Speaking Parts Page #4

Synopsis: A struggling actor's job as a hotel custodian is a front for his real job: being rented out as a gigolo by his supervisor. A co-worker is obsessed with him, but he ignores and avoids her. He leaves his acting resume in the hotel room of a screenwriter, who is casting for a TV movie based on the true story of her deceased brother. She hires him to play the lead and the two begin an affair. She becomes increasingly distraught as it becomes evident that the movie's producer is changing her story. Egoyan's trademark tangle of bizarre relationships surrounds the protagonists on their way to a mind-blowing conclusion. A hypnotic, fascinating film.
Genre: Drama, Romance
Director(s): Atom Egoyan
Production: Zeitgeist Films
  1 win & 7 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.8
Rotten Tomatoes:
100%
Year:
1989
93 min
93 Views


- Yes.

- Do you have any idea

Of the sort of background

I bring to a project like this?

- Yeah.

- You probably used to watch

some of my shows

When you were a kid, right?

Did you watch television

when you were a kid?

- Yes.

- Then you used to watch

some of my shows.

- So what's your point?

- My point is, who the f***

do you think you are?

- All I'm suggesting...

- you've been talking to Clara,

haven't you?

Look. I just want to make sure

That we're working

with the best script possible.

Do you understand?

- But it's a personal story.

- Of course it is.

It's a very personal story

And I respect that.

I just want to make sure

that it works as a story.

That's my job.

I'm giving a lot to this show.

I'm directing it.

I'm even gonna act in it.

I know it was

a traumatic event for Clara.

She was close to her brother.

A man gives up a lung

to save his sister's life.

This is an extraordinary event,

isn't it?

- And he dies as a result.

This moves me, Lance.

This moves me so much,

I want to make it

into a very fine film.

Something I can share

with millions of people.

- Her brother actually died?

- She didn't tell you.

Tragic.

Clara's script deals

with what she went through.

But that wasn't what interested me.

So I optioned her story

and made it mine.

And a movie that takes

the form of a talk show

Is very original, Lance.

I'd watch it.

And people have always watched

what I'd like to watch.

You have,

ever since you were a kid.

Right?

So are you ready to sign

the contract now or not?

Okay. Then sign it.

Good. I'll see you on set.

Hi. Lance isn't in right now.

Please leave a message.

Hi. I...

just watched

your audition again today.

I'm... I'm dying to see you

in the film.

Lance...

why... why aren't you

returning my messages?

I have to know what he said.

Do you...

do you care about me at all?

Do you...

do you know what I'm going through?

- You haven't been getting

enough sleep.

- The tape is different.

- What do you mean?

- The tape is different.

- All right. Calm down.

I'll have a look at it.

- Eddy...

I saw things.

Things I hadn't seen before.

- What?

Other meanings?

- Yes.

- I guess that's normal.

- And other scenes.

- That's not possible.

Listen. I think it'd be a good idea if

you cooled off these tapes for awhile.

Get some sleep.

- He's suffering, eddy.

- Who?

- Lance!

- Lisa...

get some sleep.

- Now, what I want you to do

is pretend that this is a real show.

As if it were being broadcast live,

And you are actual participants.

Now, the topic of the show

is organ transplants.

And this is a life and death issue.

Obviously, I need the tension

level here to be quite high.

A number of you sitting

in the front rows

Have been told that you have relatives

or children who are in need of donors.

And the actors sitting up here

Are doctors who specialize

in the type of operations

That could save the lives

of your loved ones.

I'd like to take a moment here

To introduce Lance.

Lance will be playing

the brother of David,

The man we're watching on

the live feed from the hospital.

Can we see the live-Feed image

for a moment?

Can you hear me there, ron?

Ron?

It's obvious that David isn't

the only person in this country

Suffering from this disease.

But he is certainly the only one lucky

enough to be on national television.

And then, I suppose

the question becomes,

Who gets on tv

to ask for a body organ?

Who decides?

Dr. Spencer,

Is there something

you want to say about this?

- Well... the main problem

is getting access to the donors.

The public doesn't seem to be aware

Of the desperate need for organs.

- Okay. Okay. But let's take

the case of David.

How often does a lung become available

- Not too often.

That's because

In a trauma such as,

say, a car accident,

A lung is one of the first

things to get damaged.

- Let's talk to David's parents.

Can we move the camera

Out into the hallway?

Go into the hall and chat there,

for a second.

If you've just joined us,

David is a young man desperately

in need of an organ transplant.

I don't mean to make your lives

Anymore complicated

than they are right now, but...

something extraordinarily dramatic

Is happening to you today.

Can you give us any indication -

And I know this isn't

the best time to ask -

Of what's going through your mind?

Can we see David again?

Would the camera person there go

in the room again just one more time?

However traumatic this may be,

Even for those of you

in the comfort of your homes,

I want you to meet David.

David doesn't want

any special attention.

He just wants a chance

to have his story told.

- Excuse me.

- Yes. Who are you?

- I'm...

David's brother.

- David's brother?

- Yes.

- Is this man your son?

- I want to make a donation.

No!!!

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Atom Egoyan

Atom Egoyan, CC is a Canadian director, writer, producer and former actor. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica, a film set primarily in and around the fictional Exotica strip club. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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    "Speaking Parts" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/speaking_parts_18626>.

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