The Last Movie Star Page #8

---

What the game is about.

Survival. Who has

the ability to survive.

- That's the game.

- Yeah.

Well, I'm surviving. Barely.

I took it all for granted.

I thought I had it figured out.

I look in the mirror now,

and I have no idea

who that person is

staring back at me.

[sighs]

Damn.

You're good-looking. [chuckles]

You know, time is like this river.

No matter what you do or don't do,

no matter how much you think

you can beat it,

it just keeps rushing by.

You don't beat it.

You don't beat this river.

No, you don't.

[laughs and yelps]

[sighs]

[chimes]

[Bjorn, voicemail]

Hey, Lil. You know who it is.

Been kind of trying

to call you all night.

Uh, just wondering where you are.

If you're still at that hotel

with that creepazoid old man.

- Anyway, call me back. Bye.

- [chuckles]

[sighs]

Vic, you are so right.

The more I ignore

douchebag's calls,

the crazier it's making him.

Vic?

Vic?

[creaking]

[groans]

Vic? Are you okay?

I've watched everyone

I ever cared about die.

One by one, they seem to just...

disappear on me.

It won't be long

before I disappear, too.

[Lil] No, don't say that, Vic.

You want to know why I needed

to come to Knoxville?

I needed to say goodbye.

Goodbye to the town

that made me who I am.

Goodbye to the trees

I climbed as a kid.

Goodbye to the school that

taught me how to break the rules.

And the streets

I wandered late at night.

The hiding places

where I left all my secrets.

The town...

where I made so many,

many mistakes.

And now it's time

for one... last goodbye.

[nurse] Okay, Mrs. Schulman.

You have a very nice visitor today.

Mr. Edwards has come all the way

from Los Angeles, California.

Now, the Alzheimer's

may have progressed

a little bit further

than you're prepared for,

but she's still a very sweet lady.

Isn't that right, Mrs. Schulman?

All right, I'm gonna leave you to visit.

Okay.

How's the food here?

[chuckles softly]

Look at us.

Old fogeys.

But you still look beautiful.

You still look as beautiful

as the day I met you.

We have a lot of good memories.

For what it's worth,

I never loved anybody else like you.

Ours was the special one.

The first one.

The real one.

I came here to apologize, Claudia.

I just dealt you...

[sighs]

[voice breaking]...a lousy hand.

I was a stupid, jackass kid.

All swept up in a crazy dream.

And I just left you and Gracie.

I just left.

I screwed it all up.

If I could go back

and do it again, I would, baby.

I'd do it differently.

You were the one that loved me

before anybody else

even knew my name.

And I treated you like sh*t.

I got caught up

in all the wrong things

with all the wrong people.

I thought I knew it all.

I thought I had so much time

to make it up.

I thought I could just

snap my fingers

and make things right.

And when Gracie...

killed herself...

[sighs]

That was all my fault, too.

It's all my fault.

[sighing]

It is.

Oh, darling.

Excuse me. Do I know you?

You really want

to leave me here alone?

- Well, I really want some food.

- Well... [sighs]

I know I shouldn't stop you, but I...

- I feel safe with you around.

- You do?

[woman] Well, I am safe, ain't I?

Well, Justice will be back

in a minute.

Justice ain't you.

[music playing]

[chuckles]

[all cheering and applauding]

Okay, that concludes

our Vic Edwards Film Festival.

We are now gonna give out

our Lifetime Achievement Award

to the great Vic Edwards in absentia.

[all cheering and applauding]

I'm sure if Vic were here,

he would want to thank all the fans.

[Vic] Don't put words in my mouth.

For crying out loud.

Good Lord, man.

- Oh, my... Vic...

- Get me a chair.

Yeah, yeah, of course. Right away.

[all murmuring]

[chair scraping]

Unfortunately, until today,

the last time I apologized

for anything was in 1977.

I punched out a director

on the set of Horse Power.

Well... [sighs]

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry for being such an a**hole.

Leaving the way I did.

I thought I was too good

for this little film festival, but...

as it turns out,

it's too good for the likes of me.

Winning this

Lifetime Achievement Award

has forced me to examine

an important question

that I've avoided as long as possible.

What have I really achieved

in this lifetime?

[indistinct shouting]

Most of the movies I've made,

everybody knows the way

they're gonna end.

Right from the first scene.

[Lil shouting indistinctly]

[Vic] Life's kind of like that.

- Everybody knows how it ends.

- Back away!

But it's the scenes in the middle...

that make it count.

The great producer

Joseph E. Levine once told me,

"An audience will forgive

a shitty act two

if you can wow 'em in act three."

Well...

I had a hell of an act one.

Pretty shitty act two.

And I screwed up most of act three.

I made certain of that.

But thanks to you,

and thanks to Doug and Shane

and Stuart and Faith.

And especially Lil.

And everybody here.

You've helped me to see

that maybe it's not too late

for my Hollywood ending.

And so, with humility and pride

and deep appreciation

that I, Martin JJoel Schulman,

proud son of Tennessee,

humbly accept this Lifetime,

so far,

Achievement Award.

And I'm gonna make damn sure

that the rest of my life

lives up to the honor of this.

Thank you.

[all cheering and applauding]

[Vic] Thank you, Doug.

I can't believe you just spent

the whole weekend

in Knoxville with Vic Edwards.

Did he talk about

Murder Can Kill You?

Did he tell you any stories?

Thank you.

- Hmm.

- Bye, Marty.

Hmm.

[car door opens]

Uh, Lil? Where do you

want this one?

There.

Yeah.

[Sonny] I told you so.

I know you did.

And you were right.

A Lifetime Achievement.

How can I get one of those?

- Can I rent it?

- I told them about you

and they seemed interested.

Oh, stop it.

[both laughing]

[music playing]

[country music playing]

[song ends]

[country song playing]

[song ends]

[instrumental music playing]

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes