Original subtitles

Name.

Stallone Mike Stallone

Age?

26.

Here for?

Thug number two.

Okay, Mike.

You ready?

Great, thanks.

I said I was going to take care of it.

And I'm good, okay?

So don't get any ideas.

Okay, great.

Can we try that again?

Yeah, sure.

Thanks.

I said I was going to take care of it.

And I'm good, okay?

So don't get any ideas.

Okay, hey, let's try this again.

Only this time I'm going to give you a line change.

Let's change it to, listen, you sad son of a bitch.

You said I was going to take care of you.

So don't get any ideas.

Right, right.

Thanks.

Listen, you sad son of a bitch.

I said I was going to take care of you.

So don't get any ideas.

Okay, thanks, Mike.

You can go.

I sing, the body electric, the armies of those

I love encourage me and I encourage them.

They will not let me off until I go with them.

Respond, respond to them.

And discorrupt, discorrupt them.

I sing, the body electric, the armies of those

I love encourage me and I encourage them.

They will not let me off until I go with them.

Respond.

It's Storm.

5-5-6-1-2-1-4.

An audition?

Yeah.

Hey.

Hey, you know, I got something at 2.

I got to slip away for a little bit.

No.

But this is important.

I'll be right back.

Finish your shift or you're fired.

But I'll come back fast and finish the work, all right?

I'll stay late if I have to.

Finish your shift or you're fired.

All right.

All right, then I guess you're just fired.

Sticks in your end, boy.

Let me slip away.

I want to slip away.

Freaking bum.

Thanks for coming, but we're cast.

They made an offer to a name.

Sorry.

You owe me $15, kid.

$7.50 for last night and $7.50 for tonight.

All right, well, what do you give me first?

Dad?

$10.

$10 got to be at least $25.

$10.

All right, how about these Buffalo Springfield apple?

$0.50. For each?

All right, take this for last night and give me $2.50 back.

Your call.

One ugly butt, you know that?

Okay, so.

Yeah, I'd take you home with me, but I don't got a home.

Oh, there you are.

Hey, buddy, come here.

Come here.

Hey, come here.

Mic still on?

Yeah.

All right, I'll be right back, okay?

Okay.

Hey, don't worry, I'll take care of him for you.

Okay, thanks.

Hey, doggie.

Hey, don't worry.

Hey, just stand in the middle.

You done an adult film before?

No.

Yeah, you probably with the nudity?

Uh, are we going to be, like, simulated?

Soft core, no action?

Oh, good, yeah, you know, that's fine.

Take off your clothes.

Take off your clothes.

And the pants, everything.

You're hired.

Oh, really?

You don't want me to do any lines, no acting?

No, we're good.

Come on, let's go.

Uh, Mike.

Hey.

Hey.

Might be doing more of these.

And there'd be more money in it, too, if you were up for a full performance.

Uh, yeah, I don't think so.

Thanks.

It's easy.

You take the ticket, you tear it, you put it in the box, then you let them in.

Hey, forget the floor show.

You start work tonight at 5.

And leave the money at home.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Hey, I just, uh, I just wanted to introduce myself, you

know, since we're going to be working together and all.

I'm Mike.

Yeah, I know.

The guy staring at my tits when he thinks I'm not looking.

Whoa, hey, no, no, you got me all wrong.

That never even occurred to me.

I've just been trying to read your name tag, I swear.

So why are you just looking when you think I'm not looking?

Well, because I don't want you to think I'm looking at your tits, right?

Look an inch to the left, then.

And it's here.

Oh, okay, yeah, absolutely.

Are you a photographer or something?

Well, I got somewhere to be.

If you got something to say, say it.

Uh, yeah, uh, well, see, there's all kinds of dangerous people out here.

You know, some kid got jumped, beat up bad in the hospital, say lost an eye.

It was rolling down the street or something.

So with that in mind, I was thinking maybe you could walk me to supper.

Keep me safe in case they would try to mug me or something.

Keep you safe?

Yeah.

How am I going to do that?

Well, I don't know.

You know, you could slow them down and run away,

you know, grab on to an ankle or something.

And all in a bit.

I could just let them have you.

Oh, you'd do that to me?

Just hang me out to dry like that?

Better you than me.

Oh, now I'm hurting, see, I'm wounded.

You seem like you can handle yourself.

Nice lines, by the way.

Hey, making lines ain't so easy, you know.

It takes a lot of hard work.

You got to be creative.

See, for a kisser like mine, you got to watch out.

You know, people look at her, oh, she's a pretty face.

See, when I was born, they pulled me out with forceps, but they did it wrong.

Like the doctor playing too hard or something.

The nerve here.

Sensitive.

Paralyzed.

Can't move this part of my face.

And sometimes I talk a lot.

Interesting.

Is that true?

What, you don't believe me?

You got to get closer.

I want to see.

Got to get right up here.

I'll see.

How come you're not in there?

I've seen it like five times already.

It's pretty good, huh?

Yeah, it's real good.

Except for the cheat part.

What cheat part?

You notice?

The whole movie, the guy's saying he'd kill us.

And at the end, he suddenly says it like he'd kill us.

See, the intonation changed.

Wow, it was a little different, wasn't it?

Yeah, see, that's the cheat.

See, I like to listen to how people talk, you know, like you.

You say, uh, pop instead of soda, right?

I seen it instead of I saw it.

Right.

Um, what's your story?

Home.

I wanted to find something bigger than what I had at home.

So I moved here.

Why?

Because anything can happen here.

You don't believe that?

You do?

I'd like to.

Otherwise, what's the point?

See, I'd rather be an optimist and be wrong than a pessimist and be right.

Pretty good.

Cut it.

My teeth.

Wow.

Beautiful.

Look at that.

Stephen Powers.

Jill St. John.

They'd be jealous of you.

Absolutely gorgeous.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

So.

McCain.

You must be, uh, the girl.

The girl has a name.

Sasha.

Sasha.

Wow.

This is a beautiful woman, Sylvester.

Sylvester?

That's right.

His real name.

None of this Mike bullshit.

Yeah, well, you see, I had a lisp as a kid.

As a kid?

Yeah, so, you know, the name Sylvester Gardenzio

Stallone was like a cosmic joke, right?

Because the kids made fun of me, so I changed it to Mike.

I like Sylvester.

Oh, yeah?

I like it.

I do.

It's got a nice ring to it.

Sylvester Stallone.

It's like Peter Parker.

You know, I like this girl.

She's better than you deserve.

Don't screw it up.

Okay, this one.

My boy?

He gets thrown around in schools.

Mostly like 14 schools in 13 years.

That must be in the Guinness Book of Records.

Yeah, that's what I was going for.

Yeah, yeah, you going for that.

You know, they'd say to me, you know, your son, he's got mental problems.

There's something wrong with him.

I never said that.

And I'd have to defend him.

He doesn't have mental problems.

He's a freaking moron.

And I'd be there with a client in the middle of a haircut.

And I get the call.

And before they even say anything, I'm

thinking, oh, mom, what did this moron do now?

And I'm thinking, I'm just a hairdresser.

What did I do to deserve this?

And I'd have to go down and I'd say to him, you're the stupidest person.

What the hell is wrong with you?

Why are you the dumbest person in this city?

And I said, maybe I got it from you, right?

Because maybe I got your genes.

Well, this one, he doesn't learn.

No, I learned.

I learned to move fast.

Because this guy, one time he hit me so hard,

I woke up on the floor 15 minutes later.

I don't remember that.

I do.

I do.

Yes.

Maybe he got a backhand here and there.

But only when he deserved it.

I'm just saying, this one, it was always in trouble.

But now there's you.

That gives me hope.

Now it's your problem.

That man should be brought into a prison camp, not raising a kid.

I bet there are dictators nicer than him.

Mal who's winning probably better balls.

Yeah, come on, he's all right.

He's an asshole.

Nah, he's not.

It's more like a generational thing.

He was taught to sell you to it.

That's how you do it.

It's not really his fault.

It's everyone's.

I don't care.

I'm still an asshole.

Yeah, he kind of is.

My dad, he messed up a lot.

It's my life.

This is my life.

He's not the reason I'm not getting any parts.

I swear, all I ever see is this.

A thug or a cop.

But I got a brain.

A pretty good one.

So I swear, the only way I'm going to get to show people is I'm going to have to

write a script for myself or something because they're never going to give one to me.

Okay.

Yeah, so do that.

Do what?

Write a fricking script.

And give yourself the best part.

Yeah, I would if I was a writer.

Come on, anyone can be a writer.

All you got to do is write.

What's it going to cost?

Time?

You got time.

And what's it need?

Ideas.

Every day, you're telling me how to fix a movie.

Yeah, I know.

It's just, you know, it's not really how it's done.

You know, actors don't really throw in roles.

What about that guy?

What guy?

You know, that, um, that Citizen Kane guy.

Who, Orson Welles?

Yeah.

Yeah, man's a genius.

A prodigy.

It's not really the same thing.

So?

I bet he wasn't always a prodigy.

Well, I don't know his actual history, but yeah, I think he might have been.

If you don't believe in yourself, how are you

ever going to get anyone else to believe in you?

You got to take a leap of faith.

And I wouldn't call yourself Mike anymore.

I like Sylvester.

What?

Look, there's a lot of Mikes in the world.

There's only one Sylvester.

Sylvester Stallone.

I like it.

It's you.

Hold on.

Hey, hey, I really like this scene.

It's pretty good.

Thanks, I got to go.

I'm going to be late for work.

Before you leave, what's this word here?

Tempestuous.

Tempestuous?

It looks like tarantula.

You want me to keep typing this stuff.

You got to write clearer.

I know, I'm sorry.

Hey, what do you want me to say if Mr. Chardy comes by?

Tell him, I don't know, tell him I'm at work and I'll get in right next week.

That's what you said last week.

I know, but it better come from you.

Just bat your eyes at him or something.

Bye.

Bye.

- Hey, dude. - Hey, bud.

How are you?

Yeah, I'm glad you're here.

One of those guys, fellas I told you about,

Wynton Chardoff, cast him for a part.

I said, I know this kid, an actor, might be perfect.

Really?

Congrats, going straight to the producers.

No way.

Good luck.

Hey, thanks, Gene.

Chardoff Winkler?

Oh, hi.

Yes, they're about to step into a meeting, but

as soon as they get out, I'll have them call you.

Yes.

Okay, bye-bye.

Then you got a company move here.

How's that going to, that's not going to save you one.

Yeah, but we need her this day.

Excuse me, your four o'clock Mr. Saloni is here and Marty

wanted to call him about New York New York when you're done.

Great, thank you.

Come on in, come on in.

How are you?

Good to meet you, I'm Bob Chardoff, this is Irwin Winkler.

Good to be here.

Take a seat, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit.

I just want to thank you for the opportunity to come in.

Our pleasure.

Gene told us you're a very talented actor.

Yeah, well, Gene's a stand-up guy and a talented liar.

He's a good guy.

But I'm a big fan of your movies.

I actually, I love they shoot horses, don't they?

I actually read the book when I was a kid.

You read it as a kid?

Yeah, I know I don't look like Einstein, but, you know, I've cracked a book or two.

He didn't mean anything by it.

Oh, it's okay, I got a mirror.

I think I was like 15 going through my existential phase, like 15.

I love how the brutality was all set by this,

I don't know, you know, it's like a poetry.

It really affected me, it did.

I'd have done just about anything to be in that movie,

you know, you'd have had to shoot me to keep me away.

Well, Sebastian, it's always good to meet a fellow bibliophile.

We actually called you in because we're looking for someone for a new film.

Oh, really?

Unfortunately, we just cast Jan Michael

Vinson, and the role was to play the brother.

So he'd probably be blonde.

I see.

Okay.

That's funny, I actually auditioned for The Godfather,

but I wasn't Italian enough, now I'm too Italian, right?

Right, look, you're great.

I mean, just not right for that role.

All right, fellas, well, keep me in mind for anything in the future.

Absolutely.

I mean, as I said, I got the notice from Gene, I said, I can't believe

this, this is incredible, it's really a pleasure to meet you guys, really.

And also, I do write a little bit.

Great.

As well, yeah, so, you know, I break something by or something, you know.

Let me know, like I said.

Okay.

Okay, thanks again, thanks a lot.

All right, listen, how do we get this framed in the movie?

Please tell me, find me an answer.

Please, please call Martin.

I'll call Martin.

Okay, Linus, thank you, we can go.

See you Monday.

What's that?

Oh, a script that Goomba dropped off on his way out.

Tried to slip it into the pile, didn't think I'd notice.

You don't have to read that, you can just toss it.

No, it's, it's really good.

Let me see.

Stallone!

Yeah?

Your wife called.

Some film producers are looking for you.

Oh, yeah, that's pretty mighty.

Yeah, I mean, we like it a lot.

I don't know if we want to make a script

about wrestling, but the voice is really good.

The real writer, the real deal.

If you focus on writing, you could have a serious career.

Oh, wow, yeah, well, thank you.

But, you know, I'll be an actor first.

Sure, sure, but you have a voice, Sylvester.

Maybe, maybe you should think about that.

Look, do you have anything else?

Yeah, yes, I do.

A couple of scripts, actually.

The one about games.

You know, it's really hard to hear you.

Where the heck are you?

Oh, sorry, yeah, I'm playing Dragon Ball.

You know, I also got another one.

It's about a warehouse worker, right?

Who becomes a leader of a union.

Yeah, there's already a couple projects like that around town.

Listen, if you write anything more unusual, different, Right, bring it by.

We'd love to read it, okay?

Uh, yeah, sure thing.

Thank you, Sylvester.

Well, it sounds like they liked it.

Yeah, good on them.

What's up?

Well, I, um, I know you had a bad day.

So, um, I got you a gift.

Oh, you got it?

Yeah.

Oh, what'd you get me?

Open it.

Oh, wow.

What the hell is this?

It's a...

It's a P.

On the pod.

Because we've got a P in the pod.

Huh?

You mean...

You're...

Yeah.

Wait, wait a second.

You mean we're gonna have a...

Oh, my God.

Are you...

Are you serious?

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

Hey, Buckus.

Hey, hungry kid?

So am I.

Let's get you something to eat.

Here we go.

Here we go.

That's not gonna do it.

All right, let's get you something else.

Let's get you...

Oh.

There you go.

You like fruits?

Oh, my God.

There you go.

There you go.

Okay, breakfast of champions, right?

Okay, let's get you some real food.

It's, uh, $4.52. Oh.

Uh-huh.

Sorry, I messed up here.

Let's put the milk back.

Okay, it's $3.92. Uh, okay.

How about now?

Put the last two cans back, and you're good.

Good boy.

You're a good dog.

You're a good dog.

Hey, Bunker's getting his way, right?

It's okay, I like dogs.

He's a good boy, too, huh?

Oh, yeah, he's the best.

I gotta get a dog like this for my kids.

They keep begging me.

Yeah?

Look, let me ask you something.

How much would you want for him?

I'm sorry?

Yeah, he's a good dog.

Could use a nice yard to play with some kids.

How much?

Are you trying to sell me your dog?

No, no, forget about it.

I got 40 bucks on me.

That's all I got.

How many kids you got?

Four kids.

They're good kids, too.

You should see them with a neighbor's dog.

They'd love a dog like this.

Hey, at least it's Bunker's, right?

Oh, good.

You know, like Dick Bunker's football player?

And my kids are probably gonna rename him anyway.

Oh, whoa, whoa, hey, you can't rename him, all right?

That's his name.

You'll be confused.

Yeah, okay.

All right, make sure you get us a nice dog, all right?

Not that crap.

And a bone, you know, like a nice bone.

One of the big ones.

Sure thing.

Hey, Mr. Charney came by again.

I didn't answer it.

And, uh, you left a dog food bag on the floor.

What's wrong?

Where's Buckus?

Oh.

Hey.

I don't know what I'm doing.

Sense.

Do we get a PBR?

What happened to Sense?

It's gone.

Seems like you got a fight.

The guy who beat us out of the USA.

Oh, Chuck Whitman.

Yeah.

Plump butts.

They brought him up to fill the card.

They call him the Bay-on-bleeder.

Yeah, he's a hard side.

He's fighting for the championship of the world.

He can't be that bad, right?

Somebody listed him for 72 stitches in his face.

The guy barks with his forehead.

So how'd he get this fight?

How'd he get this fight?

He showed up.

Let's see if he actually fights.

Ali's gonna put another 72 in there.

You never know, right?

Never know.

I'll tell you what.

Smart money says he goes down in three rounds.

Three rounds, sir?

Three rounds.

Yeah, I'll take you on that.

All right, one buck gets another PDR. You last at least three in a day.

Good.

Bobby Z.

You all set?

Well, here we go with round three.

All righty.

Whitman not visibly shaking as he continues to come in.

First of all, his battle back up.

Now Ali pulls him.

Every time Whitman comes close to the bang of

the ear, the back of the head, Ali pounces.

Yeah.

So I was off by a round.

You'll see.

Many people will question whether this fight will go to the seventh round.

A lot of people didn't believe it.

The way he did the KO.

Round number nine.

Ali is doing what he does best, cruising during some rounds.

He's not afraid to go nuts.

Ali's set right down on his seat.

425 pound man, Whitman.

Christ, this guy just won't go down.

More.

Oh, no.

George, no.

Why are you up so early?

You've been up all night?

Huh?

Boxing, huh?

Yeah.

Interesting.

Huh?

I think he's getting a little meaner.

What do you mean?

When he breaks that guy's finger.

On the thumb?

Yeah.

It's his job.

Yeah, still.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I like this more than anything you've ever written.

There's something big here.

This feels like you.

You wrote this in three and a half days.

Three and a half.

Yeah.

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

How'd you do it?

Well, I don't know.

You know, this just kind of came pouring out.

That's me on the beach.

Kerouette wrote on the road in three weeks.

That was a book.

It's not perfect, but there's something there.

I don't know.

It's got a promise.

Now, this Rocky, I don't know.

He's a little too dark for my taste, right?

And I don't like how he throws the fight.

And what's his name?

Mickey.

He's kind of a racist.

Yeah, yeah.

I just wanted to show his age from a different perspective.

Like, I could pull it back easier.

And Rocky, make him less dark?

Yeah, I wrote it in three and a half days.

We know.

That's why we're giving you notes.

But if the studio ever asks, look, tell them it

took you two years, because this is freaking good.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

Okay.

We'll take it to the town.

We'll touch someone like Chuck Bronson.

Bird.

Bird.

Maybe Reynolds, or we could do Eastwood.

Guys.

Ryan O'Neal.

Bob, come on.

What are you doing?

O'Neal doesn't look like a boxer.

But Eastwood doesn't sound like a New Yorker.

You know, Ryan actually did box.

Yeah, he also needs a fifth of stotch to get out of bed.

Guys.

No.

I play Rocky.

I have no idea what that means.

It means I play Rocky.

I'm saying I'm in the movie.

I wrote this for me.

He's joking.

You're joking, right?

No.

Well, Sylvester.

To get this movie made, we need a star, like a movie star.

What?

Okay.

Okay, kid.

Let me tell you what a douche bag you're being right now.

Here's the business we're in.

Now, the studio gives us, the producers, Bob and

I here, a specific amount of money to make a film.

Now, they do that with the initial expectation of getting that money back.

And if things work out, more.

A lot more.

And it doesn't always work out that way, but getting an

actor people know and love, it settles a lot of nerves.

Yeah.

Oh, no.

This is me.

It's my story.

So I play Rocky.

Here it is.

You want to make a boxing movie?

Boxing movies are poison.

They're stinkers.

They die on screen.

Well, I mean, that's what they said about mom movies, but look at The Godfather.

Screw The Godfather.

Screw Paramount.

The hell with them.

We could have had The Godfather.

It was an outline for a book.

Not even written yet.

Who buys an outline for a book?

Paramount.

Yeah.

We should have done that.

All right, look, Sandy, the script's good.

Kid's got talent.

He's real good.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But I won't make it for more than two, Mel.

Four actually would be a lot better.

You get two.

I think we could make three work if we had.

Two million is the exact amount I'm willing

to risk on the hottest boxing movie of 1976.

Final offer.

Yes or no?

Yes.

But there is one other thing.

The writer wants to be in it.

You mean come on as a producer?

No, be in it as the lead.

Are you shitting me?

The script better be made of 24 karat gold.

Who the hell is this guy?

He's an actor.

He's in an independent movie, Lords of Flatbush.

He's the other one cast in Death Race 2000.

He's up and coming.

No, absolutely not.

One, boxing movie.

Poison.

Two, don't you want to make it with a star?

And not some no name who's been in some shit nothing Roger Corman movie?

Give me a star for Christ's sake.

The writer is pretty set on being in it.

Then throw some money at him.

25k, he'll love it.

If he doesn't, make it 50k.

We can work with that.

Right.

And he'll take it and kiss your ass.

Both cheeks.

Both of you.

All four cheeks.

Screw boxing movies.

I can't believe this shit.

Get out of here.

So, promising developments.

We met with Sandy.

And he's giving us a budget of $2 million for this production.

Boom.

That's fantastic.

Thank you.

You did that, kid.

That's your film.

Congratulations.

I can't believe it.

But there is an issue and it's just one.

We'll fix it.

And then we are officially greenlit.

He said no to you starring in it.

Categorically.

You're just not a bangalore.

It's not happening, it's dead.

But he did authorize 25k for your script fee.

Let me finish.

But we got him up to, are you ready?

Nod your head.

$50,000.

Let me tell you something.

For an unknown writer, that is an unbelievably good deal.

No.

No.

No.

I play Rocky, okay?

That's the deal.

Right?

I wrote this for me.

No.

No.

Sylvester.

You don't even have an agent, right?

That means you don't have to pay the 10% fee.

That is a clean $50,000 all to you.

No.

Right?

If he says no, I say no, all right?

And you can tell him I said that.

Categorically.

Listen to me.

No.

He's not worth shit.

He's worth less than shit.

He's not even nothing.

He's less than nothing.

Nothing would be something I could work with.

But he's less than nothing.

Sandy, you know, listen, he's young.

Call us Paramount on the phone.

Personally, I kind of admire, you know, the, you

know, urge to be, you know, it's aspirational.

Call us Paramount.

It's on the phone.

Linda, what is it?

We're on a very important phone call.

Gentlemen, sorry to interrupt, but I've got Paramount on the other line.

It's urgent.

What?

Paramount?

What are you talking to Paramount for?

Sandy, Sandy, it's nothing.

Linda, tell them we'll call them back.

Now, listen, Sandy, if you want to let Rocky go, we're totally fine with that.

I mean, it's not for everyone, but I've got to tell you, we absolutely love him.

No, I'm not letting Rocky go.

Goddamn Paramount can blow me.

And what about the kid?

Forget it.

He's not going to be in it.

Raise the offer.

Try 75.

Ceiling 100.

This dickless shit.

He's old enough to have two goddamn nickels to rub together.

He's not shopping at Tiffany's.

He's eating mac and cheese.

He's starving.

Put this to bed, Irwin.

Or look back to Coney Island.

Start slinging hot dogs.

Right, Sandy?

Sandy?

My work is done here.

I'm going home.

And I told him I can't make a living off of just two shifts a week.

Yeah, so tell him to quit then.

He'll get a job as an art photographer.

No one's hiring.

Yeah, but he ought to know that though, right?

Hello?

Uh, yeah, this is him.

Okay, yeah, tell me.

75?

75,000?

No.

No, I'm sorry.

It's just not.

100?

Ten seconds ago it was 75, now it's 100.

Uh, uh, no, no.

No.

Okay, you can do that.

What was that?

That was, uh, some guy from work wanted me to fill in for him tomorrow.

It's like, boy, this guy, he wouldn't let you do three shifts?

No, just two.

We got a billboard on sunset, James.

That's something.

Great.

Let me know when you get one in Dallas.

What are we doing here?

Some dopey actor with delusions of stardom wants to be in his own movie, so

we're here to see some other shitty movie he did called Lord's A Flat Fuck.

A flat fuck.

Which nobody has ever heard of before, so we can see what a bad

actor he is, and we can go back to him and tell him to pound sand.

Run the picture.

Okay, ready.

I don't know, he doesn't even look Italian.

How's he going to be a Balboa if he's blonde?

Nobody's going to buy a blonde Italian stallion.

Maybe he's one of those light-skinned northern Italians like Bernalese.

Excuse me, that's not Stallone, that's Perry King.

Who the hell is Perry King?

Him, the lead.

Perry King?

Who's Stallone?

The guy with the muscles?

You mean the meathead in the back?

Right, him.

Are you shitting me?

What have I been doing for two hours?

He's not even the lead in the goddamn movie.

Really?

See it?

Pretty good.

Hey, how you doing?

I appreciate it, thank you.

Oh, hey, Bob.

How you doing?

Sylvester, what are you doing here?

Oh, I work here.

No, you, what?

Since when?

Since I moved to L.A. You can't be here.

What do you mean, why not?

Because I'm meeting Sandy Maddox about you.

He can't know that you parked cars for a living, especially after I made him watch

Lords of Flatbush a second time because he didn't know who you were, Sylvester.

Oh, shit, what did he like?

Get the hell out of here.

Where do you want me to go?

I can't, I need this job.

Take a cigarette break.

Oh, shit, easy, easy.

Uh, uh, don't let him see your face, okay?

Welcome to the party, lads.

Sandy, see, this is the boy.

I'm not putting some kid in the lead who's only playing shitty side parts.

You know why?

Same reason you don't play Russian roulette

with a machine gun, because it's idiotic.

Sandy, we offered him 125, but this kid, he's not moving.

I want a star.

Go to 200.

200?

Yes, let's get this over with.

200, not a penny more.

My Lord, why don't I use the phone here, call him, see what he says.

Yeah, bring it on.

Goddamn godfather.

Goddamn fairy dealer.

$150,000.

No.

No?

No?

You're parking cars, for Christ's sake, Sylvester.

You could buy a house for that, a nice house.

No.

200, but that's as high as I can go.

That's the absolute limit.

How come every time I say no, you guys raise hell?

It's called negotiating.

Now be a good businessman and take the deal.

You never have to park a car again the rest of your life.

People wait their entire lives for opportunities like this, and you got it.

Oh, shit, sorry.

What was the money last time I packed?

Here's how this works.

There's a top number.

At some point, you say no, they get pissed off, and this, it all goes away.

I got to go back to work, all right?

There's porn out there.

Jeez.

What's going on?

Couple things.

Yeah?

Your dad called.

Oh, he did?

Yeah, he's coming through L.A. on his way to Vegas.

Oh, great.

Those producer guys also called.

Charles from Winkler?

Okay.

Yeah.

Did you talk to them?

Yeah.

What did they say?

They wanted me to tell you the offer's been raised again, this time to $300,000.

Well, I was going to tell you, and it didn't start like that.

It was a much lower number.

It just kind of kept going up and up, and I was going to tell you.

Saj, give me a second.

Hey, where are you going?

Saj, there's porn out there.

Hey, come on.

Hey, stop!

Saj, you're going to get soaked.

You lied to me.

I was trying not to worry you.

You lied.

The baby, Saj.

The baby?

This has nothing to do with the baby.

This has to do with you.

This has to do with your need to be seen, your need for attention.

That's not fair.

Saj, come on.

What are you doing?

Come on.

Get out, just get out.

See, this is why I didn't want to tell

you, because I knew you'd be mad I said no.

I'm not mad you said no.

I'm furious that you lied to me.

A good husband doesn't lie.

A good husband trusts his wife.

A good husband talks to his wife and trusts that his wife won't back him into a corner, that

she'll have his back, you know, that they'll make the right decision for the family together.

Because it's not just you against the world.

It's us against the world.

You're right.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Hey, whose car is this anyway?

I don't know.

Let's get the hell out of here before we get arrested.

Jeez.

$360,000.

Shit.

You gotta buy yourself a house.

No mortgage, no down payment, none of that crap.

Just buy it outright.

That's money from the bank.

And do this.

Get yourself a stock guy.

You know, you can start investing, you know.

You get some stocks and bonds.

Don't worry, they know what to buy.

Yeah, well, see, you know, the thing is, I haven't really accepted the offer yet.

Wait, what are you waiting for?

Yeah, yeah, I know, I know.

Well, if I take the deal now, then what happens

is I have to give up on playing the role.

So what?

You ain't gonna be set for life.

I don't just want to be set for life, you know.

I'm an actor, I want to act.

I wrote this for myself.

You want to what?

Acting's fake.

Money's real.

Look, you think that I wanted to be a barber?

I acted.

I could have been, hey, I could have been a great actor.

And then your mother got pregnant with you, by the way.

And I had to do what I had to do.

I took a job.

Maybe I wasn't the ideal papa.

No, no, you were great.

At least I put a roof over your head, okay?

And I put food in your belly.

Trust me, not everybody gets to have their dream.

But with this money, you get to have yours.

Well, Dad, my dream is my dream.

You can tell me what your dream is to do what.

Your dream is to do what?

An actor.

I've been trying to do this a long time.

Come on.

Are you that delusional?

I'm your father, right?

And I'm gonna tell it to you.

Straight.

I want you to go to the bathroom.

And I want you to look in the mirror.

And you know what you're gonna see, right?

You're gonna see that face.

You don't got the looks to be a movie star.

Paul Newman and Burt Reynolds, they're handsome.

And you talk like you got rocks in your mouth.

What am I doing?

What am I doing?

Oh, come on, do it to me straight.

You said you were gonna do it to me straight.

Don't be a bozo.

Take the goddamn money.

Storm!

Next week.

You hear me?

If I don't get the rent by next week, I'm changing your goddamn locks.

Christ.

All right.

Sorry.

This ain't no frickin' shop, though.

A couple years ago, I was so drunk, I had to sleep in the streets.

Just Paul kissing me.

Now I got a baby on the way.

The landlord just told me he's gonna evict us.

Okay, in fees.

And then there's this money.

Okay, what do you think I should do?

Don't you dare put that on me.

What?

No, this is the biggest decision in your life.

You're just gonna give it away?

I'm trying to be a good husband and do this together.

You said I should.

No, I said we should talk, and we talked.

And that's all I wanted.

So now, listen like a good husband.

You make the wrong choice here, and you do it for me,

then you're gonna hate me for the rest of your life.

I'm not gonna hate you.

No, you won't want to, but in the back of your brain,

you'll always have this voice saying she chose.

I don't want that on me.

There's only one person in this world who can make this choice.

Fellas, I want to thank you.

I know this isn't easy, but here's the thing.

This movie, it's about having a belief in yourself.

It's about going the distance.

And if I'm not willing to live up to what I wrote, then what's the point?

I know it's crazy.

Anybody else would just be happy to have the money.

Hey, but this movie's me.

I put my heart and soul on the page here.

So let me ask you, how much is that worth?

Acting's what I live and breathe for, so I appreciate the opportunity,

and I understand if this is a deal killer, but I gotta have

faith in myself, so I'm not giving this up.

Not for a million bucks.

Not for ten.

It's gonna kill the deal.

Gonna kill the whole goddamn deal.

I don't know, maybe it's for the better.

This whole thing was giving me an ulcer.

Yeah.

Except you know.

What?

The million dollar clause.

No, no.

Bob, there's no way we can make this movie for a million.

There's no way, no.

I know, but if we could, the clause says we get to cast whoever we want.

Why the hell would we make a small movie when we can make a big one?

Huh?

Do you really wanna do that?

Yeah.

Yeah, I kinda do.

I wanna see the kid have a chance.

Maybe he makes it, maybe he doesn't, but I wanna believe it's possible.

Because like the kid says, do we just make movies about people

who lay it all on the line, or do we wanna see it in real life?

This kid is gonna kill me.

Rafi, one more time.

Yep, you got it.

I make deals with countries.

You understand?

I make deals with the commies, with the Chinese.

And we can't make a deal with Sylvester Spalding?

There's another option.

I can't wait to hear it.

Our deal.

Technically, if we make a movie for under a mill, then we control the casting.

A mill's not a lot of money, so why not take a chance on an unknown?

You said you need four million dollars to make this movie.

You said two million was too little.

You cannot make this movie.

For one million dollars, you're out of your goddamn mind!

No!

No!

I will cut out your kidney, barbecue it, and eat it.

Of course, I'm a groupie-eyed act actor, railroad man.

I'm not throwing away money on a goddamn boxing movie.

What if we can ensure you didn't lose a dime?

You got that picture?

The Marty Scorsese musical, New York, New York.

Marty's a guaranteed hit.

What if it crossed profits between the two?

You can't lose.

Knock, knock, knock.

Hey.

What are you guys doing here?

Well, we heard you lived in a palace, a place you

couldn't give up, so we had to come see for ourselves.

I see a princess, but I'm not convinced about the palace.

Yeah, Sasha's his mom, shot off an Airbnb in the clear.

Oh.

Great, I knew that.

Guys, this is my wife, Sasha.

Pleased to meet you.

You too.

Can we come in?

Oh, yeah, yeah, of course.

Come on in.

Of course.

Yeah, come on in.

We brought you a new offer.

Let's see here.

Yeah, this is, uh, thanks, this is only 20k.

That's your writer's fee, and it comes with some strengths.

Unfortunately, it means you have to star in the movie.

Are you serious?

Are you serious?

Yes.

Oh, my God.

Hey, look, that's 20 grand for your script fee, plus 350 bucks a week to act in it.

All right, now, let me be very clear here.

If you do this, you're turning down $360,000 for 21,400 bucks.

That's on a budget so tight we can't afford to shoot a strix.

You're used to that.

Yeah.

Good, now, uh, here's the bad news.

Bad news?

Sly, they have a clause in there that says if you ever fall, even one

day behind schedule, one day, they can replace you with a real actor.

Their words, not ours.

Right, and there's nothing we can do.

All right, so let's not fall behind, right?

Well, it's not that simple.

They're trying to make this movie an impossibility.

No movie goes to schedule.

Things go wrong.

You slip up an inch.

A centimeter.

They're going to kick you to the curb and fly in Ryan O'Neal.

Who they probably have on standby.

Maddox has to make the movie he wants to make.

Now, do you see what they did here?

Instead of the $360,000 they offered, they get this film for $20,000.

Kicking you off is cheaper than buying you out was.

So, so what?

You're saying they want me to fail?

Sly, we mean that movie they shoot horses?

Right.

Well, they shoot actors, too.

So the question is, are you sure you want to make this deal?

Yeah, absolutely.

Where do I start?

It's on the last page.

Hey.

Congratulations.

Thanks.

Congratulations.

Congratulations.

So, Sly, how long are you going to box it for anyway?

I never, I never box a movie like that.

Well, that's kind of a big no.

Thank you.

Oh, Lucas.

Hey, boy.

You ugly monk.

How you doing, kid?

I missed you.

Oh, hey.

How you doing?

I've been waiting for you.

I've been hanging out here every chance I get.

Hey, look, this is going to sound weird, but

how much do you want from me to get my dog back?

Nah, you know how long I've had the dog.

I can't really.

You gave me 40, right?

So this is a 50.

How about 100?

My kids really like the dog.

They bonded with him, so I can't.

200?

Hey, come on.

You can buy four dogs with that.

Pack of puppies, a whole litter.

Yeah, I really can't.

My kids really like the dog.

300?

100?

No, I...

500?

You're just going to raise the amount every time I say no?

It's us.

It's done.

Trust me.

It's called negotiating.

Listen, this isn't my dog, all right?

This is my friend.

We've been through some shit together, and I want my friend back.

So how much are you going to cost?

$1,000.

$1,000 a box?

Yeah.

Okay.

There you go.

$1,000.

Okay.

All right.

Thanks.

Hi, Cinnamon.

Cinnamon.

His name's Buckus.

Yeah, it's all Buckus.

Good dog.

Buckus, that's your name, right?

You're Buckus.

Get in.

Get off.

Get out.

You're not listening.

Look, Beth.

Yes.

Again.

Hey, Pete.

It's the kid I was telling you about.

The real one.

Well, at least he looks the part.

Take off your jacket.

Here.

Come here one more time.

All right.

All right.

We've got a couple months to get out of this shit.

You do six hours a day.

You run five miles each morning.

I'm going to break you down and build you up.

And when I'm done, you're not going to act like a boxer.

You're not going to pretend to be a boxer.

You, you're going to be a boxer.

You smoke?

A little bit.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah.

So who's this director we got?

Jon Avildsen.

Works fast and on a budget.

Avildsen?

Avildsen.

A-V-I-L-D-S-E-N.

Both.

Right?

Have you directed Joe, Cry Uncle, OK Bill, Save the Tiger?

Yeah, never heard any of those.

Well, I never heard of you either.

Mr. Avildsen.

Oh, um.

Excuse me.

We're good.

Oh, sorry.

I mean, I actually heard of Save the Tiger, but I never saw it.

OK.

Look, hard truth, you can't afford Spielberg, and I can't get Redford.

Another is, we can't nickel and dime this movie

because we don't even got the nickels and dimes.

Am I right?

Yeah.

Well, hopefully we won't use God, and then we've got.

Well, on a film set, director's God.

So, yeah, I do have an it, and you're going to have to believe in me.

The other thing about me, I shoot quick on a

budget, and I'm also known to be kind of a dick.

That's OK.

I'm used to that.

OK.

We'll see.

All right.

First thing I want to talk about.

This isn't a boxing movie.

I hate boxing movies.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

What are you talking about?

Boxing's stupid.

It's dumb.

This, this is a character study.

It's a movie about a man who just so happens to box.

It's about Rocky.

It's about you.

OK.

Yeah.

Makes sense.

Well, maybe there's some place we can meet

in the middle, you know, like a compromise.

Great art never came through compromise.

I mean, are we compromising?

Are we making a great film?

Let me get this straight.

I'm supposed to play this champ in this movie, this Apollo Creed.

Right.

And that white boy's supposed to be as good as me?

Joe Frazier?

Right.

But remember, you're not Joe Frazier in the movie.

I mean, you're Apollo Creed.

Yeah.

Right.

All right.

All right.

Let's just throw you in the ring and see what you two do.

And, uh, champ, do me a favor.

Cool your punches.

Be gentle.

This is never going to work.

We can kill our guy before we even shoot him.

We've got to find someone else.

Oh, yeah.

Joe, stop!

Mr. King, stop!

We were this close on Ken Norton.

And he's going to do ABC Superstars?

That'd pay a lot of money.

What about Foreman?

This is crazy.

Norton, Foreman, we're just trying to keep you alive this life.

Next.

Top of the morning.

Name?

Carl.

Carl Withers.

Age?

Honey, I'm young as a sun and old as spit.

Whatever you need me to be.

OK.

Whenever you're ready.

OK.

I'm around.

I'm the champion of the whole world.

I tell you, Stallion, I've come to let you know you better be very smart.

And after this fight, don't make what's left of your body a science.

Because after this fight, what's left won't fill a tuna fish can.

You got any boxing in you?

Can I box?

I grew up in the ring.

How about you and I step into a ring right now, and

I'll show you what quick hands look like up close.

Oh, shit.

That's disgusting.

That's disgusting.

All right.

Let's do the reporter scene.

This is Sly.

He's going to read with you.

OK.

Hold on.

Whenever you're ready, Carl.

Apollo, how do you like this city that never sleeps?

Well, just being in New York City makes me feel patriotic.

Beautiful city, beautiful people, people running up to me congratulating me.

I love my New York brothers, and I am proud to be an American.

Look, champ, Apollo, why did you agree to a fight

on a man who has virtually no chance of winning?

Look, if history proves one thing, if American history

proves one thing, it's that anyone's got a shot at winning.

I mean, have you ever heard of Valley Forge or Bunker Hill or...

It is a coincidence.

Listen, this is like...

Can we cut?

Please, Mr. Allison, if you're not even looking at me, I would

really do better if I had a real actor reading with me, goddammit.

He is the writer and the lead actor.

He's starring in the movie.

Him?

Yeah.

Well, maybe he'll get better.

I hope so.

He's good, Apollo.

He's good.

Thank you.

All right, I'm gonna get you in there with Tomahawk and see what you're made of.

Okay.

Let's do it?

Yeah.

Let's do it.

Ha, ha, ha.

Are you kidding ? this guy didn't win a pillow fight.

I thought you said you could box.

I lie.

I'm an actor, goddammit.

You always lie.

If someone asks you if you can fly in that full pattern, you say, of course I can.

Thank you.

Gentlemen, may I introduce Grant Bader.

Grant, I was just telling everybody here how

you're the number one boxing choreographer in town.

That's it.

Of course, don't forget Ben Forrest.

John Adelson.

Okay.

Hey, Carl Withers.

Carl.

Sly.

What's that?

Sly.

Sly?

Good.

All right.

I guess we better get to work.

Okay.

Okay, this first one's champion.

It's a classic.

Looks great on film.

Here, let's move.

One.

Two.

It's my move.

Call it the finisher.

Who's that you're gonna do?

You.

What was it, Sly?

Come on.

Come on.

Let's go.

Don't be afraid, I'm not gonna hurt you.

All right.

You got it.

Call that a guard?

There you go.

Now you.

You're gonna come out of your corner.

You're gonna drop down.

You're gonna throw him right.

Right in his bread basket.

Now what are you gonna do?

You're gonna drop your guard, right?

You're gonna bend over.

Sure.

Bend over.

Yeah.

Boom.

Uppercut.

Good night, Gracie.

Knock him straight out.

All right?

Uh-huh.

All right, this is the heart of the fall.

Oh, yeah.

It's a work of perfection.

Yeah, but those are the same.

Yeah, exactly.

These are classic funds.

Oh, it's identical to the last one.

They don't even look right.

Look, you watch Ali or Marciano.

They don't do it like that.

They move more like this.

Especially Marciano, you know?

He's like this.

They move like that?

Like this, you know?

Well, they're not in the movies, are they?

If Marciano was in a movie, it would look fake.

What are you talking about?

He's real.

He's a real guy.

But it would look fake in a movie.

We don't do it that way.

Why not?

Why not make a boxing move that actually looks like boxing?

I don't understand.

I made 14 boxing films.

How many have you made?

This is how they're done.

All right, well, I'd like to have Kroll come out, throw

four right-hand punches, something like this right here.

One, two, three, four.

Would you like that?

Yeah, right after.

No, that's not going to happen.

Why not?

Because boxers don't do that.

I know, but he does because he's Apollo Creed.

He's that good.

No.

No one is that good.

Well, maybe not you.

Movies are all the same.

Excuse me.

What did you say?

I'm just saying.

It's the same thing over and over.

It doesn't really feel right.

Is this what I'm going to be dealing with here?

It's his first time being number one on the call sheet, that's all.

Yeah, well, I'm not going to be on that call sheet.

I'm out of here.

You quit?

Greg, come on, over that?

Oh, you quit?

All right, well, fine.

Go make another one of your sword fight movies.

Fix it!

All right.

Fix it.

Greg, listen, I'll call you, all right?

No, you won't call me ever again.

You just fired the top boxing choreographer in town.

The only boxing choreographer.

Hey, I didn't fire him.

He quit.

So what?

You made 14 boxing movies and they all look like shit?

So good.

Who's going to choreograph the fight?

I don't know.

We'll do it, Carl and I.

What, me, Carl?

So, Buster, you're going to choreograph it?

You're going to do a boxing movie without a choreographer?

Why not?

You write dialogue.

Why not write out physical dialogue?

We'll figure it out.

I'm good with that.

I hate the boxing part of this.

It is a boxing movie.

No, it's a movie that happens to have boxing in it.

Oh, it just happens to have boxing in it?

Is that right, Sean?

You know, The Godfather's a movie that happens to have the moppy in it.

You know what it's really about?

It's about a family that loves pasta.

Holy shit.

What the hell are we doing here, fellas?

You know what?

I'm going to need a minute, okay?

And I'm just going to go up.

This happens to be a step.

And then I'm going to go out.

That happens to be a door.

Holy shit.

What the hell are we doing?

All right, let's take it from that last part,

right at the end, where you throw all the punches.

So three right hands, three jabs.

Sorry, Jan.

Three jabs, yeah.

Write that down real quick.

Three jabs.

Right.

Right.

And then a lazy hook.

So one more jab, I'll give you the hook.

Here you go.

Right.

So write a hook for me, Ms. Soto.

Right.

A million dollars is not enough to make this movie.

Two million would be tight.

And the unions, the goddamn unions, they're not being kind to us.

Look, we can't shoot this in New York.

It's written for New York.

It's got to be New York.

No, no, no.

You just screw New York, okay?

Screw it.

It's not going to happen.

We shoot there, they bend us over, and they take our lunch money.

But Philadelphia, I mean, this movie, right?

This movie is about underdogs.

I mean, if you want to talk underdog town, Philly.

Nobody's ever shot Philly.

They got no crew.

No, no.

What they got none of is unions.

Now look, train comes by, he's running around

the corner, we're blowing right through here.

It's perfect.

No, Jan, this is a public park.

We're not going to get the permits to shut this place down, no.

Oh, don't worry about that.

I'll take care of that.

Anyways, we got way bigger problems.

Look, the schedule, it can't be done.

It's impossible.

We're going to need more time.

Jan, I don't want to hear it, okay?

You knew what the schedule was when you signed up.

So did you, which is why I figured you'd add a couple of days.

Well, do you have some magic way of adding more days to the week?

Or getting a crew to work for free?

No?

Well, then figure it out, Jan, because that's what we hired you for.

I'm just telling you, there's physically no way to pick up

the camera and move it fast enough to do 60 setups in a day.

You know, I learned this magic thing in second grade.

It's called subtraction.

Maybe we're not doing 60 setups, John.

Oh, so we're doing a short film then?

Hold on.

What if there was, okay?

No, hold on.

There's this guy, I forget his name, right?

But he worked for Sesame Street, right?

With the big bird?

Right.

But he has a camera that's like handheld, but it's smooth.

It doesn't shake.

It's Brown.

Garrett Brown.

That's his name, okay?

What if I call him, get him to meet me?

What do you think?

Well, if it actually works, yeah, I mean, I could speed things up.

So I thought, how can I do something different?

And I love dolly shots, I do, but I have to move a

miniature rail in there to get one, and it takes forever.

So then, I started thinking, what if I could free the

camera from the tripod, the dolly, and all the restrictions?

So I created the SteadyCam.

Now, each of us sometimes, for a really long take,

have to have someone follow with two car batteries.

But, it works.

This is your idea?

We're going to handhold the camera the entire movie?

No, we're not going to handhold it.

We're going to steady camera it.

Garrett, can you show us how it works with the salute?

Oh.

And tilt up.

Whoa.

And tilt down.

Boom up.

Boom down.

Oh, that's pretty good.

And on the move, jog.

But is it smooth?

I mean, it's hard to believe it's as smooth as a dolly.

Garrett, will you show them your take?

Yeah.

Just watch.

Whoa.

Whoa, are you running up the steps with that thing?

I am.

Are you kidding me?

Where is this?

Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Could you do that for us?

Oh, yeah.

Easy.

This is unbelievable.

Let's go.

See, this is nuts.

Oh, yeah.

This has got to be an ultimate idea right now.

Hey, how are you guys doing?

What, is it a battery?

We'd be doing a lot better if we were rolling motorhome straight down the road.

How are you doing, kid?

I'm good.

Great.

I'm going to go to the bathroom.

All right?

Hey, Garrett.

You leave this shit, get ready to roll some stupid box and we'll fill it up.

Want some new stuff?

This.

See the kid you get in it?

Never heard of him.

Good stuff.

Well, at least it's a paycheck.

Check's clear.

You guys home?

All right, Sly, you ready for this?

I'm good.

Good.

What's going on?

What's he doing here?

Studio like to come out and observe.

All right, so, oh, oh, what are you wearing?

My clothes.

Ah.

These are my clothes from my closet.

Yeah.

And I'm your photographer.

Lucky for you, I'm pretty good.

Yeah, she's really good, actually.

Okay.

No wardrobe.

My photographer's not a real photographer.

No, I'm a real photographer.

And she's five months pregnant.

This is great.

Okay.

Let's get this shit show on the road, guys.

Let's do this.

Action.

Action.

Holy shit.

I can't believe that thing actually works.

Hey, what's Garrett doing with that circling thing?

Did you tell him to do that?

No.

That kid's a freaking mirror.

Okay, cut.

Cut.

I think we actually have a movie here.

We have a movie here.

Hey.

You're an actor guy.

I think he's hurt.

What?

Man, this looks bad.

Yeah, that's not what hurts.

What hurts?

You.

How'd you do this?

Acting.

You ever consider retiring?

No.

Well, you should.

That's pretty good, Doc.

I'm gonna write that down.

It's a pulled tendon.

He'll be all right as long as he keeps off his feet the next couple weeks.

Okay?

You hear me?

Very important, you stay off your feet.

Yeah, sure thing, Doc.

Did you find it odd they made you run all

across the city for 12 hours on the first day?

They said you ran like 18, 20 miles today.

Yeah, but what are you saying?

I'm just saying the studio entered their store on the first day.

I find that interesting.

So should you.

Hey, look, we're gonna time it out so you walk up side by side to right here.

Okay.

Um, give me a second.

Hey.

Hey.

You gonna be okay?

Yeah, I'm good.

Okay.

I'm fine.

Go easy on that thing tonight, all right?

Shut up.

All right, picture's up.

I think we make a real sharp couple of coconuts.

I'm dumb and earshot.

What do you think?

Huh?

I don't understand why anybody would want to be a fighter.

Hey, you gotta be a moron.

You gotta be a moron to want to be a fighter, you know what I mean?

It's a rocket we almost guaranteed to end up a bump.

I don't think you're a bump.

Well, I'm a recessed bump, yeah.

Well, I'll tell you something.

Worst part about fighting is the morning after.

The morning after?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay, cut.

Great.

All right, uh, we're moving in.

Let's go.

Oh, no, one take?

All right, give me a better than that.

Come on, let's do it again.

No, no, no.

How much?

We got 54 setups tonight.

I got one take to get you from there to here.

We're doing everything in pieces, you know?

We're gonna jump to the end.

We're gonna pop in for close-ups.

No, you get one take.

I mean, two if you really shit the bed or if I got a hair in the gate.

But if I say I'm happy after one, that's a compliment.

All right, all right.

Hey, my advice?

Just do the best acting in your life and everything will be fine.

Are you kidding me?

One take, one take.

I just don't know what I'm doing here.

How the hell am I supposed to do this with one take?

I don't even know what I'm doing is any good.

You said this was you.

How many takes do you need to be you?

Two would be nice.

Yeah, I said this a million times up here.

So, be you.

Be me?

Yeah.

What the hell does that even mean?

You be you.

Come on, let's see it.

Let me do it.

You got one chance.

No, look, you wanted a shot.

No, I wanna see you do it.

This is what you asked for.

What's the problem?

You don't like me?

You don't like the turtles?

What's the problem?

I don't think I belong here.

Well, it's okay.

I don't belong here.

Well, you know it's okay because you're my guest.

Cut!

Great, we got that.

I like what this guy is doing.

What's he doing?

He's soulful, this guy.

This guy's good.

He's adequate.

Very adequate.

You should have seen me too.

We're gonna have a hard time firing them based on what we're seeing here.

How far behind schedule are they?

They're not.

They're two weeks in and they're making their goddamn adequate days.

Hey, kid.

You ever think about retiring?

Think about it.

Yeah, sure, but we didn't just come here to make a movie, right?

We came here to make a good one.

Are we?

Are you sure that's what we're doing here with all this one-take crap?

Okay, all right.

Stop with all the whining about the one-take, okay?

You know what happens when you get two takes?

Is on another scene, you get no takes because you're gonna have to cut it.

And I don't want to cut anything because your script's too damn good.

But look, Slutty, you are doing great, okay?

And nobody really knows what the movie's gonna

be until it's practically in theaters, right?

This thing is a marathon.

You gotta keep going.

You gotta keep pushing, but you're doing great, right?

Look, stop bullshitting him.

Please, okay?

Listen, there's a moment in every film and that

moment either makes or breaks that film, okay?

The difference between a bad movie and a good movie

and a good movie and a great movie is the thing.

What the hell's the thing?

The thing.

It's a moment that asks the actor to go someplace he's

never been before to do the best acting of their life, okay?

We're almost halfway done here and we ain't seen it yet.

Go ahead, John.

Come on.

No, no, no.

Listen to me.

He needs to hear this, okay?

We might be making a good movie, but we're not making a great movie.

Not yet.

All right, so what do I gotta do?

Oh, if I know.

I mean, that's your job.

An actor either brings it or they don't, okay?

Now, look, I can probably tell you when it's

supposed to happen, but I can't tell you how.

All I can say is we ain't seen it yet.

Good.

Sorry.

So, Diane, first up, you're gonna be interviewing Rocky.

Okay, but wait, wait, wait.

Can you tell me again why he's beating me?

Uh, yeah, it's, uh, well, it's part of the training.

Well, you wrote the damn thing.

Why don't you tell him?

Yeah, sure.

So, uh, yeah, so, his game plan is about...

Are you shitting me?

Alright, hey, everybody, listen up.

We just got a call.

The union rep drove down from New York.

He's on his way here now.

It's Philly.

It's not their territory.

These guys don't see it that way.

Have you seen Jimmy Harville recently?

Now, listen, everybody stay put.

Nobody go outside unless you're a transphobe.

We need to clear out those equipment trucks right now.

Come on.

Move your asses!

What the hell are they still doing here?

We can't get the motor or the grip electric truck to start.

What?

Why not?

Because somebody stole the batteries.

Hey, get the dad out of here.

Stop!

Are you shitting me?

Get the hell up from inside.

You two, go!

Go!

Oh, he's very confident.

Alright, come here.

So...

I think...

Alright, we'll be calm.

No, no, no.

I'll talk.

Why are you talking?

I don't know.

Sal?

What the hell are you doing here?

Edward!

Bob?

You know what happened to me today?

I got a call that someone's shooting a movie in my backyard.

I said to the guy, that's impossible.

Because if someone was shooting a movie in my

backyard, I would definitely know about it.

So you know what happened next?

What happened, my girl?

I drove three hours from goddamn New York City

all the way down here to see you assholes!

Sal, come on.

We're not shooting a movie.

We're scouting one.

Eh?

What's this?

That's what we're scouting from.

That's our mobile base of operation.

Huh.

What about that?

That's not ours.

Who's heard of shooting a movie with one truck?

Sal, we're scouting a movie.

Right, Scouts Honor?

You sure about that?

Yes, Sal.

Because if I go in here and find a film crew,

and lights, and actors, I'm gonna destroy you.

I'm gonna shut you down.

And when I'm done, you're gonna wish I cut both of your heads off,

because that would be more gentle compared to what you're gonna get.

Whoa, whoa, Sal.

What's happening here?

Hey, Sal, you remember, I flew from L.A. to New York, and I asked

you personally if we could shoot our little film in your town.

You remember what you said to me?

You said we're too small that we couldn't afford it.

Sal, we're gonna hide a movie from you?

What, we don't want to shoot in New York anymore?

Come on.

We need you.

Yeah, well, you'd be surprised at some of the shit people will call.

Oh.

Why don't you see inside?

Nothing in there.

It's a meat company.

I'm going in.

Okay, I think we could talk to the meat manager guy.

I'm going in.

Okay, I mean, he already showed us around, Sal, so...

Hey, hey, Sal.

Hey, Sal, listen.

Sal.

Listen, pal.

Sal.

So you guys actually scale in an RV?

Yeah, yeah, that's the new thing.

God damn it.

Now I gotta drive all the way back to the city.

Now?

No.

We've only got six or seven more locations.

Then we're gonna stop at Cheesesteak, some beers.

No.

I don't want Cheesesteak.

Look, next time you do a scout, just tell me first, okay?

Sure.

Absolutely.

All right.

Drive safe, buddy.

Be well.

But first, Rocky, how did you ever come to train in an icebox?

Well, my friend, that guy over there, he let me in

one day, and I hit the beef here and kind of liked it.

And since I've become a challenger, the owner don't mind me that I come in.

Is this a common training method?

I mean, do other fighters pound raw meat?

No, I think I invented it.

Would you give us a demonstration?

Sure.

Oh, shoot, my hand.

Cut.

Hey, what's going on?

The meat's frozen solid.

It's supposed to be punching a piece of raw meat.

It's like I'm punching grit.

Ow.

Goddamn.

Well, props.

Props.

Ronnie Snivy.

Can we get props in here?

Please.

Uh, we have any meat that's not frozen so my actor doesn't break his goddamn hand?

No, that's how it comes.

They say it thaws out on the hooks.

You kidding me?

You don't have anything that's not an iceberg?

We could get some hairdryers and try to thaw it out.

How long is that going to take?

Maybe an hour, hour and a half?

All right, John, it's okay.

I can do it.

Sylvester, Sylvester.

No, I got it.

Let's just roll the camera, all right?

Let's go.

I can do it.

Just roll the camera.

Let's go.

Come on.

Just roll the camera.

Okay, let's roll the goddamn camera.

There you go.

Dianna Lewis in the Meat House with Southpaw Rocky Balboa.

I see, you're still acting.

Yes.

I was a little toughed.

It looks like you broke a couple of knuckles.

Your whole hand's all flattened out.

What were you doing punching a brick wall?

Yeah, something like that Well, you're gonna need an x-ray and Probably a cast.

All right.

Thanks.

Stop hook.

I'll get that take care He's also scheduled to run tomorrow.

Yeah, I shouldn't care, but I would not recommend that All right.

Well, they're sure what they got a shoot.

So you broke your hand and ripped your leg all apart Yeah, I'll do it on purpose.

- You sure - Well, no, I'd rather be an optimist

and be wrong and be a pessimist and be right .

- I don't know. Bill send this over - Yeah, but it's just

his first take, you know the first thing that came to him.

I don't know.

It just feels kind of Big our guy beats people up for the mob.

He's not a general.

What's Conti think?

He is Patton.

I Don't know the whole thing just seems kind of

Grandiose like he's leading a parade or something.

I don't know.

I kind of like it, you know man Hey, so Tali is here and there's a little problem.

What come on the flu?

Yep Oh, but she wants to push through it.

Oh Well, that's good, right?

But the kissing scenes tonight.

You're sure there's no way we can move until she's better No, no, if we don't shoot tonight, we have to

add another day at the stage So we got a good rate here because we are shoved between toward the shows

Which means we have a hard-out and you need to stay didn't let us it's

gonna cost us his arm and your leg Alright, well, don't worry about it.

I never tell it.

I'll get ready.

All right, but can we at least get him a flu shot?

Hey guys You think you can go tomorrow?

Oh, yeah.

Sure.

Absolutely.

All right.

Good.

Good.

So, uh, here's the thing We are about to be

over budget What we need to make some cuts close

to finish we'll say to cut there's nothing to cut We

gotta cut the ice Frank scene Wait, you kidding me?

I seen it's critical.

We can't cut that scene No, no, what it is is expensive and Maddox

refuses to give us another die Okay, look, it's a new location.

It's 150 extras extras.

You've got a skate skates that need to be rented by us Come on no,

it's the soul is the Achilles heel is it's the Cyclops is I Is it

something that you can't can't do without it, right?

This is a moment where they get each other when they fall for each other, right?

It's her fault for him that tells us he's

worth sauce Listen, it's a boxing movie, right?

No, no, it's Rocky story.

You said There's no money Gotta have that scene movies gonna

die without it I don't care if we got a shoot at night just

me and her like we snuck in or something, but

Gotta have that scene kid There's nothing left.

Look those do you believe in this film?

If you really think that we got something that could be good then then

we gotta have that scene Okay So do you believe in this film or not?

Okay, so gentlemen if you'll sign here here here and here here here

here Initial here here and here here here and here then I'll have the

bank deposit $50,000 into the production account

from each of you Are we really gonna do this you

ever listen to tell the wife Holy crap, I

can't believe you got the ring Hey, we got the

ring How'd you do?

Well, it's gonna be after hours like you said that way We don't

have to pay to close the place down and instead of 150 extras.

We got that guy But he comes with a place he's the owner I

Thought you said you were broke pants broke how the LG pull us

off.

Don't worry about it.

We figured it out We mortgage our houses Well, you serious look kid you wanted

to know if we believe in you well, we believe in you this movie's gonna be

great Okay, now go

rewrite the script So what if the guy is cleaning

out, you know, maybe he's a Zamboni driver.

Sorry.

Maybe he great He's got come on it.

He's gotta get home for Thanksgiving, right?

Maybe he's got maybe gives you 10 minutes Hey, how you feeling today?

You write this Yeah, well There's this one teeny problem What's that?

I?

Can't skate.

I mean not well, I think the word barely would probably apply

best but it's in the script You said you could do it Yeah,

I know but I'm an FZ always a lot.

Yeah, she's right.

Yeah.

I was someone else.

Yeah phone F for families Of course I have oh

Yeah, well on the subject I can't really see I'll

figure it out Did anybody do anything I

Next film everybody gets a polygraph Save

you wanted help.

Why do you ask?

Why don't you just ask me kid?

Never I'm 76 years old.

Okay, cut.

We're going again.

Oh Yeah, oh it's the problem what's what's going on now it's not working what's not work I thought

we could afford to more than two takes So we can do as many goddamn takes as I say we could do.

Okay, it's just not working And we're gonna do it until we get it, right.

All right.

So what am I doing wrong?

I come through the door.

I wait for him.

He opens it gets his hat.

I close it.

I open it again I run after what the door.

Oh, it doesn't make any sense.

Okay, you've been fighting with him the whole movie He leaves suddenly you just change

your mind and you go run it after him You gotta somehow let go all this shit You've been

carrying before you go out there and you bring it back in and we got it.

We got to see it I mean, that's a huge moment.

So I don't want to shit on the parade.

Just mean rain on the parade Shut the fuck up Burgess.

It's shit today because that's what this is.

This isn't working.

Something's missing.

Okay, I Wasn't tell me what it is.

I'll fix it.

I don't know I need to believe you when you go out there and

you get him and you say okay now you can be a part Of my team.

Why why now?

I'm not buying it and I can't figure it out.

Okay, so You wrote it You need to figure it out All right.

All right.

Give me a couple minutes What's going on?

This seems not working.

I have no idea why you woke us Why

Nobody never gave him a chance who never gave him a chance Why'd

you write this what can you put on the page?

Oh, we talk, you know Who never gave you a chance?

Okay Go cam and Do what?

Just roll the camera take it from what Mickey leaves.

Okay.

All right roll sound roll camera.

Let's go slate up You heard the man.

Let's go.

I Will get a coffee.

Yeah get lost Burgess.

You're not in there.

Good.

Okay, everybody settle Slide you ready?

Yeah action Took you long enough to kill you Ten years, I'm calling my house.

Huh?

What's mad?

You don't like my house my sting It's right it stinks.

I Have no favors from you.

Don't slither on me Talk about your prime At least you have right I Have

no prime.

I have not legs going everything's gone.

No, it's getting no not guy comes up offers

me a fight Deal, you want to fight the fight?

Yeah, I'll fight the big fight I'm gonna go And you want to be Legs

ain't working.

Nothing's working.

They go go fight the chair.

Yeah, I'll fight him Get my face kicked in It

stinks this whole place stinks gonna help me up Okay,

cut You know that was Long.

Hello Dad wait, it's me Listen we're assuming the last scene of the

big fight the Here's the thing, I know you always

wanted to act and we need a dog in Such as a small part

It's a moment right at the end.

Everybody finally makes So, what do you say you want to ring the bell?

Yeah Yeah, I'm gonna be a bell ringer yeah Well Do you have any lines No,

but you're close.

Oh All right, yeah, I'm gonna ring the bell Thanks No

premiere and the damn studio gives us two theaters the whole

city to play the movie It's still trying to strangle us.

Yes, at least they gave us a whole theater That's a dead omen.

Oh That's a hell of a Jackie look great, hey, how's the baby?

Act house And Sam pneumatics is here what Beautiful with his studio execs.

All right, come on.

We made the movie for people to see it.

Let's go.

It's gonna be great.

Come on Okay You

know, we're gonna find out what kind of movie you'd be I'll be okay.

Hey Hey Everything we had we put on that screen.

All right, we love mom It's great Okay

Oh, man, what mess am I talking to love No my father here Well, man, he's

never too smart.

He says to me you weren't following much of his

brain So they better start using his body, right?

So it's not become a fight You know, I mean Wait, why you left?

I'm not she said the opposite thing.

What'd she say?

What'd she say the opposite?

I said you weren't born much of a body.

So you better develop your brain Hey

Gotta come back They're loving it It doesn't sound like they're loving it.

You're out here.

I'm in there They're loving it Really?

Yes Look you are in this moment.

No, take it.

Enjoy it.

Trust that it's gonna be great No,

I think you're right Oh

What's up They

don't be our image And

The winner is Rocky To