Beyond the Lights Page #6

---

we'll do a special re-release,

and drop "Blackbird" on it.

Cool?

Um...

Either you put her song on the record

or you release it without an artist.

Come on, Macy,

it's all love in here.

- What's with the idle threats?

- There's nothing idle about it.

Deals can be a little complicated,

but I can assure you, she has no outs.

Uh, yeah. Well, you see,

the morning after the concert,

this came through my fax machine.

It's a, uh, letter of termination.

We never sent a letter of termination.

- That was sent by mistake.

- Excuse me?

I... I drafted it as a precaution.

I-I left it on my desk.

My assistant must have sent it. I...

It was a mistake, Noni, I apologize.

I know the legalese

can be a bit complicated, Liam.

The thing is, once that comes

through a fax machine,

it's legally binding.

So as of now, there is no deal.

Do you have any idea

how much it's gonna cost me?

Yeah. But I think Liam's salary

will just about cover it.

Trey, look, I can fix this...

If you want another chance,

you can buy one for 200K.

Now... I'm gonna need you

to do something for me.

And I ain't asking.

End this, Noni. Definitively.

You love life, it was an accident.

Move the hell on.

OK.

Mom's famous.

Oh, yeah, I used to call everything

Mom's famous.

Keysburry called.

They want you to close

with "Blackbird. "

Are you serious?

Not bad for a couple

of Brixton girls, eh?

I gotta talk to the label,

'cause, you know,

we don't wanna confuse the public

about who you are.

I think you made it clear

who's running things.

Tell 'em I wanna do it.

You know, I was thinking about

Ryan Tedder producing my song.

Can we find out

his schedule?

Oh, Noni,

we can't delay the album.

What do you mean?

Well, the buzz right now is insane.

We can't take any chances.

It needs to be out.

But... in the meeting,

you said I wouldn't re-sign.

Yeah, 'cause I wanted Liam gone.

But this isn't about Liam,

it's about me.

The next album, you wanna write a couple

of songs, write a couple of songs.

- Do that, I promise.

- Mom...

We all win here, Noni.

- I'm not doing it.

- Not doing what?

- I'm not re-signing.

- Yes, you bloody are.

You work for me, remember?

You know, I always wondered

when I'd do a shoot or something

and they'd tell me to hike my skirt

up more or take off my shirt,

and I'd look to you to see if it was OK,

and it was always OK.

Would you look around you?

It is OK.

It's not OK! It never was!

Noni, the song doesn't make you,

you make the song.

It's a game, right?

You know that. It's a game!

So what, you give me a new nose,

a new body, some Indian chick's hair.

New and improved,

except I'm not a bloody product.

We did what we had to do.

There was never any "we".

Your word was gospel.

Oh, wait, so now you're a victim?

When did you ever tell me

that you didn't want this?

When I was on that balcony.

You promised me

that was a mistake.

You wanted it to be a mistake.

When I needed a mother,

you were always my manager.

I was your manager, I was your mother,

I was your father,

I was whatever I had to be

in order to take care of you!

You didn't take care of me,

you took care of my career!

And I made you a bloody star!

And everyone who looked down on you

would suddenly look up to you.

Prove to the world

you weren't a f***-up.

It was never about me,

it was always about you.

Don't you dare question

my love for you!

Noni, come on.

You're fired.

Good evening, sir.

Good evening, um...

I'll be there in a second.

Hi.

Hey.

You have to go?

Yeah, I'm uh, being vetted.

Vetted?

Classy way of begging for money.

So you're gonna

shake up the world?

That's the plan.

That night, on the balcony...

...you saw the goodness in me.

And it was enough to keep me going

until I could finally see it in myself.

Sorry it took me so long.

Me, too.

I should let you go.

Take care, Noni.

Kaz?

It was perfect, right?

What we had.

We started on a lie.

So it could never be perfect.

I like the blue.

Purple is the new blue.

Excuse me.

You'll have all of this

ready for us by Wednesday, right?

Hello?

- Not Thursday.

- This is he.

Where are you?

I'm on my way.

I gotta go.

Hold on, we just need

a few more seconds.

- Hey.

- I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have called.

I made a mistake.

You can do this,

just come with me right now.

- No, I can't.

- Yes, you can.

My kids are in there.

- Just stay here, OK?

- Don't.

Shh.

Hey, Officer A**hole.

No!

And I hear you're gonna be performing

in the UK this weekend.

That's right. I'm so excited.

I haven't performed at home

since I was a kid.

Are you really British?

And I ask because

your former rapper boyfriend

has been tweeting that

you're faking that accent.

Uh... Well, I faked a lot

of things when I was with him,

but my accent wasn't one of them.

Ouch.

Sorry, I shouldn't have said that.

You've been doing

a lot of that lately.

- What?

- Apologizing for your actions.

Are you concerned at all

about your image?

I'm not concerned at all.

Your record company insists

that you wanted to come on the air,

and you wanted to get rid

of those rumors, once and for all.

Well, firstly, I'd like

to compliment the tabloids

for their ability to capture

those amazingly bad pictures of me.

That's a talent.

But... probably for the first time,

they got the story right.

What are you saying?

I'm saying, "Truth is the only

safe ground to stand upon".

I was on that balcony...

ready to let go.

I had to make the decision to live.

I had to make the decision

to stop being a victim,

to stop trying to be somebody

I knew I wasn't.

I needed to know

what was worth saving about me.

And the truth is, that fantasy girl

you see on the posters,

she did go over the balcony.

And the real Noni Jean

got pulled back up.

I'm getting some help now.

And it's helping me

to get to know her.

She still has some issues, but...

- ... I like her.

You know what?

Maybe, as we get to know her,

maybe we'll like her, too.

That was a lot to admit, Noni.

Good luck. Thank you.

Thanks, Don.

Hey, POP?

Remember when I was a kid and you'd

tell me about the people you saved,

and all the bad guys you put away?

Everything was so simple.

You were like Superman to me.

All I wanted was to be just like you.

Son, all I ever wanted

was for things to be better for you.

Yeah, but better for me might not...

have anything to do with my career.

Are you saying you don't want to be

a bitter, heartbroken man?

Don't you mean,

"old, bitter, heartbroken man"?

Noni.

Welcome back!

Good to have you back.

Brixton has gotten so bad.

They carry guns like mobile

phones now.

It's good for these kids to see you.

Let them see that

they can make it out.

Your mom called.

She want you to tackle me

before I get to the stage?

No, she wants to know

how you're doing.

You know, it wasn't a monster

who dragged you into my shop.

It was a desperate mom

who seemed like she'd do anything

Rate this script:3.6 / 5 votes