Original subtitles

- Oh.

Mm.

- What's for breakfast?

- Depends on what you're making.

Ow.

[laughter]

How does this thing work?

- Actually, I don't know.

I use it mostly as a clothes rack.

- So how do you stay toned?

- Got a high metabolism.

Worry a lot and chase after Lucy.

- She's still sleeping.

- Come on.

Show me how this contraption works.

- What part of your body you want to concentrate on first?

- Boobs.

- You mean pecs.

- Mm.

- Oh, Daniel.

- Yeah?

- My life is finally making sense mentally,

and physically I'm approaching my peak.

- Me, too.

- Going to law school, mm, being with you,

having Lucy in my life, I couldn't be happier.

- That's good, Gwen.

What are we talking, working out?

- Let's go for the burn.

Mm.

[theme music]

[upbeat music]

- Times a wasting, colleagues.

There's much to be discussed.

Let's get started.

First up, People versus Emery Lewis and Gary Stubbs.

- I'm assisting Tommy Mullaney in prosecuting

Stuart's attackers.

- What?

What's going on here?

- [laughing] Why is this table so sticky?

- Something seems to have affected this finish.

- Real bargain on the cleaning crew, Douglas.

- Holy cow.

- What a mess.

- [sigh] Tempus fugit.

Pressing ahead, I'm afraid to ask--

People versus Claudia Von Rault a.k.a.

Mistress Xenia?

- Our client is facing a rep for involuntary manslaughter

in the wrongful death of Eric Schuller.

- I thought Ben Flicker was charged with that crime.

- Had been until the police investigation

revealed that Schuller actually died during a B&D session.

- McKenzie-Brackman defending a bondage

and discipline dominatrix?

Not while I'm drawing breath.

- Douglas, no one is more aware than yours truly

that image is everything.

But this case and its ramifications

could affect our firm, Ben Flicker, World Wide Studios.

- I've been with us every step of the way as lead counsel.

- Son of a--

move along, Douglas.

- City of Santa Monica joined by the NAACP

as amicus versus Alan Ajamian?

- Judge Wishburn is hearing the city's emergency application

to remove a statue of Martin Luther King

from Mr. Ajamian's building.

- Yeah, I saw a picture of that statue.

It was a little too reminiscent of a lawn jockey for my taste.

Why are you defending him?

- The right to expression should be at the heart

of any free society.

- Wait, so you don't think he's perpetuating

a racist stereotype?

- I find the statue offensive.

- You won't feel like a token Black defending some--

- I have to interrupt.

Alan Ajamian is a long-time client.

When this controversy arose, Jonathan approached me

about this case feeling strongly that he was the only attorney

at this firm who could walk into court and not be called racist.

- I wouldn't have--

- No, no, no, I admire Jonathan's ability

to put aside all personal conflicts

in pursuit of the greater good.

- No one has anything to add?

This meeting is adjourned.

This table is finished.

[office chatter]

Roxanne?

It's about time.

- I don't work for you, Douglas.

- Does that give you the right to traipse

in here 47 minutes late?

- Arnie knew I had a doctor's appointment.

- Are you ill?

- No.

- Well, then you haven't any excuse.

- [crying]

- [sighs] What did I say?

- Mr. Baker, you represent Santa Monica in this suit.

Describe your 1% public art program.

- The ordinance was conceived to foster

a partnership between developers and City Hall.

Approvals for new structures depend

upon 1% of building costs being allocated

for major works of art.

- Does the ordinance specify subject matter or medium?

- No, that's left up to the developer.

However, the preamble states that the art should

enhance our urban landscape.

- In your judgment as chairperson of the arts

program, has the statue commissioned by Mr. Ajamian

enhanced the urban landscape?

- Absolutely not.

There have been demonstrations, rocks and bottles thrown,

windows broken, not to mention continued threats of violence.

- Have you been forced to take action?

- Yes, the chief of police assigned officers to patrol

Mr. Ajamian's building.

- Why protect the statue at all?

- We're on notice.

If the demonstration escalates or if something happens,

in my opinion, Mr. Ajamian would sue the city in a second.

- Your witness.

- Mr. Baker, there is a mural on 4th

Street that has the likeness of Louis Farrakhan.

- That mural was not part of our program.

- Yes, but nevertheless, a picture of Mr. Farrakhan

might offend some of your Jewish citizens.

- We want art to contribute to the community,

not disrupt and destroy.

- And the connoisseurs at City Hall will tell us which art

contributes and which does not?

- Objection, You Honor, argumentative.

- Sustained.

Anything further?

- No, no.

- Counsel, I have chosen to make this a closed hearing.

However, I was unable to clear more

court time until 9:00 tomorrow.

Until then, in light of the rowdy crowds which continue

gathering outside Mr. Ajamian's building,

I urge you to meet in private.

Try reaching an accord that's acceptable on all sides

before it's too late and there's real trouble.

We're adjourned.

[ding]

- Let Claudia cop to reckless endangerment.

- Prosecutor won't go for that.

- What's the plan?

- Arnie, relax.

We'll see how it unfolds.

Judge could suspend sentence if Claudia

pleads to assault with a deadly weapon

and agrees to hang up her whip.

- Ben, attending this trial is a lousy idea.

- Narishkeit, I have to protect my interests.

Besides, I've been cleared of obstructing justice.

- We all would have been better off

if you hadn't hidden Schuller's body in your ice rink.

- What would you have done?

I was staring down the barrel of a major scandal

at the shareholders meeting.

I had to try keeping my partner's current affair

out of the hard copy. - Yeah, I know.

Only your conscience got the better of you.

- Plus, there's no such thing as bad publicity.

Say cheese.

- You're smiling now, Ben.

This may be your last picture.

For you, Eric Schuller was a business partner.

To me, he was a life partner.

I've lost my husband.

- You don't think I'm sensitive to your situation?

I took the law into my own hands hoping

to spare you the humiliation of discovering

the cause of Eric's death.

- This wasn't a personal favor, Ben.

You've been buying time, trying to keep

things quiet until after World Wide's

annual stockholders meeting.

- Claudia is here.

I suggest Ben leave and the rest of us

retreat to opposite corners.

Otherwise, there will be a scene we'll all regret.

- Ben.

- All right, I'm going.

I'm going.

- Hello, Arnie and Daniel.

- Claudia.

- So you're the one who killed my husband.

For a whore, you disguise your sickness well.

- See you inside, Beatrice.

[toilet flushing]

- Hiya, Fender.

- Don't you Fender me.

Where in the living Hades have you been?

We had an agreement.

A man's word is his bond.

- I've been writing.

- My book?

- Our book.

- Whatever.

- I'm almost finished.

- Roger, you don't know what a relief this is.

All these weeks, my stomach's been in knots.

- Yeah, I know.

I heard you in the stall.

You need more bran.

- Roger, I must say.

You're looking rather respectable.

- Thanks to you for giving me your father's old suit.

- Oh, it was nothing.

Well, not nothing.

After all, you are wearing 100% worsted wool worth $900

when you correct for inflation.

- These clothes have proven invaluable,

influenced my storytelling by helping

me think like a Brackman.

- Roger, you're a far cry from the ex-con who shuffled

into these offices almost a month

ago and began writing my book.

- Our book.

- Whatever.

- The manuscript, only two more chapters to go.

- "In the bowels of the brute."

bowels, I like it, has a certain resonance.

"I'd written my name a million times before but never

on the wall of a roach-infested jail cell

alongside the names of rapists, muggers, and thieves.

I, Douglas P. Brackman Jr., born into the hallowed temple

of the American legal system, was

now behind bars, imprisoned."

- Like it?

- Love it, as worthy as your earlier effort.

This reeks with feeling.

Now, let's get busy and finish my book.

- Our book.

- Whatever.

- Any chance this is about the Frasca deposition?

- No.

No, this concerns our new insurance carrier.

They want to exclude you from coverage because you

fall into a high-risk category.

Apparently, a doctor sent them some information.

Well, the letter doesn't specify what sort.

- And you'd like an explanation?

- Well, I am concerned, but your health is your business.

I only wanted to apprise you of the situation.

- Thank you.

Leland, this is between us.

- Of course.

- My father died of Huntington's disease.

It's a neuromuscular disorder.

There's no cure.

- I'm sorry.

And that's why you believe you're being denied coverage?

- Recently, my brother was diagnosed.

The disease is passed on genetically.

Children have a 50/50 chance of inheriting Huntington's.

Symptoms don't appear until a person's late 30s, early 40s.

- I believe there's a way to detect this beforehand.

- Yeah, there's a blood test.

I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse to see the future.

- I take it you've elected not to find out.

- Well, it's a long process, Leland.

First, you're counseled, told in detail about the disease.

I guess the doctors want to see whether you'll be suicidal

if you get the bad news.

Anyway, I've decided against the test.

I'm trying to go on like everybody else,

thinking I'll live to be 100 or tomorrow get hit by a bus.

- Gwen, if it's all right, I'd like to pursue this

with the insurance carrier.

- Well, what's the worst that could happen?

I take the test.

I find out I have Huntington's, and I decide

I'd rather be hit by a bus.

[dramatic music]

- Thank you.

- Dr. Patrick, you examined Eric Schuller after the autopsy?

- That's correct.

- What was the cause of death?

- Technically, coronary arrest, but the condition of the body

suggests at a possible homicide.

- Could you explain further?

- Mr. Schuller had been frozen in ice for some time.

After he thawed, I discovered roughly 30

second-degree welts on his buttocks, approximately 8

inches in length.

- People offer into evidence this whip recovered

from Mistress Xenia's room. - (TOGETHER) Objection!

- Defense has already stipulated to the evidence.

This is unnecessary.

- Sustained.

- Please.

- Please continue, Doctor.

- There were also contusions in the ankle area

indicating the deceased had been suspended upside down.

- Given Mr. Schuller's medical history of heart

failure, in your professional estimation,

was the beating administered by--

- (TOGETHER) Objection!

- The word "beating" is a value judgment.

- Sustained.

- The last question shall be struck from the record.

- You mind?

- Jump in quicker.

- Give me a chance.

- Was the treatment Mr. Schuller received

at the hands of Mistress Xenia sufficient to cause a

second and fatal heart attack?

- Yes.

The shock of blows from that whip

along with the inverted position would

have been sufficient to induce a heart

attack in someone whose circulation

was already compromised.

- Nothing further.

- Dr. Patrick, you were Mr. Schuller's

physician for nearly 13 years.

In fact, according to your records,

you saw him every other week after his first heart attack.

- Correct.

- Did you advise your patient he could resume sexual activity?

- There isn't--

- Yes or no, Dr. Patrick.

Did you advise your patient Eric Schuller he

could resume sexual activity?

- Yes, howev--

- Thank you.

Nothing further.

[office chatter]

- Tommy, glad you got here early.

Let me find Stu--

- Oh, gee, Ann, actually I came early so I could talk to Roxie.

- Oh, well, I'll be in my office.

- Oh, sure.

It won't take but a minute.

- Hey, gorgeous.

- My body chemistry is out of whack.

I'm an emotional train wreck.

This morning Douglas yelled at me,

and I actually took it seriously.

- Ah, the heck with him.

How's our baby?

- Oh, Tommy--

- Tommy!

- only Arnie and Stuart know.

- I've got a client in 45 minutes.

Maybe we could get started?

- Sure, OK.

- Roxanne, I can't make heads or tails

out of Roger's dog-eared mess.

- What do you want, Douglas?

- I need these typed on the QT, ASAP and PDQ.

- That's alphabet soup to me, but I'll do the best I can.

$2 a page.

- How's that?

- You wouldn't want me using company time

to do your personal business.

- You're not the only hen who can hunt and peck around here.

- Douglas.

- Stuart.

- Let's go take a walk.

- Actually, Stuart, we have to go over your testimony.

- Uh-uh.

It's a beautiful day, and I want to take a walk.

- Stuart, you've been avoiding me for weeks.

- Uh, no, no, I haven't.

I-- I have an audit starting soon,

and if I dredge up what happened and clog my head

with testimony, I'm not going to be able to concentrate

on the audit.

- OK, we go to trial in a couple of weeks.

- How about tomorrow?

I promise, OK?

- I'm just busy.

Sorry.

- Roxanne, you're the only person I can trust.

Would you, please?

- Two and a quarter a page.

The hen comment was uncalled for.

- Deal.

Single spaced, narrow margins, and not on your computer.

I don't want this coming up on someone else's screen.

- Well, the question is, is it legal to deny Ms.

Taylor coverage for a condition which

she doesn't currently have?

- There is nothing in the California insurance code

precluding insurers from making underwriting decisions

based on genetic makeup.

- That's discrimination.

What's next?

Excluding people with family histories

of heart disease or cancer?

- Genetic links to cancer and heart disease are tenuous.

In Ms. Taylor's case, there's a definite chance

of her developing Huntington's.

- And an equal chance that I won't.

- I'm sorry, but in order to cover

subscribers at affordable rates, we

need to screen for bad risks.

- I refer to page 13 of your policy

where you list conditions excluded from coverage.

Huntington's disease is not among them.

- No, but page 15, subheading f, excludes

all pre-existing conditions.

If Ms. Taylor does have Huntington's, she's had

it since the day she was born.

In addition, on your policy application,

question 23 asks, "are there any preexisting conditions?"

You wrote no.

- There wasn't any pre-existing condition,

and there still isn't.

- I don't mean to sound glib, but why

not find out whether you have the Huntington's gene?

If the test comes back negative, we can cover you.

- What if it's positive?

- At least, you'll be able to prepare for the future.

- Almost finished.

- Roger, I'm not sure you're aware how much that phone call

meant from Marvin Rosenthal, long-time friend,

senior editor at Harper, Dutton, and Roe, wants to read my book.

- Our book.

- Whatever.

As soon as Roxanne types the first three chapters,

I'll read and messenger them over, give Marvin

a whiff to whet his appetite.

- Fender, don't you think we should

wait, at least, until you've gone through the entire

book yourself.

- When will you be done?

- Just two more words.

"The End."

- Excellent.

Tell you what?

Where are you staying?

- The YMCA.

I have a clean bed, a hot shower, and I'm learning judo.

- You rush back to the Y, get a full night's sleep.

Tomorrow, we meet back here, work on the strategy

to sell my book.

- Our book!

- Whatever.

I did it.

- You're so smug!

- It's only that I am unaccustomed to this role

of patron of the arts.

- Ajamian, you wouldn't know art--

- Gentlemen, please.

- I will pound that statue into floor tile

if that's what you want.

- Mr. Ajamian?

- If City Hall wants that eyesore removed, so be it.

The cost is $275,000.

- You arrogant slob.

- If you want, I will take a 10-year tax abatement.

By the time, the voters wake up, this administration

is long gone.

- Jonathan, I am wasting my client's time.

- How about you give him a break on the next project?

- Ajamian has burned his bridges in Santa Monica.

- See you in the morning.

- [sighs] Fallen from grace.

How is one to carry on?

I ask you.

- Mr. Ajamian, is this just a big joke?

- I'm afraid so and not a very good one.

I can understand how someone would

find that statue offensive, but that is not my problem.

- Well, you're responsible for putting up the statue.

How do you separate yourself from what you did?

- This is business, and the future of this city

will think twice before they start telling developers

how to spend their own money.

Perhaps I should testify.

- Perhaps you shouldn't.

Lee.

You are a beautiful sight.

You know, ever since we met, I haven't

been able to forget you.

- You've been on my mind, too, Jonathan.

That's why I called your office.

But when I found out you were down here actually protecting

this guy, how can you--

- Hey, I don't like defending this Ajamian guy,

but I believe in the First Amendment.

- The First Amendment was written by slave owners.

- If we let ourselves be threatened

by someone else's expression, then who is the master?

- I'll never understand how lawyers detach themselves

from the people they defend.

- Lee, I chose this case because 8u98u the short time I was

on the road, I traveled through Nigeria, Zambia, military rule,

one-party states, places where the government

dictates your rights.

No one has a choice.

There is no choice.

And you can't hide behind an American Express card.

You know what?

I don't have time for this.

I don't need it, not tonight.

- Maybe that's what you're about, always running away

whenever there's a problem.

- I know testifying has been difficult, Mrs. Schuller.

Just a few more questions.

- I'll do my best.

- It's Mistress Xenia's contention the punishment given

your husband was not extraordinary, that in fact he

had submitted to such treatment on a regular basis

for quite some time.

- Objection, assumes fact not in evidence.

Mistress Xenia has not testified.

- Sustained.

The jury shall ignore the last remark.

- Mrs. Schuller, can you think of a reason

why Mistress Xenia would want your husband dead?

- Objection.

- Overruled.

- I'd like the witness to answer.

- Not long ago, my late husband rewrote

his last will and testament.

His executor plans on making those changes known next week.

Until I'm proven otherwise, I have

reason to believe that Miss Von Rault coerced Eric

into leaving the controlling interest

of World Wide Studios to her.

- One final question, did you ever notice welts of any sort

on your late husband's body?

- Never.

- Thank you, Mrs. Schuller.

- Mrs. Schuller?

How would you describe your marriage to Mr. Schuller,

especially during the last 10 years?

- Not without its ups and downs.

- Actually, the two of you were heading for a divorce;

isn't that true?

- Yes.

- You once warned Arnold Becker, and I

quote, "if you ever meet my husband,

make sure you have firm footing.

Otherwise, he'll cripple you, too."

Correct?

- My husband could be a cruel man.

- Yes or no, Mrs. Schuller.

- Yes.

- Is it true in fact you and Mr. Schuller

barely remained civil these last 10 years, sleeping apart,

sometimes not exchanging a word for weeks on end?

- Yes.

- And is it also true there was no physical intimacy whatsoever

between the two of you.

- Yes!

Since my spinal injury, I've been unable--

what difference does this make?

- For starters, if you didn't see him naked,

how could you have known about welts

that may or may not have been on your late husband's body?

[courtroom murmuring]

Nothing further.

[office chatter]

- Hi.

- Have a seat and roll up your sleeve.

- Does it matter which arm?

- Either one.

And make a fist.

- Weather is gorgeous this time of year in California.

- Almost like we have seasons.

I'm originally from New York.

- Whereabouts?

- Small town called Armonk, Westchester County,

rolling hills, lots of trees.

- Sounds pretty.

- Not this time of year, too cold.

[melancholy music]

Now, relax your hand.

Sorry.

The worst is over.

[upbeat music]

- There's dominance and submission

in all human sexuality.

When someone hugs you, part of them

is possessing, holding you captive,

but submissive people, those like Mr. Schuller,

outnumber dominants 7 to 1.

- What position of submission was Mr. Schuller in when

he suffered his heart attack?

- He was bound and gagged, hanging

upside down by his ankles.

It was the first time in more than a decade of sessions

that he dropped the ball.

- Dropped the ball?

- Whenever one of my clients is gagged, we put a ping pong

ball in their hand.

If the pain becomes too severe or there's

any undue discomfort, they let go of the ball,

and we stop immediately.

- And there is no sex in these sessions?

- None.

Clients may have an orgasm, a tremendous release of tension,

but no contact.

- When Mr. Schuller dropped the ball, what did you do?

- Immediately had one of my assistants dial 911.

Then we administered CPR until the paramedics arrived.

- Were you aware Eric Schuller had

had a previous heart attack?

- Yes.

However, he told me his doctor said

exertion of a sexual nature wasn't a problem.

- Ms. Von Rault, was it necessary to strike

Mr. Schuller repeatedly and with force?

- Yes.

The therapy session--

- Objection.

Defendant is not a qualified therapist.

- Defendant has a PhD in behavioral sciences.

- Overruled.

Witness may continue.

- Mr. Schuller had a high threshold.

If I didn't hit hard, he felt I didn't care.

- Did you care?

- He was a dear friend.

It broke my heart to know the burden of guilt he carried.

- Any idea what caused this guilt?

- Objection.

- Overruled.

- Unresolved trauma involving his deceased mother.

Mr. Schuller felt he never lived up to her expectations.

- To the best of your knowledge, did his mother strike him?

- Never.

That is significant.

Freud suggested children who aren't punished

and never spanked and then forgiven in love

sometimes become masochistic.

Eric Schuller paid me to be his mother,

to whip him, and afterwards, put my arms around him

and say I loved him.

- What would happen then?

- He would break down and cry.

- Thank you.

- Mistress Xenia, this honorable profession of yours--

- Actually, Mr. Graphia, I do consider it honorable.

I help people.

I know I helped Eric Schuller.

- Does it give you sexual satisfaction?

Are you turned on?

- Occasionally.

- Were you aroused when you beat Eric Schuller?

- Sometimes.

Mostly, I felt sorry for him.

- At $250 an hour, I feel sorry for him, too.

- Objection. - Sustained.

- The money is important.

It helps remove the guilt.

- I see.

- You felt compassion for Eric Schuller,

so you beat him to death?

- Objection!

- Withdrawn.

[courtroom murmuring]

- The human figure is a sculptural tradition,

old as Pericles.

- Aren't you concerned that many have found your work

to be offensive, even racist?

- My art demands that be of no concern to me.

In Mexico City, an angry mob defaced Diego Rivera's mural

at the Hotel Del Prado.

The Mona Lisa was considered revolutionary.

[chuckling] Frankly, I am surprised that my statue

is such a point of controversy.

- Thank you.

Nothing further.

- Mr. Verdiramo, how can you be surprised by the controversy?

Where is your nude statue of Margaret Thatcher?

- To the best of my knowledge, in a warehouse in

Brighton, England.

- Because when you tried to exhibit it, you and the statue

were pelted with fruit, were you not?

- That's right, however, I--

- A moment ago, you mentioned the riot

caused by Diego Rivera.

What part of that mural was defaced?

- The words "dios no existe."

- God does not exist, fighting words in a Catholic country,

wouldn't you say? - Perhaps.

- It's a bit like shouting "fire"

in a crowded theater, isn't it?

Isn't that what you're trying to do

with your work, Mr. Verdiramo, shout

fire in a crowded theater?

So when to your delight, there's a stampede, you can sit back

and simply say, who, me?

- Objection.

- I have no further questions for this artist.

- You may step down, Mr. Verdiramo.

- Stuart, describe the man who pulled you from your car.

- I remember the breaking of the glass and the swinging-- door

swinging open, but I can't--

- Stuart, the night of the police lineup,

you said he was wearing a blue shirt.

- Did I say blue shirt?

- If you're not razor sharp on these answers,

your credibility as a witness will

come into serious question.

- I know, Ann.

Look, can we wrap this up?

I'm really tired.

- OK, Stuart, can you describe the man

who allegedly swung the bat?

- He was 6 feet tall, and he wore sweatpants.

- Originally, you said dungarees.

- Ann, uh, maybe--

- I'm done.

- Stuart, I need your statement.

- Just put me on the stand, all right.

I'll be fine. - We're trying to help.

- No, no, you're not.

You're not trying to help.

You're trying to convict these people.

Who's to blame here, Ann?

The people in South Central for not getting their fair share

or the rest of us?

[door opens]

[tense music]

[door slams]

- Stuart's our key witness.

If he can't testify--

- He'll be OK, Tom.

I'll make sure.

- This is not a case about an artist

who in the privacy of his own studio

created an offensive statue.

This is a case about a developer who was so upset

by the requirement that he devote a small fraction

of his projected cost to the public

that he purposely incited civil unrest.

Alan Ajamian has violated the public's trust.

Now Mr. Rollins will ask, what is

more fundamental than the First Amendment right

to free speech and expression?

But when certain forms of expression

so disrupt the functioning of society,

that freedom must be suspended to preserve order.

When the social fabric is torn, all the art and all the words

are meaningless.

- Your Honor, we might not share the perspective of an Alan

Ajamian or Vincent Verdiramo, but an insecure totalitarian

regime controls and censors its artists, sends them to Siberia.

But a free society exposes its art to public scrutiny,

and we can't always have the good without the bad.

Some art endures.

This abominable disgrace may not.

Let's not confuse the messenger with the message.

The issue, Your Honor, is one of tolerance, a measure

of our compassion as a society.

[office chatter]

- Douglas?

- That the rest?

- Except for the first three chapters

that were sent over last night.

Roger came by and picked up the originals.

Maybe I should make a copy.

- Not yet.

I can't put this down.

If the other chapters are as good as those I've read so far,

I should begin the sequel.

- You actually helped write this?

- What do you think?

It is my autobiography.

- Well, ever since the riots, and-- and you

were tossed into jail, I've doubted that you've changed.

But you exposed yourself.

That took courage.

- I know.

- Oh, I worked fast.

There may be some typos, especially

in some of the racier sections like chapter 15.

- That's why the monkey's mom invented Wite-Out.

Racier sections?

Chapter 15, chapter 15.

"I put my arms around Roger and nestled against him?

My heart leaped with ecstasy even in our bleak dank cell.

I had found love and felt no less a man?"

Where is he?

I'll roll up his rib cage like a Venetian blind.

- What are you ranting about?

- They'll need two stretches to carry out his body.

- Whose body?

- Hiya, Fender.

- Don't you Fender me!

We never made love.

- No, we didn't.

But I used to climb down from my bunk

and wrap myself against you, feel your heart beating.

- You did what?

- I held on to you for dear life, and you let me.

Bless you, you let me.

- I was asleep.

I sleep like a heavy appliance.

- Every night, Fender.

Be honest.

- You're living a fantasy, and this book is libelous.

- My word against yours.

Hey, it makes for a good story, and controversy sells.

- How dare you print baldfaced untruths.

- Then give me back our book.

- Your book, mister.

- I want no part of this.

- Douglas, that was Marvin Rosenthal on the phone.

He wants to option the manuscript.

- Not so fast.

- Gimme, it's mine, Fender.

- Out of my way, miscreant.

[background chatter]

- This case leaves me with agita.

I am suspect of Mr. Ajamian's intentions and dubious of Mr.

Verdiramo's artistic integrity.

However, freedom of expression is on occasion the right

to make some people furious.

I am therefore denying the city's application

for a restraining order.

The statue remains in place.

My fervent hope is the outraged citizens will be as forgiving

as is our Constitution and that this unrest

will fade with time.

We're adjourned.

- You did a commendable job.

- Right.

- Why are you angry?

You won.

- Mr. Ajamian, to be perfectly honest,

I don't care what you think.

- Ms. Von Rault has not been put out of business.

She's still at the same address, whipping

away, charging $5 a stroke.

But Mistress Xenia is not a sexual deviant.

In fact, she only occasionally gets her kicks beating men.

Instead, she is an entrepreneur of horror, a pain

merchant, and total cynic.

There is a limit even as adults to what we may consent.

Eric Schuller did not consent to his own murder,

and yet that's exactly what he got.

Knowing full well of his weakened condition and earlier

heart attack, Miss Von Rault beat him to death

and kept the money.

You must not let her get away with that.

- Manslaughter is defined as unlawful killing

without premeditation.

What Miss Von Rault does for a living may

be considered by most to be distasteful,

warped even, but criminal?

Not by law.

Eric Schuller assured Miss Von Rault of his physical condition

and voluntarily consented to everything she did.

She knew Mr. Schuller's body, his life story,

better than his own wife.

Claudia Von Rault and Eric Schuller trusted one another.

It was not her intent to hurt but to heal.

- How'd you make out?

- I managed to grab 87 random pages before Roger

ran off with the others.

- I'm sorry your manuscript wasn't on a disk.

- In the Bowels of the Brute would have ruined me anyway.

It was filled with lies and hallucinations.

- Yes.

- People in the legal profession would have needed

an exhumation order to find me.

- Uh-huh.

- Roxanne, you were the only one to read the entire manuscript.

What was your opinion?

- Runaway bestseller.

- That's what I was afraid of.

- Sorry, Douglas.

- Roxanne, I want to--

to apologize.

Yesterday, I made you cry.

- It's not entirely your fault. Lately, my hormones

have been a little schizo.

- Change of life?

- [laughs] In a way.

New life.

I'm going to have a baby.

- Do you know who the father--

I mean, who is the father?

- Tommy Mullaaney.

- Mullaney?

He didn't force himself on you--

- Douglas!

- Roxanne, this is wonderful.

Give the papa-to-be my congratulations.

- I will.

- And tomorrow, if you'd like, we

could begin reconstructing your autobiography.

- I thought you'd never offer.

- Tommy, hi.

- Hey.

You tell Brackman if he picks on you, he's got to deal with me?

- Douglas says congratulations on the baby.

- That's better.

I'll walk you home.

Mm.

I'll even carry your books.

[ding]

- Oh, Gwen.

Oh, I'm glad I caught you.

If you go along, I'd like to initiate action

against our insurance carrier.

- On what grounds?

- Well, under California law, we have no recourse.

But the Americans with Disabilities Act

appears to offer some protections.

- Sounds like a long shot.

- Well, now, this would be a test case,

and there could be the usual publicity,

which accompanies such actions.

- I appreciate your effort, Leland,

but I prefer to keep this private.

Oh, by the way, I took the test.

I'll know soon.

- Have you reached a verdict?

- We have, Your Honor.

- What say you?

- "In the matter of The People versus Claudia Von Rault

on the charge of manslaughter, we

find the defendant not guilty."

- Congratulations.

- Miss Von Rault, you are free to go.

- Congratulations.

- Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

thank you for your service. You're dismissed.

- James.

- Court's adjourned.

[courtroom chatter]

- Good job, my son.

- Thank you, Fath--

Ben?

- It's not the exorcist, although I

did have lunch in the cafeteria so watch your shoes.

Pretty good, huh?

One fitting at wardrobe.

- What are you doing back here?

- Never spent much time in a courtroom, riveting.

Inherit the Wind, 12 Angry Men, To Kill

a Mockingbird can't hold a candle to this kind of drama.

- How do you think this will affect the World

Wide shareholders meeting?

- I was hoping you had the answer.

Don't look so farchadat.

- Let's just-- when Schuller's will is read,

if Beatrice does assume controlling interest

of the studio, I can't imagine she's going

to want either of us around.

- Light a candle, Becker.

- Thank you, Arnie.

- You're welcome.

- Ah!

- Did that hurt?

- Worse in person, isn't it?

And you just spent two days pouring

every drop of your energy into ensuring

that statue remains up there.

- I hate this, but I'll still defend

Verdiramo's right to sculpt it and Ajamian's right

to display it.

- [scoffs] That trash is a free pass into the white

man's mind and how he sees us.

- Lee, a single artist created this.

I'd rather see the statue crushed into a million pieces

and used to fill up potholes in our streets.

Martin Luther King fought for civil rights.

- Next, you'll say we should turn the other cheek.

- My father always warned me when your heart's

running in front of your head, take a deep breath

and let your head catch up.

My heart wants the statue removed.

The city has seen enough division.

My head says we can't afford another provocation.

- Tear it down!

Tear it down!

[mob chanting]

- It's time to go.

- Not this time, Jonathan.

For once, follow your heart, not your brain.

- Lee, there's going to be a riot.

[mob chanting]

- All right, come on, somebody.

Give me a hand.

- If you can't take a stand, leave without me.

- Pull it down!

Come on, everybody!

- Down! Down!

Down!

[tense music]

[crown shouting]

- Come on.

Let's go.

- Scientists uncovered a man's body.

Check this out.

Figure it's almost 5,000 years old.

No one is sure why he was up in the Italian Alps.

- Probably lost, too stubborn to ask directions.

- Touché.

- Daniel, can I ask you a hypothetical question?

- I hate hypotheticals.

Before my wife died, she used to play games like,

if something happened to her, would I remarry?

Would I find Lucy a new mom?

No time for needless speculation.

- Daniel, there-- there might be a chance that I have--

[doorbell rings]

[baby crying]

- Baby days.

- You want me to rock, Lucy?

- No, why don't you grab the door, and I'll--

I know how to put her back to sleep.

[baby continues to cry]

- Hello.

- Hi.

- Who are you?

- Bad dream, your worst nightmare.

- Who are you?

- I'm the wicked witch, the evil queen.

Didn't you get my little gift?

You shouldn't hang up when I call.

- Why are you doing this to me?

- You refuse to stay away from my husband.

- Who are you?

- I'm Alison Morales, Daniel's wife, Lucy's mother.

[ominous music]

That's who I am.

- No, you're dead.

You're dead.

- Daniel?

Daniel!

[gasping]

[theme music]