What Just Happened Page #4

Synopsis: A week in the life of Ben, a powerful Hollywood producer, as he juggles negotiations with a studio head so that his newest picture can open at Cannes in two weeks, with a high-strung director who must make edits to the film, with an actor and his agent because the star has arrived on the set of a new picture with a full beard, and with his most recent ex-wife, Kelly, whom he discovers may have a lover. He also notices that his 17-year old daughter, from another marriage, has probably been crying. What's up? Can Ben keep it all together, get the green light from the studio to go to Cannes, move his new picture past the beard crisis, and maybe return to Kelly's good graces?
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director(s): Barry Levinson
Production: Magnolia Pictures
  1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
5.7
Rotten Tomatoes:
51%
R
Year:
2008
104 min
$1,043,419
Website
388 Views


I badgered them. It was a special order

because it was a white shag carpet.

- You know

- Carl, I don't get white shag.

You gotta be kidding me.

I wouldn't be caught dead with shag.

You said it went well

with the black chairs.

- That's why you ordered white shag.

- You're right, okay. I stand corrected.

- Really?

- Yes. I'm in the editing room. It's okay.

JEREMY:

Oh, f***ing...!

You may not realize this now.

but I was protecting you

and our movie in that office.

I went out, man. I really went out.

I can see that,

but maybe that's a good thing.

No. No, I went out.

I had 11 months 22 days,

mate, right?

I had no drugs, I had no alcohol...

till after that meeting

with that cow Lou.

and your assassin in training,

your assistant.

he decides to give me an Ativan.

Well, one Ativan

doesn't sound so terrible.

Yeah, right.

Try following it up with three Dilaudids

scored from a barman.

and all washed down

with rum and Cokes, right?

Okay, then, you needed a release.

It can happen to anyone.

No, look, look.

I was seven days away

from getting a cake, man.

Right? A cake for a year sober.

Me, a cake.

And you and your diabolical

bloody naked treachery.

took that away from me.

- No, that's not true.

- Not true.

- Come on, Jeremy.

- Not true.

- Jeremy.

JEREMY:
Ow!

- How's that?

- That's not necessary.

Shouldn't we save this high drama

for the big screen?

Yeah, or that one,

the one that my blood's in.

- I know that, and I'm the producer.

- My blood on that film, right?

Blood that goes all the way back

to a Jewish ghetto in Vilna...

a little shtetl.

How could you possibly understand

anything like that?

Let me get you a Valium.

Just for now. It's not that I don't

But we're on a deadline.

This is for us, these changes.

Can I have a couple of Vicodin

instead?

Sure, easy.

- Go get three of them, Ben.

- Three? Coming up.

Yeah, get me My office

to get three Vicodin.

and bring them to the cutting room

right away.

Let's put that down.

[AUDIO SCRUBBING]

Jeremy, look, we're gonna need you

to dig deep on this one.

You can do it.

We get our victory in Cannes.

I get these bastards to spend a lot

and distribute this movie properly.

- You can do it.

- It's just so f***ing hard for me, man.

I mean, you know, it's my work.

It's all I've got.

Trust me, once you make

these cuts and trims.

and take out that damn dead dog,

you will feel cleansed.

You will forget the pain.

[GUNSHOT]

It's okay.

As long as we do a viewing together

before we leave, okay?

- Call me anytime you want.

- Okay. I will, Ben.

Give me a hug.

[JEREMY SOBBING]

I'm sorry.

It's okay. It's okay.

- That's okay.

- I'm sorry, Ben.

No, don't look.

I'm so scared, Ben.

We're on a deadline,

so let's get to work.

Okay? Let's get to work.

BEN:
Cal, Cal, relax.

I'm coming to see Bruce.

No, no, you're not listening.

I'm driving on the 405 as we speak.

Five minutes away.

I'm driving right over the

Relax, I'm going over the hill.

I'll be there in a minute.

It doesn't matter. It'll be fine.

MAN [ON STEREO]:
This is Fiercely.

Cue one and one, take one.

[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING

ON STEREO]

MAN:
I need grips and I need stand-ins.

Come on.

CAL:
Ten minutes

was an hour and a half ago.

- We got a crisis here.

- Lot of traffic, lot of traffic.

I saw Moses through the window.

What's the status of the beard?

CAL:
I don't know.

- Did you tell him he has to shave?

CAL:
I'm gonna bring it up,

but I just haven't done it yet.

BEN:
We start shooting Friday.

Today is Tuesday.

CAL:
I'm the director,

I know what day it is.

I suppose it took a long time

to grow it.

Probably wants to wait

till the last minute.

That's what I thought,

but after seeing him today.

I got the sense

that this is his look.

- It's an artistic choice.

- The extra weight is too?

- It can't be.

CAL:
It's a feeling.

Cal, we got the studio to pay him

$20 million to be a leading man.

For that kind of money,

there is an expectation.

CAL:
They expect a good performance.

- No, no, no, Cal.

For that kind of money,

they expect millions of women.

to want intercourse with him.

Do you understand

what I'm saying?

You want a poster that says,

"See Santa run"?

Okay. Okay.

MAN 1:

We need more 4-by-8 plywood here.

BEN:
Okay.

MAN 2:
Watch your back.

- Okay, let's go tell him to shave.

- Okay.

Okay. He'll shave, okay?

Especially if he hears it from you.

That's the hope.

BRUCE:

Motherfuckers! Motherfuckers!

Motherfuckers!

We are talking about my f***ing

artistic integrity here, goddamn it.

My artistic integrity, okay?

Audiences wanna know it's you,

Bruce. They expect it.

And we're talking about

a lot of money here.

What are you talking about?

They're not gonna recognize me?

"Where'd Bruce go, huh?

Can't see Bruce no more.

Where's my favorite movie star?

Oh, look, there he is.

I see him right there,

the guy with the beard."

Yes, but there's a

You know,

this is a certain demographic

that has to be served, Bruce.

That's the business.

You have to do it.

I mean, that's just a fact.

It's about falling in love with a hero.

There's a tradition to this stuff, Bruce,

there just is.

- Oh, I see, we're talking about p*ssy.

- More or less.

I understand, I understand.

P*ssy's good.

Let me tell you a funny story.

I've been growing this for six months.

I've been knocking off trim 24/7,

and never one f***ing complaint.

- Maybe we should listen to

- Shut up.

Hollywood producer, my ass.

I should've seen this mentality coming.

Really, should've seen it coming.

Never a doubt. Never a f***ing doubt.

BEN:
Bruce, Bruce, Bruce.

Come here and talk, Bruce.

Bruce, Bruce, come on.

- You wanna talk about integrity?

- Let's talk about integrity.

- Let's talk about f***ing integrity.

- Let's go. Okay, let's go.

Let's talk about integrity.

I'm willing to stack my three

last pictures against your three.

How about that, huh?

Let's talk about integrity.

You don't have three pictures.

You don't have any.

You know why?

Because you're a f***ing producer.

Well, why don't we start.

by giving your overblown salary

to the f***ing Red Cross?

- That would show me some integrity.

- What? What?

Sorry.

Motherfuckers.

F***ing babies!

Can't f***ing believe this sh*t.

No, no, no, you shouldn't

wear any beards.

How about this?

Why don't we just not have clothes

in the f***ing movies anymore?

How about f***ing paying for that?

I never realized

how strongly he felt about it.

I think he wants it.

BRUCE:
This here's your f***ing chair.

How's that?

You motherfuckers.

Will somebody fix this f***ing door?

Jesus Christ.

You happy now

that you got my pressure up?

You f***ing

BEN:
Well, somehow

I don't think he expects to shave.

CAL:
You know, in a very early draft,

the script mentioned he had a beard.

- A very early draft.

- Yeah.

Hey, now that video's done,

we won't be needing that sh*t.

Blow me, you motherfuckers!

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Art Linson

Art Linson (born 1942) is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.Linson was born in Chicago, Illinois. He did his undergraduate work at the University of California-Berkeley and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles law school. Art Linson's producing credits range from such commercial and critical hits as The Untouchables, Heat, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Fight Club, and Scrooged, to unusual classics such as Melvin and Howard, The Edge, This Boy's Life and Into the Wild. Linson's producer/director collaborations include Brian De Palma, David Mamet and Cameron Crowe. His directorial debut was the 1980 comedy, Where the Buffalo Roam, which was loosely based on stories by Hunter S. Thompson and starred Bill Murray as the writer. His writing credits include two books, What Just Happened? Bitter Hollywood Tales from the Front Line, which was adapted into a film from his original screenplay What Just Happened and starred Robert De Niro, and A Pound of Flesh: Perilous Tales of How to Produce Movies in Hollywood. He is married to British actress Fiona Lewis. For television he is currently executive producer with his son John Linson on Sons of Anarchy. In 2016, Art produced and penned the movie The Comedian directed by Taylor Hackford. The film starred Robert De Niro and Leslie Mann. Also in 2016 Art produced The Outsider, a crime drama film directed by Martin Zandvliet and written by Andrew Baldwin. The film stars Oscar winner Jared Leto and Tadanobu Asano. more…

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