or trick.
- I don't know what any of that means.
- Either do a trick or you take a shot,
and if you do the trick and you mess the trick up,
then you have to take the shot.
-Uh...
All right.
- Trick?
- Yeah. - All right.
- See what you got. - What you got?
- Magic. - Let's see it, monster truck.
- With a tonka wheel. (chuckling)
- All right, good start, good start.
Okay, ooh.
- There it is.
(groaning)
- Hey, I'm sorry, you know what that means, though, right?
- That's another shot.
- No, guys, I can't.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Come on. - I think I'm,
I think I'm gonna throw up now.
- Oh, no. - No, no, no, no, no.
Come on, just a tiny sip, all right?
Head back, head back, head back, okay, head back.
(groaning) Just a tiny sip.
(laughing)
How's that, how's that? (coughing)
- Delicious. - How is it, huh?
- Delicious.
- You got it, can you stand up?
Can you stand up?
- What you got there, man? - What is that?
What is it?
- Interior. A desolate pizza shop on a Friday night.
- Ooh. - Hey, man.
- What the fuck is it?
- Hey, hey, hey, ease up. - Is it about us?
- No. - Read it.
- Three rough-looking kids walk into the quiet shop
where John and Sarah are trying to eat.
Who the fuck is John and Sarah?
(giggling)
- Who the fuck is John and Sarah?
- These kids are drunk, idiotic.
- He was talking about you. - No, no, fuck outta here.
All right, and screaming about beer and garlic knots.
- Screaming? - You talking about us?
- Are you fucking serious with this shit?
- You serious, man?
(footsteps running)
- Seriously, what the fuck is this shit?
- John and Sarah are trying to eat,
these kids are drunk, that was you.
- No, no. - Idiotic, that was you, yeah.
- You fucking moron. - What is this shit?
(melancholy music)
- Hey, get in man.
What kinda shit you take tonight?
- Bottle.
- Bottle?
Bottle of what, rum, vodka, nitrous, what?
- Just bottle.
- You do that a lot?
- No.
- Really?
First time?
- I guess so.
- Let me ask you a question.
Do two adults live in your house
who are in fact your parents?
- Yes.
- Well you can't go back there.
- Why?
What's going on?
- Listen, right now, you're fucked up.
You know what, that's okay.
We as human beings should be given
multiple forms of reality, like as options.
Alcohol is just one of those options.
There are many others.
Anyway, I've been through this.
And you know what I learned?
None of us know what we're doing.
We don't.
Especially you, you definitely don't know what you're doing.
So like, if you want me to drop you off
back at your parents' house, that's cool.
But know this.
If you try to like, sneak back in drunk,
you will fuck it up
without a doubt.
- What do I do?
- I got a place you can crash for the night.
(birds chirping)
(huffs)
(birds chirping)
(door opens)
(door closes)
Morning.
(refrigerator)
You want some water?
- I have the same shirt.
- Oh yeah?
- Why do you have one?
Are you -- Are you, a fan too?
- I made that.
- You made the shirt?
- No, I made the film.
- What do you mean?
- That film, it's mine.
Like it's my film.
- You're J.P. Smith.
- Yep.
Wanna get some food?
- Yeah.
(chatting)
- Your parents go away a lot?
-Uh...
Yeah.
But I mean um, it's not like I have a curfew or anything
when they are around.
And I actually think they would prefer if I did more stuff.
Like um, go outside or whatever.
But yeah, they're not really around that much.
- That's interesting.
- Why is that interesting?
Okay, how long did it take you to write "Myth"?
- Listen, if you wanna hang out, follow me around,
there's something you gotta understand.
- Mm-hm?
- I can't talk to you about "Myth".
I'm not gonna answer any questions.
I'm not gonna explain myself or the ending.
I'm not gonna tell you any secrets or any anecdotes
about something funny that happened on set one day.
I'm not gonna tell you where I got my ideas
or who inspired me.
Nothing.
Also you can't talk about me to anyone.
That means none of your friends know who I am,
and if you think they might know me,
it's your job to convince them I'm someone else.
- That's okay.
I don't have any friends.
- Good.
Yeah.
(upbeat music)
♪ Sunday would you meet me at the mall ♪
♪ We're dancing, take a picture, show it off ♪
♪ But I don't have to love ♪
♪ Anyone at all ♪
♪ I'll just stay inside ♪
♪ 'Cause I don't really care ♪
♪ This time ♪
(chatting)
- All right, what are you looking for?
- Sadness.
- Well, that's not gonna be hard to find.
Why, though?
- Everyone has a sad reality,
and that's what makes them compelling to watch.
- Real people, you mean?
Not like actors?
- Something like that.
- Is this for a new movie?
(knocking) What?
Okay, why here, though?
This place, this place kinda sucks.
- That's exactly why.
(music plays again)
What, what are you looking at?
Oh, nevermind.
(loud chatting)
I got you.
Hey.
Isn't that the girl you were checking out before?
- No, I don't think so.
- Yeah, I think it was.
- Hey.
Why, why you walking so fast?
(gasping)
Okay, whoa, whoa, hey.
I, I don't think this is a good idea, man.
- You don't even know what the idea is yet.
- I think I have a clue. - You drive.
- What?
But I don't actually drive, I sorta stole my dad's car
at that party, you know? - I know,
but girls like guys who drive.
You went to high school, didn't you?
Shut the trunk.
- Do they really?
- Shut the trunk.
- Okay.
- All right, you're doing good, remember 10-2 on the wheel.
And you might wanna turn your headlights on.
Actually, you know what, keep them off.
- You sure?
- Definitely.
(sighs)
- This is a really-- It's a weird night.
(energetic music)
- Damn it.
- What, what is it?
- It's too dark, not gonna be able to establish this.
We're just gonna have to go straight in there.
- What, no.
No, no way, are you kidding?
No.
- Alex, this is the movie.
It starts right now.
You and your friends, with us going in there.
- Wait, you want me to be in your movie?
- Yeah, I do.
- Dude, I don't know anyone in there.
They're not my friends.
- Make some friends.
- All right.
(dance music) -What?
(door closes)
J.P., J.P!
(upbeat music)
(chatting)
♪ I was in a coffin in Houston ♪
♪ I was in a coffin in pain ♪
♪ Since you can't get enough out of my head ♪
♪ I was in a coffin in Houston ♪
♪ You are dead ♪
(chatter)
♪I could be loving you I could be loving you ♪
- Hey.
What's with the camera?
- Oh, we're making a movie, I'm the director.
- Can I be in it?
- Fuck yeah.
- Yo, what's up, this is Donnie.
We're here-- - No.
Just talk to your friend like normal,
don't look into the camera.
Everybody just do what you would normally do,
just don't look into the lens.
Try to talk over each other, like talk at the same time.
I love you texting, that's great.
(chatting)
(upbeat music)
♪ Shelly wants her money ♪
♪ At the party downtown ♪
(camera click)
- Didn't I see you at the mall before?
- Yeah.
That's uh, that's really weird.
- Yeah, are you stalking me?
- No. (chuckles)
No, definitely not.
- Okay.
What uh, what are you guys filming?
- Um...
It's uh, it's complicated.
- Why is it complicated?
- I don't know.
- Right.
-Rube...
- Oh, hey, do you guys like, wanna smoke some pot?
- So...
- Alex. - Alex.
- Yeah.
- How come I've never seen you at parties before?
-Uh...
I'm, I don't know, kinda new to the whole party thing.
- How old are you?
- Nineteen.
- Okay.
Well how's it going?
How's it going so far?
- What, being nineteen?
- No.
How's the party?
- Uh, it's going okay.
It's fun.
Just like hanging out with people and drinking and stuff.
It's pretty cool.
- He's cute.
- So how long have you been taking pictures?
- I don't know, for a while.
I also, I draw,
and I paint,
and write, and DJ, and act.
I just like to create things, you know?
- Yeah.
Yeah, totally.
Cool.
(flicking lighter)
- (giggles) Here.
(coughs)
- Thanks.
What do I do once I smoke?
- (laughs) I don't know, just go inside and chill.
- Yeah, man, just chill.
- Okay, yeah.
Just chill.
- It's not going to work, Jonathan.
- Yes it will, it already is.
- Have you even gotten any releases signed?
- Nora, we talked about this.
I told you I can't do releases yet,
it'll ruin the whole film.
- What film?
All you have is a bunch of bullshit, random scenes.
You realize that you can't edit any of this,
right? - I will
once I get more footage in the can.
- Yeah, right, okay. - Until then,
look at me, no releases.
(clattering)
(flicks lighter)
Can't do that in here, gotta go out on the porch.
- Really?
- It's not my rules, I'm just renting the place.
- Oh fuck. (clattering)
(sighs) What about the kid?
- Who, Alex, what about him?
- Mm-hm, what does he know?
Oh god, really?
Really, Jonathan?
You have to tell him.
- I can't do that.
Nora, if I could, I would get rid of every camera,
every light, so that nobody knew anything.
But this isn't a play.
Obviously that's not gonna work.
See, not knowing what the movie is
is the movie.
- Jonathan, you can't manipulate people
into doing what you want them to do.
- That's what directing is.
(sighs)
- Good morning.
Nora Walker, nice to meet you.
- Alex.
- Why don't you have a seat?
- Are you sure?
- Yes.
Did you have fun last night?
- Yeah, it was fun.
- You want a bagel?
- Yeah, okay.
Thanks. - Did you like that girl
that you met?
- Sure, yeah, she seemed nice.
- Would you like to see her again?
- J.P.
What's going on?
- We need you to hang out with her again.
For the film.
(beeping)
- Ruby?
- Hey.
- What you up to?
- Um...
Just chilling.
What are you up to?
- Nothing, just hanging.
I wanted to go out tonight, but I don't have a car.
- Ah, I don't, either.
- Oh, really?
- No, no. - Oh, I thought you did.
- Oh, my cousin does, my cousin has a car.
- Oh.
That weird one who was at the party with you last night?
- Yeah.
- Um cool, okay.
- Cool. Um...
Hey, would it be okay
if he filmed us?
Like while we're hanging out?
- That's kinda weird.
- Um...
But I guess if you can pick me up, it's fine.
- Awesome, awesome.
Uh...
We promise we won't do anything weird to you.
- That's--
- Okay, cool, bye. - Okay.
(upbeat music)
(chatting)
- Mm, have um,
have you seen the one where the guy
tries to blow himself up with dynamite?
- Yeah, that's an old one.
A lot of those videos ended up being fake, though.
- Really? - Mm-hm.
- Oh, too bad.
- Have, have you um, have you ever seen the one with the guy
who parachutes into the ocean,
then a shark pops up and eats him?
- Oh yeah, yeah.
- That really sucked for that dude.
- Good for the shark, though.
(laughing)
(upbeat music)
♪ They just don't matter now ♪
♪ Other girls, they aren't as pretty ♪
♪ They just don't matter now ♪
- Can't do that.
- What, why?
- 'Cause I can't afford to pay for the licensing.
Oh wait, here, though.
You can listen to this CD of royalty-free music
I got from a friend of mine.
(thumping bass music)
Yeah, you might have to skip around a bit.
- I feel like I'm in one of those drug commercials
where they're like, this is what it feels like
to be on weed. (chuckles)
- That's really good.
You should be on, like TV.
(sirens wailing)
- Cut.
Stay here, I'll see what's going on.
- Should we follow him?
- No.
- All right, we need to get out of here now.
- You're still filming?
- What am I supposed to do? I'm not gonna waste it.
Let's get a move on, though,
'cause there's a cop right over there.
- What, are you serious right now?
- I'm very serious, so this is what I want.
A nice long tracking shot
of you two going through the woods, okay?
I'll follow behind.
Stay low, don't get too far ahead of me.
Ready?
- No. -Ready?
And action.
Go, go!
(running through brush)
- Okay.
We both know that you two are smoking reefer.
You look like it, you smell like it.
You act like it.
I don't need a toxicology report to figure that one out.
So this is what I'm gonna ask.
You two do four hours of community service.
You can report right back to me, and there'll be no need
to put this on your permanent record, right?
- No, sir. - No.
- Okay, great.
There's a group that meets on Saturday mornings
right down Colden Hill Road across from Jimmy's Pizza.
8 a.m. sharp, make a left on 9W coming from Cretskill
and you're right there.
We'll give you gloves, some garbage bags,
and you and about five other people
are gonna pick trash off the side of the road.
I and Officer Burke will be there the entire time.
If you do not attend, or if you're one minute late,
strike on your permanent record.
Deal?
- Yeah.
- Deal?
- Yeah.
- Good.
(dog barking)
(cars driving by)
(bottles clanking)
- See, not so bad.
Hey, this one might've been yours.
- I don't litter.
- Look, are you mad at me?
- No, Alex, I love spending my Saturdays picking up trash.
(sighs)
- So what, you think this is my fault?
- No, I think it's your freaky cousin
who's been following you around with a camera's fault.
Does that camera even work? It's like a billion years old.
(whistling)
- Psst, Alex.
- You've gotta be kidding me.
- One sec.
- Dude, hurry up.
- Hey, J.P., I don't think this is a good time.
- What do you mean? It's fine, I've been here for hours.
- Okay, that is also a concern,
but um Ruby's like really upset right now.
- Really?
That's great, let's use that.
- No, I don't think you understand, she's like--
- Hey!
You're a fucking asshole.
I had to forge my parents' signature
to come down here today.
Do you have any idea how much trouble I'll be in
if they find out?
Nobody's parents are going to find out.
- You're filming everything.
- Look, nobody ever gets mad when something works.
When this film is complete and it's edited and it's finished
and it becomes a huge festival hit,
you two both become famous and I get further recognized
as a respected filmmaker, your parents aren't gonna care
that you smoked some pot in the woods.
Actually, one could make the argument
that the only way out of this is to let me keep filming you
so we get the whole story
and not just a bunch of random scenes
of you two flirting and getting high.
- Whatever.
- I'll take that as a yes.
(feet crunching leaves)
(twigs snapping)
- Hey.
Sorry, could I bum one off of you?
- It's the last one,
but you can kill it if you don't mind sharing.
- I don't mind.
- What's this, some kinda reality TV sorta thing?
- Definitely not.
It's best just to ignore it.
- All right, well uh maybe we should just go over there.
- Yeah.
(melancholy music)
Anger issues?
- Hey. - Hey.
- Who's this?
- Oh, this is Josh, he's--
- He's in the movie now.
(gentle dance music)
- Pretty good?
- Mm-hm.
- It's interesting how okay you are with all this.
- Oh yeah.
Why is that so interesting?
- Guys, guys, please refrain from breaking the fourth wall.
- Got it, sorry about that.
- Oh, so you know what that means, huh?
- Yeah, anyone who's taken intro to acting
knows what breaking the fourth wall means.
- What?
- Josh is a theater major.
- And he spends his weekends picking up garbage.
That's pretty cool.
- It was a misunderstanding.
- Yeah.
I was throwing out beer bottles.
Instead of putting them in the dumpster,
I was throwing them in the road.
- How is that a misunderstanding?
- Okay, don't be jealous Alex, all right?
We can all hang out together.
(upbeat music)
♪ Our love ♪
♪ My fantasy ♪
♪ I was only feeling young ♪
-Hi.
- Hey.
- Just scooch over a little bit.
- Sure.
- Okay, more than that, scooch.
- Where are your parents?
- Out.
- Cool.
- You want some?
- Damn.
What was that?
- Grapefruit juice.
- Oh.
Strong. - Mm-hm.
(giggles)
So what'd you wanna talk about?
- Um...
I don't know.
- Well you asked me to hang out, so...
- Yeah, I did.
- Or did you not wanna talk or something?
(door creaking open)
(opens case)
(tv static)
(rattling)
(ominous music)
- Tell me where to find it.
- You won't find it here.
- Tell me where to find it.
- Look up at the sky.
- What does that mean?
- Drifting towards the sun.
- Look up.
At the sky.
(ominous drum music)
- What the fuck?
What the fuck?!
- Do something with your hair, like you're not sure
if it looks perfect or what, I don't know.
There it is.
Oh yeah.
You don't give a fuck about nothing, do you?
Can you do a French inhale?
Try it out.
No, don't talk to me.
There it is.
Glorious.
Now Ruby, frame up on him.
But then the beauty
that you're seeing in the viewfinder
is so astounding that you have to check for real
to make sure you're actually seeing it,
and it's not just some phantasm of shadow and light.
Now maybe you wanna sit on that hood next to him,
but you're not sure if, not sure if that's the right move.
No, just do what you feel.
(fly buzzing)
Nice, guys.
- Wait, I think I've heard of this place.
Didn't someone get murdered here?
- Yeah.
- Rad.
Always wanted to come here.
(camera click)
Oh my god.
It's even better than I thought.
(flipping lights on)
(glass shattering)
I just know I heard something
and you're not taking me seriously, and I don't think--
- Is everything okay?
- Yeah, I think I heard something
and he's not taking me seriously.
- This place is old as fuck,
but it's so rad. - Josh.
I think I heard something, okay?
- What?
- I don't know.
- It's old, there's probably rats in here, dude.
- Doesn't matter, I know what I heard
- It's not a big deal.
Okay? (sighs)
What are you afraid of?
Come on, seriously?
- Josh. - What?
What? - Josh.
- You wanna know why all come here?
Why they all come to the old steel mill?
They take pictures with their little computers,
as if it all means nothing.
They don't know the importance.
They don't understand the mystery.
The mystery!
Billy Johnson was murdered here in cold blood,
and only I know who did it.
I've seen the blood.
I know where the body lies.
For a hundred dollars...
I could tell you.
For two hundred...
I'll show you.
(chuckles)
(laughs)
I'll show you!
Come on!
He's back here.
Come on, come.
(maniacal laughter)
- All right, guys, I think that's enough filming for today.
How about dinner?
- God, let it not be pizza again.
- I think I'm gonna walk back by myself, actually.
- I mean, no.
You ride with us, I'll give you a ride.
- No, it's okay.
- You gonna walk home alone in the dark?
- I'll see you guys later.
- Alex.
(ominous music)
(chatting)
- Pretty nice place, huh?
(coughs)
I like it.
My house is right around the block.
The food here is really good.
Maybe a little pricey for someone who lives
in an abandoned mill in the middle of the woods.
(laughs)
- Listen, I don't want any trouble, man.
- No trouble
Just tell me who sent you.
- Listen, I'm-- I'm just an actor, dude.
I got paid three hundred dollars to drive up here from Mohonk
and hang around the old abandoned uh...
- Place. - Mill.
- Yeah, mill.
- I have kids to feed, you understand?
- Was it a man who hired you?
- No, it was um...
it was a lady. Uh...
Nora, that was her name, Nora.
- What, what about that monologue?
- What?
- The monologue.
All that shit you said about Billy Johnson getting murdered.
Did you just make it up?
(phone rings) - No.
I read it in the script, man.
- There's a script?
- Yeah.
I got it right here.
I didn't really get it. I mean
it sounded more like an improv thing.
But me and a couple other people had some dialogue, so
I missed a few lines.
I figured it was more important
to get the essence of the character.
Hey, we good or what?
(ominous drum music)
(gentle guitar music)
- Beautiful.
This is really nice, guys.
Nice.
Ruby, shift your body a little closer to him.
Just catch it.
That's it.
Not too happy, though.
Keep a sense of melancholy.
Cut.
- What?
- We need Alex.
(wind blowing)
Hey, bud.
We need you for the next scene.
Wanna come inside?
- We met once, a few years ago.
- Really?
- In Brooklyn.
You were doing some retro screening and a Q&A.
- Right, okay.
- I didn't know who you were,
and I definitely didn't know anything about "Myth".
I just picked it because the poster looked cool.
I'd never seen anything like that before.
Do you remember?
- No.
Come on, man, Ruby's waiting for you.
- What are we doing tomorrow?
- What?
- Well this is the last weekend of filming, right?
I figured we'd work all the way through.
- Right, tomorrow uh...
Tomorrow's an off day.
Then Sunday we just got some little pickup stuff
back at the mall.
Just you walking around, nothing big.
- Sounds great.
- All right.
(beeping)
- You're starting to feel bad about this, aren't you?
- Know me pretty good, huh?
- Yes I do.
- You know, at the top of this,
I really thought he'd be fine.
I thought no matter what I do,
there was no way I could really hurt him.
I don't know.
Maybe I went too far.
- No.
You have to go far.
You have to go further than any director is willing to go
to make this work.
- Yeah.
- Just one more night, one more day,
and this is all over.
Did he take the bait?
- Oh yeah.
I talked to Dan yesterday.
He gave him the script.
- It wasn't obvious?
- Well, it was a little unexpected when Alex decided
to walk home by himself, but I got Dan on the phone.
Followed him in his pickup, then he got ahead of him.
Hopped into Vinny's and got a seat right by the window.
- Whew
Good.
That was lucky. - Damn right.
We start paying overages for every day he's out here,
plus fucking 15, fucking agents.
(chuckling)
- Well let's just hope we get lucky again, right?
(foreboding music)
(door creaking)
- Hello?
Ruby?
- Whatcha doing in my house?
- Ruby.
I know what's going on.
- You do?
- He's upstairs right now, isn't he?
- Look, your cousin is an amazing filmmaker.
I mean, I know at first I thought he was a total weirdo
with a camera just messing around,
but honestly, I really see his vision now, and...
- He's not my cousin.
- What?
- He's J.P. Smith.
- What?
- J.P. Smith.
Okay, he's a filmmaker from New York City.
He's been using us because he knows that I like you,
and he wants you to be with Josh
in order to make me jealous,
and just to complete our narrative arcs,
and Josh is just another pawn in all this, too.
Who knows if he's even real or not?
The cops who busted us, the guy at the mill,
the kids who were picking up trash,
they're all actors, it's all fake.
- That can't be true.
- Come on, don't play dumb.
I know you know all this already.
- Excuse me?
- Come on, tell me you haven't already read the script.
- What script?
- Okay, very good, excellent job.
- No, Alex, I really don't know what you're talking about.
- The script!
The one with you and Josh
together on almost every page.
the one he's trying to cut me out of.
- Okay, I know we lied to you about some things,
but like that's how it works.
You apparently lied to me
about J.P. being your cousin, right?
You knew you saw me at the mall,
you followed me the whole time.
I mean we all lied to each other about some things,
but that doesn't matter anymore.
What matters is that we finish this whole thing,
and I mean, no matter what happens tonight.
(foreboding music)
- No matter what happens?
- Yeah.
Just come upstairs with me, okay?
Come on, there's something to show you, all right?
Alex is here.
- Yeah, I can see that.
- So this is where it takes place.
- This is my studio, Alex, it's where I do my work.
- Your work.
- Yeah, Josh and I were in the middle of something.
- Oh, am I interrupting?
- Yeah, actually you were.
- Josh.
- No, it's okay.
What was I interrupting?
- Alex, don't make this any more difficult
than it needs to be.
- What scene were you doing?
- Scene?
- Nevermind.
I think I know the one.
Hm.
Interior. Ruby's Bedroom.
Night. Ruby and Josh hang out on her floor talking.
Josh gets up and walks across the room,
having a seat on a stool over by the backdrop.
He asks Ruby if she'll take his picture.
Ruby smiles.
The scene plays out slowly, intimately,
as a connection builds between the two of them.
Something like that?
- Alex.
(shutter clicks)
Alex.
Could you not?
- It's empty.
- Just stay here.
- All right, we're not there yet.
They showed you how to hold this thing, right?
It's not this, this doesn't do anything for you.
It's this right here.
That winds it, and then that's,
so it's more, it's not quite ergonomic,
but it's something. (camera click)
Right, so business as usual, this kind of thing.
We'll wait for a din,
wait for the herd to thin out a little bit.
So you walk in, or you don't walk in, he walks in.
First time you see him, you don't say anything to him,
you just take a picture.
So now I'm doing it, right, I'm not quite, right?
(camera click)
And this beautiful girl talks a picture of me.
What am I gonna think, right?
But again, we don't wanna lean too heavy on it.
-Jonathan, can you move in a little bit closer to her,
be a little bit more touchy with her?
- Yeah, I don't want her to spend this on me,
I want her to keep it, you know?
When she sees this kid, it's gonna make sense,
in terms of the differing kind of levels here
that we're working with, right?
- Yeah, I got that, yeah.
-Well let's develop this relationship, yeah?
-So we're not quite...
Yeah, I know that, but it's, yeah.
Let, it's ultimately gonna be incumbent on her
to make him believe it, because I have to act
as if I know nothing about, you know,
it's just sort of like, oh, I see what you're after.
So let's say now I have this bowl, right?
And I don't know what the fuck to do with it,
so I'm fumbling around, trying to get it lit.
So how do you do it, right, so how do you do it?
So you light my fire, right, exactly.
So show me you're gonna do that.
Just mime this part of it, right?
Uh, what do I...
- I guess your hand's up here
just like this. - Right.
- So that little bit of touch, right?
- A little more. Yeah, but...
More sort of, that's it, yeah, yeah.
And get your, but a little, too.
It's your face, it's your lips, and that's what's,
right, right. - Yeah, yeah, cool.
- So that's it, yeah, that little, that's it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
All right, where are we now?
Okay, now we're in the woods.
So where's my heart throb? Here he is.
Come in here.
- So like, where you want me?
- Right, so it's gonna be loose marks, more or less.
So I'll worry about getting you in the shot, right?
But I don't want you to be a bully, I just want--
- Right, yeah, Josh is not like a uh...
- I'm just charmed-- - No, he's just a nice guy
who's like a little bit better looking and a little bit cooler
and a little older, and he's in college or whatever.
It's the classic struggle here that--
- So he's not like a douchebag, but yeah.
- Right, so okay, right.
- Charm me. - And so then eventually,
whatever you young rapscallions use as derogations,
soft, though, you know what I mean?
Not, don't lean too hard into it.
And then eventually, Ruby is gonna start to defend him,
but not in a way that negates the sparks
that are flying. - Defend this kid, Alex?
- Yes, yeah. - Why?
- Because you like him.
-Right.
(static hissing)
- Well you're the one who asked me to hang out, so.
- Yeah, I did.
- Did you not wanna talk or something?
I can see you probably have a lot of questions.
You were chosen, Alex.
- For what?
- Remember that tee-shirt you bought a few years back?
The one that says "Myth" on it?
Never seen anybody else wear it, have you?
That's because there were only twenty seven of them sold.
When we first started this project,
we didn't realize what we had.
Names of fans, addresses, phone numbers,
and we built a profile.
That's how we got to know you, Alex.
You were following us
and we were following you.
- You need anything else?
- The film will speak for itself, Alex.
- Alex, Alex, just wait.
- What, what is it?
More bullshit? - No.
- You got another monologue
you'd like to do for me?
- My real name is Stephanie, okay?
And I'm twenty four,
and I studied acting in college.
I have a sublet in Brooklyn and I work part time
at a diner in Chelsea, and I have a cat named Phoebe, okay?
That's...that's me.
And I think you're a really great kid, Alex, I do.
You're like really, really nice.
It's weird, because not many people are,
and that's what made me realize how messed up this was,
but J.P. just...
I should've stopped it sooner.
That's real.
That wasn't from his stupid script.
- I really liked you.
- No, you liked Ruby.
And I guess who wouldn't, right?
She's like confident and charming and cool,
and J.P. completely made her up.
I'm not her.
She's not real.
Find someone who is.
(sniffs)
(birds chirping) (cars honking)
(chatting)
- Would you like any coffee or water?
- No, I'm fine.
- Thanks, Nicki.
Take a seat, Alex.
How's school going?
-Um...
Good, yeah, it's good.
Just finished my first semester.
Had to write a screenplay for class.
- Oh yeah?
How'd it come out, you happy with it?
- Yeah.
But I'll probably hate it
the next time I read it or whatever.
- You gonna make it?
- With what?
I don't have any money or anything.
- Would you like some?
We have a cut assembled.
It's not done, still needs a lot of sound, some color work,
but we've shown it around
and there's a lot of interest out there right now.
Even some of the smaller studios are asking about it.
They're not throwing a whole lot of money at us just yet,
but we might be able to go straight
into a limited theatrical release this summer.
We've been talking about
maybe doing a road show before that.
And then streaming, video on demand, Blu-ray.
It's all there.
Now look it.
You didn't sign anything.
So technically you're not really entitled to anything.
I wanna do the right thing here, Alex.
I wanna do right by you.
So if you sign on, I'll give you significant help
in getting your movie made.
Financing, contacts, resources,
anything I can do to help.
You'd be a multi-hyphenate
if you sign on.
- I'm sorry, sign on to what?
- We never got your photo release.
So unless you sign this,
I don't have a film.
I know I lied to you.
You know I did.
But I did it for this.
I did it for the work, and the work is what it's all about.
And I can't say I'm sorry.
'Cause I'm not.
What do you say?
(upbeat music)
(credits theme music)
(end of theme)