Begin Again

This film contains very strong language

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

MAN: Thank... Thank you.

Thanks very much.

Um... Ladies and gentlemen, I have a friend here tonight who,

like me, she's 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.

APPLAUSE Is that OK? Yeah?

Gretta, would you come up here, please?

Uh, just give me a moment.

It'd be a good idea if you got up and sang one of your songs.

A really fucking bad idea.

-Gretta, come on, this is New York.

-No.

You want to hear it, right?

APPLAUSE Yeah?

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.

WOMAN WHOOPS

# So you find yourself at this subway

# With your world in a bag by your side

# And all at once it seemed like a good way

# You realise it's the end of the line

# For what it's worth

# Here comes the train upon the track

# And there goes the pain, it cuts to black

# Are you ready for the last act?

# To take a step

# You can't take back?

# Did she love you?

# Did she take you down?

# Was she on her knees when she kissed your crown?

# Tell me what you found

# So you find yourself at the subway

# With your world in a bag by your side... #

CROWD CHATTERS

SCATTERED APPLAUSE

-Whoa!

-Thanks.

See?

-HE GROANS

-Get up!

RADIO: 'It's 7am. Good morning, New York,

'and welcome to the second hour of Potsy And Andy In The Morning!

'Hey, Potsy, did you, uh...

'Did you read about the dog? The Korean restaurant thing?'

'Oh, I certainly did. Did you hear about that, Katie?'

MUSIC: Drowning Pool by The Walls.

# It's a drowning pool, it's a drowning pool

# It can pull you deep down under

# It's a drowning pool, it's a drowning pool

# Don't let it steal your thunder... #

PHONE CHIRPS

# He becomes a ghost when you need him most

# All you get is the secretary

# He's playing golf today or on a holiday

# Wonder how he feeds that belly

# It's a drowning pool, it's a drowning pool

# It can pull you deep down under

# It's a drowning pool, it's a drowning pool

# Don't let it steal your thunder... #

Fresh prospects, let's hear it. What do you got for me?

CHIRPY POP PUNK PLAYS

No, no!

Who's next on this delightful journey?

AGGRESSIVE PUNK PLAYS

No, no, no, no, man. No!

No, you can't... No, you can't!

HAPPY ELECTRO POP PLAYS

ELECTRO HIP-HOP PLAYS

It's shit. It's shit!

Get fucking out of my car.

Give me anything, a song, a hook, anything I can work with.

-I'm not asking for much.

-GUITAR PLAYING SOFTLY

That's something. That's good.

MAN SINGS ON RECORDING

Until you started to sing.

DANCE POP MUSIC PLAYS HORN HONKING

Fuck.

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?

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 neighbourhood

in '92, there was nobody here. It was 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.

MAN: There's more of a dynamic of...

-WOMAN:

-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, shit idea. It was a shit idea then.

Still a shit idea. It didn't age well.

Oh, yeah, we... we appreciate your candour.

We had... We had a different view of it here, though.

I mean, musicians, for the most part,

are pretty much monosyllabic teenagers

who 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.

Alarming thing to hear the head of a record company say.

-What? The truth?

-Well, um...

Hm. Thanks so much, Karen. Uh, let's talk more. I really appreciate you...

-Yeah, of course.

-..coming by. Thanks, guys.

Nice meeting you. I'm glad we got that figured out.

-Thank you.

-Yeah.

Bands doing audio commentary on their own music

is so fucking lame, Saul, and you know it.

Ten years ago, man, you would've shit on that idea.

It'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 shit, man. You can't pull this shit, dude.

You can't pull this shit!

You want to do... Don't do this here.

I'm gonna do it right fucking 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.

It's not working. You got to go.

I don't have time for this shit, man.

I got my own shit going on, all right?

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

I am fucking out of here.

What are you talking about? They signed to us.

Don't bother her. Don't bother her!

It's 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.

ALARM BLARES

I got it. Get away from me. Get away.

-I got it, I got it.

-No, you don't. Let go.

HE GROANS

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 fucking 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 CHUCKLES

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.

HE SLAMS BOTTLE DOWN

There's nothing strange about you, all right?

You're 15 years old. You don't need a fucking 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?

DAN SIGHS

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?

HE IMITATES BUZZER

No, no, no, no, no. Too much information.

-You ready?

-For what?

MUSIC THROUGHOUT

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...

Oh!

-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 favour, all right? Don't tell your mom I lost my job today.

Listen to me...

Thanks for a really normal day, Dad(!)

What?

ENGINE STOPS

INDISTINCT PHONE CONVERSATION

Hello, everyone.

-Hi.

-Hi.

-How's work?

-Uh, fine.

You look hungry.

Her teachers are really worried about her.

No girls like her at school. She is distant, and, basically,

the only people who want to hang out with her

are older boys who want to fuck her.

Oh, really? And you find that a big surprise

seeing how you let her walk out of the house

looking like... like... Jodie Foster from Taxi Driver?

She dresses the way she wants to,

and any daughter who dresses like that

-only wants one thing.

-A pimp?

No, Dan, think about it.

A daddy.

That is some bullshit.

She needs some guidance, for fuck's sake.

Well, guide her! Guide her!

You waltz in here like a fucking clown,

you tell me how to raise my kid,

the kid that you pick up once a month and decide

you have a fucking conscience about. You know what?

30 seconds after you're gone,

we'll have totally forgotten you were ever here.

Thank you.

Shit.

ENGINE SPUTTERS

Fuck.

HE SNIFFS

MAN: 'I thought there was no hope.

'I thought there were no answers, and then I found God.'

God may not always be on our time,

but he's on time.

Whenever you're alone... Sir?

Go.

Have a talk with God.

HE CHUCKLES

Right, man. OK.

I'm gonna have a little talk with God, all right.

Thank you. Thank you.

What if he doesn't answer?!

'Attention, due to a signal malfunction

'at Jay Street, the next uptown train...'

-Fuck.

-'..will arrive in 20 minutes.'

SIREN WAILS

Hey. Give me a bourbon. Hurry up.

-What kind of bourbon you want?

-Well, I don't care.

And I was wondering

if it might be OK if she came up here and sang a song.

Is that OK? Yeah? APPLAUSE

Gretta, would you come up here, please?

Hi.

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.

WOMAN WHOOPS

SOFT GUITAR BEGINS PLAYING

# So you find yourself at the subway

# With your world in a bag by your side

# And all at once it seemed like a good way

# You realise it's the end of the line

# For what it's worth

# Here comes the train upon the track

# And there goes the pain, it cuts to black

# Are you ready for the last act?

# To take a step

# You can't take back?

PIANO PLAYS ALONG

DRUMS PLAY ALONG

# Taken all the punches you could take

CELLO PLAYS ALONG

# Took 'em all right on the chin

# Now the camel's back is breaking

# Again

# Again

# For what it's worth

# Here comes the train upon the track

# And there goes the pain, it cuts to black

# Are you ready for the last act?

# To take a step

# You can't take back?

MUSICAL BRIDGE

# Did she love you?

# Did she take you down?

# Was she on her knees when she kissed your crown?

# Tell me what you found

# Here comes the rain, so hold your hat

# And don't pray to God,

# Cos he won't talk back

# Are you ready for the last act?

# To take a step

# You can't take back, back, back?

# You can't take back, back, back

OTHER INSTRUMENTS STOP

# So you find yourself at the subway... #

CROWD CHATTERS

-# With your world in a bag by your side.

-#

SCATTERED APPLAUSE

-Whoa!

-Thanks.

SHE SIGHS

-I'm in.

-What?

I want to make records with you. I want to... I want to produce you.

I want to sign you. We're meant to work together.

Sorry, didn't you see what just happened up there?

Yeah, what? Are you feeling sorry for yourself?

No, I like my music. Who cares if they don't get it, right?

You just need to work on your performance a bit.

I'm not a performer, I write songs from time to time.

Are all the songs as good as that one?

Are you really an A&R man? You look more like a homeless man.

I've been celebrating all week. I signed a band, we got carried away.

That's some song you got there.

I promise you, it could be a big hit.

Plus, you're beautiful.

Sorry, what's beauty got to do with anything?

-Jesus, you're tricky, aren't you?

-No, I actually just think

that music is about ears, not eyes.

And I'm not Judy Garland just off a Greyhound bus

looking for stardom, but, really, thank you.

OK, bye.

Bye.

# So before you go

# Enjoy my show... #

OK, here's the truth.

I couldn't have signed you if I wanted to.

-OK.

-I didn't come from a signing tonight.

I haven't signed anybody in seven years.

My label's completely lost all faith in me.

So why did you give me your card?

Force of habit. If I look homeless, it's because I practically am.

I left my home about a year or so ago.

I'm sleeping on a shitty mattress in some shitty apartment,

and I wasn't celebrating tonight.

I was drinking my ass off standing on a subway platform

ready to kill myself, and then I heard your song.

-Want to get a beer?

-Sure.

OK, come on.

"Dan Mulligan. Born 1966.

"Headed A&R department at Island Records for two years.

"Left to consonant-found indie label Distressed Records

"with Harvard classmate Saul Byron."

So you own Distressed Records?

I sold all my interests due to emotional difficulties.

-What emotional difficulties?

-I was too emotional. Read on.

"Very active on the hip-hop scene in New York in the early '90s,

"the pair discovered

"numerous breakthrough artists. Won two Grammys as producer.

"Lives in New York with wife, music journalist Miriam Hart,

"and their daughter."

-What happened to the Grammys?

-I pawned them.

You pawned them? How much did you get?

125 for the both of them, which got me nice and wasted

one weekend a couple months ago.

-Were you drunk when you heard my song?

-Absolutely.

-That's when the magic happens.

-What magic?

-I hear things.

-You hear things?

-Arrangements.

You need to be drunk for that.

You must've been drunk tonight, cos nobody else heard.

No, your song's good. It's you.

Standing up there like a tomboy. I don't mean to be offensive,

but don't you think that looks a little passe?

-Really?

-Seriously.

We get you a look and a killer video,

and you'll go straight to the top.

I'm thinking Norah Jones, singer-songwriter-thing at a piano.

Or the...or The Cardigans, back in the day, when they...

when they first came to America? Maybe even Deborah Harry.

A male band behind you. What? You find that amusing?

Sorry, something went down the wrong way.

Sorry? No, you were saying? Me with a cardigan on? Norah Jones?

Babe, who the fuck do you think you are?

You're gonna stand up on a stage with a beat-up guitar

and you think you're the new Carole fucking King?

No, I think that an A&R man telling an artist how they should dress

or come across is total bullshit.

People want authenticity.

OK, babe. Authenticity. Give me the name of one artist

that you think passes your authenticity test.

-Dylan.

-Dylan!

That is the most cultivated artist -

his hair, his sunglasses. He changes his look every decade.

Randy Newman.

I fucking love Randy Newman. OK? You got me on that.

Listen to me.

I am not saying that you can't be

a real bona fide motherfucker in this business,

but you got to do whatever it takes and get people in to see your shows,

where the music can start to do its real work.

Oh, my God. What are we even talking about?

You can't sign me, and I don't want to be signed.

That's right! What's not to like?

Come on, let's get out of here.

GRETTA CHUCKLES

Ah, shit. You're gonna have to get these beers, though.

OK, so, uh...

-It was really nice to meet you.

-Oh. Where are you going?

To sleep. I have a plane to catch tomorrow.

Where?

-Home.

-Why?

Because I'm sick of this city, and I want to go back to uni.

Oh, come on. Come on, no-one comes to New York and just leaves

without something terrible happening.

What? What happened to you?

Hey.

Come on, you can...you can share with me. I'm no stranger to misery.

Listen, just come to my label

and let me play your demo to my partner.

If it doesn't work out, I will personally pay to change your ticket.

What's one more day in New York, for crying out loud?

You're just probably gonna go home and mope around.

All right, look, I'm gonna go home and think about it,

and I'll call you either way tomorrow. OK?

-Good answer.

-Yeah.

HE CLEARS THROAT

-It was very nice to meet you.

-Yes, pleasure.

Pleasure's mine. Hey, you... you got my number, right?

Yeah.

SHE SIGHS

NO AUDIO ON PHONE

# Please don't see

# Just a girl caught up in dreams of fantasies

# Please see me

# Reaching out for someone I can see

# Take my hand, let's see where we wake up tomorrow

# Best laid plans sometimes are just a one-night stand

# I'll be damned, Cupid's demanding back his arrow... #

-Hi! Dave?

-Yes.

Hi. I'm Jill. I work in hospitality at the label.

-Nice to meet you.

-You too.

-Hello. I'm Gretta.

-Nice to meet you.

-Thanks.

-You're welcome.

Right this way. Thank you, Marco.

I think you're gonna like the apartment.

-It's very high-end.

-Sorry, ladies.

Hey, I... I'm sorry. Are you, um... You're Dave Kohl.

-Yes. Yeah.

-Yeah, I told you guys.

We just, um...we saw your film the other day. I love your songs in it.

Thank you very much. This is Gretta, my girlfriend.

-She writes songs too.

-Oh, cool.

Oh, would you mind taking a photograph. That'd be so awesome.

Just that button right there. Yeah.

-Yeah, it's a good one.

-Thank you!

-Thank you.

-Thank you so much, you guys.

You'll have to get used to that.

This movie is selling out all over town.

-It's crazy.

-Unbelievable.

-Oh, no, it's real.

All right, here we are. We hope you like.

So, uh, your fridge in here is stocked with food.

There are two sets of keys on the table in there.

This is your driver's number and my cellphone number.

I'll leave that here.

You're due at the label later this afternoon

to meet everyone and say hi,

then we'll take a tour around the studio.

So, probably want to catch up on your sleep before then.

So I'll leave you to it, OK?

-Pleased to meet you, Gretta.

-Nice to meet you, too. Thanks.

DOOR OPENS

-DOOR CLOSES

-This place is a shithole(!)

THEY LAUGH

THEY LAUGH

Biggest fridge I've ever seen.

Oh, my God! Come here.

Hey, can...

-Can I ask you something?

-Sure.

Should I have come over in, like, a week or two

and let you settle in first and get used to everything?

-No.

-Are you sure?

I don't know if I could do this without you. It's kind of scary.

-Am I a wimp for saying that?

-Eh...

Hey! There he is. Big Dave.

What's up, kid? How you doing, brother?

-Good to see you. Gretta?

-Nice to meet you.

Come on in, guys.

-Put Dave at the head of the table.

-All right, I like it.

-You meet everyone?

-Hi, everybody.

My assistant, Mim, the beautiful Mim. This is, uh...

Mildred from marketing. Billy there is social media.

The rest of the gang you'll meet, spend time with.

So, Gretta, you're gonna play guitar on a track or two, I hope, right?

Oh, yeah, sure. I mean, if Dave wants.

Gretta and I have been writing together for a couple years now,

before the film came along.

So I would love for us to try a couple of her songs.

Did you...did you write on the film with him?

No. No, no, no. No, I...

I mean, that's the sound we're after is from the movie.

-Of course.

-Oui?

-Yes, yes.

-Si? Capice?

Yes, I just, you know... Gretta's very much a part of the inspiration

behind everything, you know, so I just thought...

She's not just my girlfriend. We're partners almost.

-I just wanted to include her.

-Um, just to be completely clear,

I'm...I'm just tagging along on this.

I'm really happy to be here and more than happy

to accompany Dave on a couple.

How sweet is this girl? I love that.

Whew. HE LAUGHS

How great are these guys? I love them.

# Oh-oh-oh-oh

# Oh, oh, yeah

# I hope that you're not mad

# You always said you were a man of action... #

INDISTINCT CONVERSATION

Rolling Stone.

Yeah, thank you so much.

All right, it was great talking to you. Thanks.

-What's that?

-That's matcha tea.

-Matcha tea?

Yeah. It's got, like, four million antioxidants in it.

-Oh, my God, it tastes like piss.

-I like it.

Samurais used to drink it before they went into battle.

You're not a samurai, you're a songwriter.

-Well, I'm kind of like a samurai.

-Are you?

-'OK, bring it back to the start.'

-Let me give these to the guys.

Oh, hey. We got to go to LA for a week on Monday.

-We're going to LA?

-Uh, no, sorry.

It's just with label guys. They have an office.

They want me to meet this video director guy.

But, in the meantime, I'd really like you to listen to this. So, yes?

Yes, I'm sorry. I'll, uh... deliver coffee.

OK.

-Hey, guys, can we do this again?

-You got it, Dave. Take two.

And rolling.

SONG: No-One Else Like You

# Is everything just right?

# Don't want you thinking that I'm in a hurry

# I want to stay your friend

# I had this vision and it's got me worried

# Cos everyone wants someone

# That's one cliche that's true

# The sad truth's I want no-one

# Unless that someone's you

# And looks like you, feels like you

# Smiles like you

# I want someone just like you

# Through and through I'm forever blue

# Cos there's no-one else like

# Ooh!

# Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

# Who-who

# I don't know

# Oh-oh-oh

# Yeah-yeah!

# I don't know

# No, never at all. #

Thank you.

HE LAUGHS

Oh, my God!

-Hello!

-Look at you!

Oh, my God!

He has the studio for three months, and then we go on tour,

-so I think we're staying for six?

-This is unbelievable.

You're total rock stars. SHE CHUCKLES

Which studio is he working with?

-Electric Lady.

-Oh, fuck off.

I know! Oh, my...

-Cool, isn't it?

-Are you serious?

-So, uh, this is me.

-Aw, it's lovely.

It's like that old joke. You put the key in the door, you break a window.

My God, look at all this stuff.

Yeah, a lot of the studios are upgrading.

So they're practically giving stuff away. I can record an album here soon.

Well, that'd be cool.

Look at you. You've got CDs.

Yeah, I just phased out all my cassettes. Have a sit down.

-It's very retro of you.

-I have whisky or water.

-Whisky, please.

-Of course you will.

-CHUCKLES:

-Look what you've got.

People are going crazy for that here!

When I play a show, and the people know I went to college in Bristol,

the first thing they ask is if I know your boyfriend.

Tell me about it. I'm becoming "Dave Kohl's girlfriend" back home.

I'm like, "Hello, we used to be a team. What happened?"

You know what they say - get your songs in a movie.

So this is me. This is where I've been for God knows how long.

-I love it.

-Do you?

-Yeah.

Did you see the bed? I made that bed.

That's impressive. How do you get up there?

I vault. I vault. SHE LAUGHS

-You vault?

-With a pole?

No, no pole. It's just, it's one...

I do it in one straight, like, one straight luge.

Unless I'm drunk, in which... in which case I...

it's often a dismount.

-God.

-It's the back I like.

It's like he's holding a guitar,

but he wants you to think it's his penis.

SHE LAUGHS

He's saying, "Look, it's a guitar, but it's not.

"This is the actual size of my penis."

-GRETTA:

-Why? No.

-DAVE:

-I am gonna shoot this because you have to play that

the way you just played it.

OK, you play the guitar, cos I can't do that when that thing's on.

-DAVE:

-I will. OK, where's...

-GRETTA:

-It's in G.

-I know G.

-I don't like that.

-I can play G.

It doesn't matter, you have to get over this.

-This is an exercise.

-Yes. Ready?

THEY PLAY "LOST STARS"

Slower.

# Please don't see

# Just a girl caught up in dreams and fantasies

# Please see me

# Reaching out for someone I can see

# Take my hand, let's see where we wake up tomorrow

# Best laid plans are sometimes just a one-night stand

# I'll be damned, Cupid's demanding back his arrow

# So let's drunk on our tears

# And, God, tell us the reason

# Youth is wasted on the young

# It's hunting season

# And this lamb is on the run

# Searching for meaning

# But are we all lost stars

# Trying to light up the dark. #

Done.

-What do you think?

-What do I think?

I think...

I think I'm angry. I think I...

I think I'm mad at you cos it's so good

-that I hate you a little bit.

-SHE CHUCKLES

So incredibly good.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Really?

-Yeah, what's it called?

I don't know. Um, "Lost Stars"?

-You like it?

-I... I don't like it.

I think it's... I love it,

and I think it's incredible, and is it...

Is it about me? It's not about your other boyfriend, right?

I don't know if it's about you, it's definitely for you.

-I'll take it.

-It's your Christmas present

-cos I can't afford to buy you another one. Happy Christmas!

-This is the only present I want.

-Yeah? Happy Christmas.

-Thank you very much.

-I love you.

-I love you.

Aah! Turn it off, turn it off, turn it off, turn it off.

SHE SIGHS

CREAKING

Hi.

-I missed you.

-I missed you.

-What... what did you do?

-Uh, nothing, really.

I just kind of hung around here.

I went to some botanical gardens.

-Oh, really?

-It was very lovely.

-Nice.

-Yeah, it was good.

-I wrote a new song.

-Did you?

-Yeah.

I was inspired in LA.

-Want to hear it?

-Wow, yeah.

-Would you be interested in that?

-Very interested.

-I've got it right here.

-How exciting.

SONG: A Higher Place

# I don't know if I'm the fool who's getting this all wrong

# That's the dream, to sing the perfect girl the perfect song

# All I know is I can't keep on wearing this disguise

# When you're the only one that sees what's real in my eyes

# You take me to another space in time

# You take me to a higher place, so I

# I'm 'bout to get out of the race

# I don't mind

# You oughta know that everything's nothing if I don't have you... #

Fuck!

What the fuck is wrong with you?

GLASS SHATTERS

MUSIC STOPS

FOOTSTEPS APPROACH

You're like a fucking mind-reader.

Who is it for?

Mim.

Mim from the label, Mim?

Mim...

Mim, who we met...

one month ago? Mim, Mim?

Yeah.

Was she in LA with you?

-SOFTLY:

-Yeah.

Yeah.

I don't know what to say.

It just happened. I...

Maybe it'll go away. Maybe it'll fade.

I just... I have to see it through.

SIRENS WAILING IN DISTANCE

STEVE PLAYING SONG

Do you want to put your head this end or this end?

-QUIETLY:

-Don't mind.

-OK, I'll sleep...

Do you want a tea?

CUPS CLATTERING

I don't remember if you take sugar or...

I'm gonna wing it. I'll wing it.

CLINKING

Please, won't you come out with me tonight?

I'm gonna play some songs down at this open mic night.

-Why don't you come with me?

-Cos I hate your fucking songs.

All right, I think we both know that that isn't true, so...

Sorry, I didn't... No. I... I love your songs.

I'm just... I...

SIGHS

I'm being fucking horrendous right now, which is why I need to, um...

I need to go home.

That's exactly why you need to come with me.

Come on. I insist.

-Uh...

-Pick that up and come with me.

You're coming. I'm not leaving you here.

I'll come back, I'll find your fucking head in the oven. Come on.

Uh, ladies and gentlemen, I have a friend here tonight.

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.

-WOMAN:

-Yeah!

-Is... is that OK?

Yeah? Gretta, would you come up here, please?

PHONE RINGING

RINGING CONTINUES

-Hello?

-Hey.

Were you serious last night about signing me?

Who is this?

Really?

I'm joking. Yeah, I was serious.

I have all my suits here.

Would you get me a nice suit and make me look nice?

-Wait, you can't just...

-I heard a song last night,

and I'm telling you, it's exactly what that

-shit-ass label needs.

-I'm glad.

You can't just barge in here. You can't come in like this.

-Why?

-Uh, because that's our arrangement.

-You got somebody?

-That's not the point.

We have an arrangement.

-Hello!

-Stop it, will you?

-Any stray man!

-It's not funny.

Don't worry about me, it's just the husband taking a shower.

-You can continue fucking my wife!

-Hey.

-That's not funny.

-Hey, I'm sorry.

If I did, you'd be the first I'd tell.

-OK?

-Oh, so you're not.

-I'll get you a shirt and a...

-No razor!

SINGING INDISTINCTLY

Stop it. All right?

You want to come in? You want sexy time?

CHUCKLES: No.

HE CHUCKLES

HORN HONKS

OK, ready?

So where are we going, Mr A&R Man?

We're going to my partner to play him it. Got your demo?

No.

-You don't have a demo?

-No.

Do you have MySpace or Facebook or anything?

MySpace? No, I... No, I don't. I just...

I... You know, I told you, I write songs from time to time.

-What do you write them for?

-What do you mean, "what for"?

For my pleasure and for my cat.

Oh, really? Does he like them?

She. Yes, she seems to.

-How do you know?

-Because she purrs.

Maybe she's booing.

No, she purrs at Leonard Cohen, too, and she has very good taste.

-Maybe she's fucking with you.

-Can we stop talking about cats now?

-OK.

-OK.

Fuck it. Let's do this the old-fashioned way.

ENGINE REVVING

# So you find yourself at the subway

# With your world in a bag by your side

IMITATES CELLO

Thank you, Gretta. Thanks very much. Thanks for coming in.

I'm just gonna take a moment to talk with Dan for a minute.

Thank you.

I'm not into it, it's a little undercooked for me.

She seems to have kind of an attitude problem and...

What are you looking for, man?

What, you want some... some little teenage pop star

whose mom's been raising her since two years old for stardom?

-I mean...

-That's not what I'm looking for,

but if you know someone like that, I mean...

Just give me the money to make the demo. I'll take her into the studio.

Get a hot-shit producer.

Get a couple session musicians, dial the thing out.

Then you can hear what I'm hearing, then you can tell me to fuck myself.

People send us their demos. It's not the other way around.

We don't... we don't make demos.

We're prospectors, man, we're investors.

We're digging for gold.

Make a tape, and we'll get back to you.

That's the best I can do right now, bro.

HE GROANS

So I've been thinking.

Why do we even need to rent a fucking studio?

Because... you need a desk, a live room and soundproofing.

Laptop, Pro Tools, a couple dynamic mics,

-and the city is our fucking live room.

-You mean record outside?

-That's right.

-Like where?

Everywhere.

Fuck him. We don't need a demo. Let's... let's record an album.

Every song we do in a different location.

All over New York City. And we do it through the summer,

and it becomes this tribute to this beautiful,

goddamn crazy, fractured mess of a city, New York.

OK, like, under the bridge on the Lower East Side.

Top of the Empire State Building.

Rowing boats in the lake in Central Park.

Chinatown. Cathedral of Saint John the Divine.

OK, in the subway, in fucking Harlem, everywhere, OK?

OK, so what happens if it starts raining?

Whatever happens, we record it.

-If we get arrested?

-Keep rolling. It'll be beautiful.

You like it?

What do you think? It's good.

-It's good. Come on.

-Will you produce it?

-Me?

-Yeah.

No, I haven't produced in a long time.

We'll get somebody young to produce it.

-No, but I want you to do it.

-Why?

Because I do.

I'll give you strings, but we definitely need piano.

Fill in the guitars.

-Got it. I love it.

-Done.

-Done.

The world's first Jag mobile recording studio...

is done.

-It's bloody genius, it is.

-Where do you want to go?

We need musicians. Terminally, miserably bored musicians.

And after that, I think, then you bring in the violin and cello.

First cello, then violin.

When we get into that lead guitar thing,

I want it to just become a whole different kind of song.

This is Malcolm. Malcolm is a child prodigy.

He's been playing violin since he was five years old.

I technically started when I was four.

Four.

-Wow.

-And this is his older sister, Rachel.

She was at the Manhattan School of Music on a full scholarship.

-Top-of-her-class cellist.

-That's amazing.

So here's the deal. I can't afford to pay you up front,

so I want to offer you a... a legitimate back-end deal.

Sound good?

Yeah, as long as it's not fucking Vivaldi.

It's not fucking Vivaldi.

It's great. No, no, no. I'm not... It's great.

We definitely need piano. Like, fill in the guitar underneath.

-Major seventh...

-Got it. I love it.

Steve, beautiful.

INDISTINCT

-Zach, what's going on?

-I quit.

-Good luck, girls. GIRLS:

-Bye!

Keep in touch, yeah?

When we get into that guitar thing,

I want it to just become a whole different kind of song.

I want it to be punk meets...

pop. And have some fun.

-Ah, he's home.

-DOORBELL RINGS

Dano, what's up, man?

Troublegum, my brother. My troubles are over.

-What say you give me some love?

-This is it, gangsta paradise.

-I'm glad to see you.

-Thanks to you, thanks to you.

-Come give me a hug. I don't know you, but...

-Hello!

Gretta. Great singer-songwriter.

-Let's get another one.

-Another one?

Where have you been? It's been two or three years.

-I don't appreciate this shit.

-Been on the down low a little bit.

-Doing this, doing that.

-Waiting for the next move.

Anticipating the next groove. BEAT-BOXING

I know you got a lot of shit to prove. Right?

Been on the underground, looking for that new sound.

We ain't fucking around.

Yeah, cos if it ain't right, then it's wrong.

And the road is long,

and you're only as strong as your next move.

-You feel that?

-Good, man.

-That's pretty much it.

-Damn, that was like some...

Paranormal Activity type shit moving through me.

-You know me.

-I'm just so happy to see you.

-So nice.

-Fat Jimmy, did you get that down?

-Yeah, I got it.

-Cos that was exceptionally good.

Hold my hand, baby, come on. Now, how can I help you, brother?

An outdoor album?

-That's right.

-That's fucking crazy.

I wish I could've thought of that. What do you want me to do?

I need musicians. I need a bass player and a drummer.

-I got plenty of musicians.

-The problem is, we can't pay them.

Fuck it, I'll pay them.

-Why?

-What do you mean, why?

For him, of course.

My brother, thank you.

-Now, come on...

-No.

-Get your sexy self in the pool. Come on.

No. Don't you touch me. I will kill you!

-She's English. She's a little uptight.

-Yeah...

-Good luck on the album, Gretta.

-Thank you.

Everything you see around here, this crib, these cars,

they're all because of him, and I don't ever forget that.

-I get it.

-No, no, no, no, no.

You can't know.

A guy like that falls on his lip for a couple of years,

people lose sight of who he is, and they don't treat him

with the respect he deserves.

-Don't listen to anything he's saying.

-It's bullshit.

-Come on.

-Yeah.

-Thanks.

-All right.

-Bye.

-Bye.

-Anything you need, OK?

-I love you, man. Thank you.

QUIETLY: I like her.

Are you serious? Are you listening to this? Really?

We're gonna use it! It's gonna be genius.

-You're a genius.

-You're not listening to this.

-You don't hear what I hear.

-You're gonna make this amazing, beautiful.

-I love it.

-Got it?

CHILDREN SCREAMING, LAUGHING

Those kids are gonna be all over this track.

-What do you mean?

-Just so you know.

KIDS PLAYING, WHISTLE BLOWING

Take that.

Little children, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo!

Let me see this for a second.

I'm shooting a song down here,

I need you to be quiet for five minutes.

-No, thanks.

-I'll pay you.

-How much?

-A buck each.

-You're funny. Five dollars.

-Five bucks for all of you guys.

SHOUTING

OK, hey, OK, two bucks, two bucks each.

-No.

-No way.

All right, all right, all right, five bucks each.

We're gonna do this for five bucks

and five lollipops, one for each of us.

Throw in a box of cigarettes and a lighter.

-SCOFFS:

-I'll give you one cigarette for each of you to smoke

and you share it, and a pack of matches, all right?

-Yes.

-All right. Can you sing?

# When you were asleep

# And I was out walking

# The voices started to speak

# And they wouldn't stop talking

# There were signs all around

# It really got my mind racing

# You were right all along

# Something's gotta change

# Hold on

# Hold on, they're not for me

# Hold on

# Cos everything's coming up...

# Roses

# Roses

# Now we're back on the street

# Found a song that's worth singing

# The bloody nose of defeat

# While your victory bell's ringing

# My whole life's turned around

# For this thing you keep chasing

# You were right all along

# But it's me who's got to change

# Hold on

# Hold on, they're not for me

# Hold on

# Cos everything's coming up

# Roses

# Hold on, hold on

-# Ahhhh

-Hold on, hold on

-# Ahhhh

-Hold on, hold on

-# Ahhhh

-Hold on, hold on

-# Ahhhh

-Hold on, hold on

-# Ahhhh

-Hold on, hold on

-# Ahhhh

-Hold on, hold on. #

-MUSIC ENDS

-Yes! Yes, that was it.

Yes, it's gonna work!

Oh, my God, is that the Empire State?

Yeah, right here.

-Yeah?

-Set up here.

-Get that.

-It's really good.

-Yeah, it's great.

-The wind's good, right?

It's not too loud. It's good, it's good,

I think it's good.

And we can look into people's windows, which is always fun.

You want to come with me to get Violet?

-Is that OK?

-Yeah, come on.

-Cool.

-My brother, there you go.

Thank you very much.

SCHOOL BELL RINGING

STUDENTS CHATTERING

-SOFTLY:

-There she is. That's her.

This is Gretta. She's the songwriter I was telling you about.

-Hello. How you doing?

-My daughter, Violet.

So who was the cute guy? The one in the blue shirt.

-Greg. You noticed him?

-Sure. I mean, who wouldn't?

-He's gorgeous.

-He's totally out of our league.

He's out of your league?

Well, I mean, he didn't look out of your league.

Ignore him.

How do you get someone to notice you're ignoring them

if they're ignoring you?

He's not ignoring you. You're beautiful.

He knows that you're there. He's just hedging his bets.

But...

You have to be really sure that you actually like him, you know.

That's it's not just that he's the guy at school to be seen with.

No, I do really like him.

Well, then you have to find a way to get him to ask you out.

Yes, but how?

Well, for starters, stop dressing like you're totally easy.

I thought this was sort of sexy, it's American Apparel.

No, it is sort of sexy. It's very, very sexy,

but it doesn't leave much to the imagination, you know?

I guess.

You want to go shopping?

I do.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

OK, good. We're going shopping.

Here you go.

Thank you. Good luck on the rest of your album.

-It sounds cool.

-Thank you.

-You have your key?

-Yep. I got it.

Hey, you should come and sing on a track.

I can't sing. I can play a bit of guitar...

Can you?! We're doing one on Thursday.

It's gonna be simple. You should come play.

-Can I, Dad?

-I need to... I need to contemplate that.

MOUTHING

What are you doing?

-That ain't cool.

-What? What?

I don't know if she can play guitar well enough to play on a track.

I don't want to embarrass her. What if she can't play?

Look, it's going to be easy. Let her do it.

KNOCKING

Yeah?

Hey, babe? Hey.

-Um, where's Violet?

-Well, she's... Violet?

Listen, I was wondering, uh,

you think it would be cool if she came and played guitar

on one of these songs that I'm recording on Thursday?

(She's terrible at guitar.)

-Well, she's not bad.

-She's terrible.

I think she'll be OK.

-Well, she's...

-Yeah. 5:00, will you bring her?

I mean, that's up to you.

-Yeah. I'll text you the address.

-I mean, I'll bring her.

Why don't you come, too?

Mm-mm. CHUCKLES

-Come on.

-No way.

Come on. Just come. It'll be fun.

-I want you to come.

-I'll think about it. OK.

I'll come, maybe.

-Thank you.

-All right.

-Bye.

-Thank you.

Bye. CHUCKLES

CHUCKLES

You know, it was nice to see you with Violet today.

-It must be hard not seeing her more.

-Yeah, it's...

So why don't you?

I mean, she obviously really needs her father around.

What, are you the fucking social services now?

No, no, I mean, I'm just saying.

It must have been fairly tense for you to leave,

especially seeing as how much she obviously wants you around.

CLEARS THROAT

I... I'm gonna split. I'll see you tomorrow morning.

-MUTTERING

-Fuck, man. Fuck that shit.

Dan.

Hey, look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

What? What do you want from me? What game are you playing?

What does that mean?

Look, I just...

-What?

-I saw how sweet she was today,

and I just felt sorry for you being away from that.

That is such a crock of shit. You were judging me.

You think that I left that relationship

because I'm some sort of selfish, depressed prick,

-which I am, by the way.

-No. I don't think

you're a selfish, depressed prick. I think you've let your troubles

-get in the way of your entire life.

-Oh, babe, babe.

You're really showing your age right now.

You have no idea what happens between two people

after 18 years of marriage, all right?

And because you're willing to hang around for some asshole

after he totally betrayed you, that's your business.

I'm sorry, you're right.

I put a lot of time and effort into that

and, no, I'm not just walking away cos of a bump in the road!

"Bump in the road"? I left that relationship

cos I was having a fucking nervous breakdown,

and she was out there fucking some other guy,

planning how she was gonna start a new life with him

when I was here taking care of my kid.

You have no fucking clue what you're talking about.

You know nothing!

SIRENS WAILING IN DISTANCE

She goes to Europe to work on a junket, and, um...

she ends up meeting and falling in love with a singer.

Bang, boom. Thunder, lightning.

Fireworks. The whole bit.

And...

the arrangement was that they were gonna come back

and tell their partners that they'd fallen in love

and they were gonna spend the rest of their lives together.

And so, I go to the airport to pick her up,

and she just comes out with it, first off. Whole story.

And next day, her bags are all packed,

and we're telling Violet what's gonna happen.

So what did happen?

He choked. He got on the airplane,

went back to his life, turned his phone off,

and she never heard from him again. I move into another bedroom.

She's waiting around for a phone call that never comes,

and I turn into a...

I lose my shit a little bit.

-I'm so sorry.

-No.

Maybe people in the music industry just don't make good life partners.

-Or fathers.

-Yeah, it certainly looks that way.

I didn't mean about the fathers bit. You make a very good father.

-Yeah, right.

-Maybe just not a good partner.

CHUCKLES

SIGHS

What is that?

-This?

-Yeah.

-That's a splitter.

-Oh.

It's for, uh, two headphones going into one input.

-Yeah.

-It's actually...

-from my first date with Miriam.

-It is?

What do you mean?

We walked all over the city listening to her CD player.

Um...

I don't think we said more than two words to each other the whole night.

That was New Year's Eve, and we were married two months later.

-Wow. That's lovely.

-CHUCKLES

What kind of music you got on your phone?

I'm not giving you access to my music library. I'm really not.

There's a lot of embarrassing, very guilty pleasures in there.

Mine, too. You can tell a lot about a person by what's on their playlist.

I know you can. That's what's worrying me.

-So are we gonna do this?

-OK.

OK, let's do it.

MUSIC: Luck Be A Lady by Frank Sinatra

# You might refuse to stay

# And so the best that I can do

# Is pray

# Luck be a lady tonight

# Luck be a lady tonight

# Luck if you've ever been a lady to begin with

# Luck be a lady tonight... #

This is a really good choice!

MUSIC: For Once In My Life by Stevie Wonder

-Oh, yeah.

-Genius.

-Genius.

-Perfect, right?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Great.

-Yeah.

Yeah.

-Oh, no, I forgot...!

-What?

OK, OK, we got to dance!

-What?

-We got to dance!

-All right, all right.

-Yeah, we got to...

-Where?

-We got to dance.

-This way, I know, I know, I know.

-This way.

DANCE MUSIC PLAYING

DANCE MUSIC FADES OUT

"FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE" FADES IN

# Oh, once I can sing

# This is mine, you can't take it

# Long as I know I have love I can make it

# For once in my life

# I have someone who needs me

# Someone who needs me

-# Hey, yeah

-Someone who need me

# Oh, baby

# For once in my life... #

OK, so, I'm quite frightened, cos you might find this cheesy,

but it is one of my favourite songs from one of my favourite films,

so are you ready?

MUSIC: As Time Goes By by Dooley Wilson

# You must remember this A kiss is just a kiss

It's good, right?

# A sigh is just a sigh

# The fundamental things apply

# As time goes by

# And when two lovers woo

# They still say I love you

# On that you can rely... #

That's what I love about music.

-What?

-Even the most banal scenes

are suddenly invested with so much meaning, you know?

All these banalities,

they're suddenly turned into these...

these beautiful, effervescent pearls.

From music.

# Never out of date

# Hearts full of passion

# Jealousy and hate

# And women need man

# And man must have his maid... #

I've got to say, as I've gotten older, these pearls are just...

becoming increasingly more and more rare to me.

More string than pearls?

Yeah. You've got to travel over a lot more string

to get to the pearls.

This moment is a pearl, Gretta.

It sort of is, isn't it?

All of this has been a pearl.

Hey, guys!