Begin Again

Synopsis: Gretta (Keira Knightley) and her long-time boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine) are college sweethearts and songwriting partners who decamp for New York when he lands a deal with a major label. But the trappings of his new-found fame soon tempt Dave to stray, and a reeling, lovelorn Gretta is left on her own. Her world takes a turn for the better when Dan (Mark Ruffalo), a disgraced record-label exec, stumbles upon her performing on an East Village stage and is immediately captivated by her raw talent. From this chance encounter emerges an enchanting portrait of a mutually transformative collaboration, set to the soundtrack of a summer in New York City.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
Director(s): John Carney
Production: The Weinstein Company
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 16 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.4
Metacritic:
62
Rotten Tomatoes:
82%
R
Year:
2013
104 min
$12,078,174
Website
9,767 Views


Thank... Thank you.

Thanks very much.

And I know that

there's a lot of people

on the list to play tonight,

but I was wondering

if I could just add one more.

She's a friend of mine who,

like me, is a long way from home.

And if it's OK with you,

I was wondering if you'd like her

to come up here and

play one of her songs.

Is that OK? Yeah?

Gretta, would you come

up here, please?

Uh, just give me a moment.

I think it would be a good idea if you'd

come up and sing one of your songs.

It would be a

really f***ing bad idea.

Oh, Gretta, come on,

this is New York.

- No.

- You want to hear it, right?

Yeah?

- Yeah?

- Yes!

Sing it!

You're gonna be amazing.

Um, hi.

Uh, so this is a new song,

so it might be kind of rough.

Um... It's for anyone who's ever

been alone in the city.

Thanks.

See?

Get up!

It's 7:
00am.

Good morning, New York, and welcome to

the second hour

; and Andy in the Morning!

Hey, Patsy, did you, uh...

did you read about the dog?

- The Korean restaurant thing?

- Oh, I certainly did.

Did you hear about that, Katie?

Fresh prospects, let's hear it.

What do you got for me?

No, no!

Who's next on this delightful journey?

No, no, no, no, man.

No!

No, you can't...

No, you can't!

t's sh*t. It's sh*t!

Get f***ing out of my car.

Give me anything, a song,

a hook, anything I can work with.

I'm not asking for much.

That's something. That's good.

Until you started to sing.

F***.

Sh*t.

Where's Mom?

Where's my daughter?

What do you mean?

Your mom has a deadline.

She asked me to watch you today.

Let's go.

So where do you want to go,

the Museum of Natural History?

You want to go to the park

and get ice cream or what?

Why would I want to do that?

I'm not ten.

What's that smell?

Oh, that's gasoline. I was filling up

the car with gasoline,

and then I spilled

a little on my pant leg.

That isn't alcohol.

I think I got a meeting here.

You want to wait here

or you want to come?

You think you have a meeting?

Do you or not?

Let's see.

See? This is fun, right?

When we came into this neighborhood

in '92, there was nobody here.

It was like a war zone.

Hookers, crack...

- Now it's totally gentrified.

- I know, Dad.

I've had the tour.

OK, we're gonna

go up here. Just be quiet.

There's more of a dynamic of...

I think it's a great way

to generate revenue for the company.

- Hi, um...

- Hey.

Was there bad traffic?

Uh, no, traffic was actually

pretty good. I was just passing by.

OK, well, we were just...

we were...

closing up about this

audio commentary piece.

Yeah, sh*t idea.

It was a sh*t idea then.

Still a sh*t idea.

It didn't age well.

Oh yeah, we...

we appreciate your candor.

We had... We had a different

view of it here, though.

I mean, musicians, for the most part,

are pretty much monosyllabic teenagers

who really don't have that much to say,

and that's the good ones, right?

So what are we doing here?

The music industry is fine.

It's always gonna be fine.

We always have been fine.

Maybe the kids are right.

Maybe music should be free anyway.

That's an alarming thing to hear

the head of a record company say.

- What? The truth?

- Well, um...

- Hm. Thanks so much, Karen.

- Yeah, let me know.

Uh, let's... let's talk more.

I really appreciate you...

- Yeah, of course.

- ...coming by.

- Thanks, guys.

- Great meeting.

- Good to see you, Dan.

- I'm glad we got that figured out.

- Thank you.

- Yeah.

Bands doing audio commentary

on their own music

is so f***ing lame,

Saul, and you know it.

Ten years ago, man,

you would've sh*t on that idea.

t's something.

It's an idea.

It's something that helps

keep the lights on. It's something.

We need vision,

not gimmicks.

- That's us.

- I've been following you, Mr. Mulligan.

Down a track on every long shot

you've been bringing

in here for the last five years,

and which one of them has come in?

Which one?

Dan. Dan!

See you later, brother Saul.

Dan!

We need to talk, man.

Come back here.

Don't you walk away from me, man.

You can't do this sh*t, man.

You can't pull this sh*t, dude.

You can't pull this sh*t!

You want to do...

Don't do this here.

I'm gonna do it right f***ing here.

- Let's do it, then.

- All right, let's do it!

- Because they know, they know.

- They know what?

These people know that they

are sitting behind those desks

because I started an

independent record label

above that bar, Saul.

And we changed the way that

things were gonna be done, man.

- Nurture and foster.

- Things change, times change.

People got to change with them, Dan.

t's not working.

You got to go.

I don't have time

for this sh*t, man.

I got my own sh*t

going on, all right?

I'm getting... I'm taking my

client list. I'm out of here, man.

I am f***ing out of here.

What are you talking about?

They signed to us.

Don't bother her.

Don't bother her.

Ifs not Jerry Maguire.

Dad, let's go.

I'm taking my art, then.

That's it, I'm taking the art.

It's my art.

I paid for it.

I bought it.

I picked it out.

- I got it.

- Get away from me. Get away.

- I got it, I got it.

- No, you don't. Let go.

Stop it!

Leave it there.

I'm coming back. for that.

That's mine.

All of that's mine.

Come on, baby.

You want another one?

Um, I do, but I won't.

I mustn't. I can't.

How could he fire me when I set

the whole f***ing thing up'?

Did you?

Don't you know anything

about your father?

Yeah.

I do.

- I know what Mom says.

- What does Mom say?

She says you're a pathetic loser.

She says that affectionately.

What about you?

What do you think?

I don't really know you.

So...

You know, two years is a long time

in the life of a teenager.

- Where'd you learn to talk like that?

- My psychiatrist.

Psychiatrist.

You have a psychiatrist now?

I do. Mom thought it would be

a good idea. I was acting strange.

There's nothing strange

about you, all right?

You're 15 years old. You don't need

a f***ing psychiatrist.

Believe me, I know.

I know you better than anybody.

Yeah, you sure do, Dad.

How old did you say I was?

Did I say you were 15?

I meant you were 14.

Did I say 15?

You got money to pay

for these beers?

I don't... I... I'm a kid.

I don't have any money on me.

- What happened to your pocket money?

- I spent that on condoms.

I... What?

No, no, no, no, no.

Too much information.

- You ready?

- For what?

Ah!

That was fun, right?

Don't smile.

- It was fun, Dad.

- Yeah. You had a good time.

We haven't ran like that

since you were little. That was good.

- This your daddy?

- Hey.

- I'm glad you're here.

- Look away.

I was just going to the car...

- You OK?

- I'm fine.

I'm sorry. My bad.

Have a great day.

I could've taken that guy,

just didn't want to make a scene.

Do me a favor, all right? Don't tell

your mom I lost my job today.

Listen to me...

Thanks for a really

normal day, Dad.

What?

Sh*t.

Hello, everyone.

- Hi.

- Hi.

- How's work?

- Uh, fine.

You look hungry.

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John Carney

John Carney (born 1972) is an Irish film and TV writer/director who specialises in low-budget indie films. He is best known for his award-winning 2007 movie Once. He is also a co-creator of the Irish TV drama series Bachelors Walk. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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    "Begin Again" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Nov. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/begin_again_3830>.

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