The High Note (2020) Movie Script

2
Grace! Grace!
Grace! Grace! Grace!
Grace! Grace!
Grace! Grace! Grace!
Grace! Grace!
Grace! Grace! Grace! Grace!
Bad... girl
Do you guys like this song?
Bad...
Whoa, whoa, we're clipping.
- Yeah.
- Let's pull that down.
Got it.
Do you guys like this song?
'Cause I've been singing it
for a long time.
This was one of the first songs
I ever recorded.
Lee Moses wrote it.
And when I played it
for the label,
they said,
"Who wants to listen to this?"
And you know what I say?
How you like me now?
Wait, wait. Play that back.
Let's lose the gates.
I want it to bleed more.
And you know what I say?
How you like me now?
- Bad...
- Nice, Maggie.
- Girl
- This song is about...
...a bad girl.
One, two, three, four!
Bad... girl
Oh, yes, I am...
You know it, man.
Sorry, Maggie,
I got a real session here.
Oh, shit.
- That's crazy. That's crazy.
- All over.
- 5:00 a.m.
- Hey, sweetie.
- Sethy! My brother.
- Hey.
- 'Sup, man?
- You beautiful beast.
- What's happening, man?
- What's happening?
- Looking good as usual.
- Yo, dude, was that
- a Grace Davis track?
- It's a work in progress.
- Yeah, man, I'd love to get in on that.
- Yeah, me, too.
Uh, let me just
pull up your track.
One, two, three, four!
Bad... girl
Oh, yes, I am
Baby, they call me bad girl
All because
I wanted to be free
But there's a man
who's in love
With this here little girl
And I believe
that he loves me, yeah
What his heart feels
His lips must confess
that he'll
Never let me alone
He doesn't care if I'm bad
We're gonna be friends.
Bad girl, yeah
Oh, so bad
Yeah, bad, bad girl
His love
Is a mystery
It can't be explained
by anything...
Whew! Hi.
Where are her keys?
You could lose the tone.
I've had a hell of a day.
Where are the keys?
Mm-mm.
I manage the house,
not the woman that lives
inside of it.
That's your job.

Bad
Bad girl
If your ass can't be
on time, be early.
Here, this is her bag.
Hey, I'll see you at the house.
Late.
Six minutes.
- Not my best.
- Nope.
How was Maui?
Crowded, hot, pretty, fun.
I don't know. Hard.
What is this?
That's disgusting.
I don't want that.
Why'd you bring that?
Y-You asked me to.
You drink it.
Your set-changes
meeting is at 2:30,
and then you have
the waxer at 3:15.
- Uh-huh.
- And you want a facial, yeah?
Yeah. I don't want this, though.
No more of that.
- My God.
- Um, the band is coming over
for the party at 5:00-ish,
and tomorrow we leave at 9:30,
wheels up, for New York.
And what are we doing
with that producer meeting?
Jack is scheduling those.
Um, but about the live album,
I was wondering...
Do I have rehearsal tomorrow?
- Is that all set?
- Yes, well,
Dan was asking if, perhaps,
you would want to rehearse
at his house instead of yours.
I'd said to his assistant that
that probably would not...
How many Grammys do I have?
- 11.
- Uh-huh.
And how many Grammys
does Dan have?
- Eight.
- Not 11.
- No.
- That's eight.
- That's very fewer than me.
- Mm-hmm.
A lot fewer.
You feel free to relay that
to his assistant.
Flowers
Oh. Thank you.
Of the fields
Here today
Vanish in the wind...
Look at you.
Full of sugar. Shit.
Just eat half of your ass.
I'm-a just eat cake, no icing.
No icing.
Jack, she will have just
finished eight shows,
and you want her to fly to Vegas
to have a conversation
with the Caesars Palace guy?
It's a residency, okay?
And it's my job
to find us our next gig.
This ain't
your grandmama's Vegas.
Lil Jon done played there.
DJ Khaled.
Let me do my job,
and you do yours, which is:
get her coffee, Kleenex, Kotex
and whatever else the hell
we been paying you to do
for the last six months.
Three years.
I've been here for three years.
You get paid?
I thought you were an intern.
Jack, I just feel
like it might be a good idea
if she took a break.
That's a good idea.
And what I mean by "good idea"...
screw you and your shitty ideas.
She just got back from Hawaii.
That was work.
Yeah, in Hawaii.
Okay, now, guys,
I'm not going back to Hawaii.
If we're gonna do tropical,
Jack,
I want to go to the Maldives.
Jack, there hasn't been a new
Grace Davis record in a decade,
and the fans want one.
- Okay.
- We need one.
Let me tell you something...
I've been managing Grace
longer than you've
probably been alive.
So you think
she should do new material?
- Yeah.
- Okay. Guess what.
Don't nobody give a shit
about new material.
Okay?
That last album she did,
it didn't do as well
as she had hoped.
Matter of fact, those was not
Grace Davis numbers,
and you know it.
That was a reality check,
people letting us know
it's time to move on.
- To a Vegas residency?
- Yeah.
Don't nobody want to go
to no Yankee Doodle
Springsteen concert
and hear him play
that Wrecking Ball
folksy bullshit.
Actually, that was
an incredibly poignant album,
and it did extremely well.
People want
"Thunder Road," okay?
And that's what
we gonna give 'em.
We gonna give 'em
"Thunder Road."
That's how I pay my mortgage.
But you wouldn't know that,
'cause your little ass
ain't got no mortgage.
Crazy little girl gonna tell me
how to do my goddamn job.
Always coming at me
with some Springsteen shit.
Got me twisted.
It's an evil wind...
"Share Your Love with Me,"
sung by the 27-year-old
Aretha Franklin.
- Originally by...
- Bobby "Blue" Bland.
Bobby "Blue" Bland.
It's a sad heart
That won't love
Like I know it should
- Oh, how lonesome
- Oh, how lonesome
You must be...
One, two, three, four!
Bad
Bad, bad
Bad girl...
Hey, do you think
you could, like,
turn it up a little bit louder?
- Headphones.
- Okay.
You put them on so I can sleep.
Thank you.
But there's a man
Who's in love with
this here little girl...
One, two, three, four!
Bad... girl
Baby, they call me bad, bad,
bad, bad, bad, bad
All because...
Oh.
This is the song list
for the live album.
Okay.
- Don't mess it up.
- I won't.
- Okay.
- Here you go.
- Thank you, baby.
- I know that Jack is
setting some producer meetings
for the live album,
- and I was wondering...
- Mm-hmm.
Well, I was hoping, actually,
um, if I could...
What you doing in my damn seat?
Why you always sitting here?
Oh, I'm sorry.
Sorry.
Want to go over the set list?
No.
Do you?
No.
Got your bag of diabetes
right here.
Boom. Give it to me.
You know,
I don't even like sugar.
- Uh-huh.
- I only carry this
on the off chance that
you might want some, you know?
Mm-hmm. Very kind.
But you know who ends up
eating it all?
- Who?
- Me.
- And I'm trying to do better.
- Mm-hmm.
Taking my little Pilates.
Got my spin classes.
Eating my salads.
Iceberg lettuce with a whole
bunch of blue cheese on it
is not a salad.
Look, menu say it's a salad,
it's a goddamn salad.
- It's not a salad.
- Yeah.
- Mm.
- So, let's go over the list.
No, I don't want
to go over the set list.
Grace, come on.
I'll get off this goddamn plane
right now.
You're gonna get off
the plane, Jack?
How are you gonna
get off the plane?
- I bought you the plane.
- You... Oh.
My voice bought me this plane.
That's a damn technicality.
Give me another Red Vine.
You know what?
- 20% of that's mine.
- Unbelievable.
Grace! Grace! Grace!
You better just
Stop for a minute,
stop for a minute, oh
Monday morning,
and the sun is dead
Sky is broken,
and the clouds are bled
I was up,
was gonna go to work
Had my coffee,
then went back to bed
Aiyee
My baby
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute.
Uh-uh! Uh-uh!
Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop,
stop, stop, stop.
I'm not gonna tell you guys
you're great
if you're not great.
Let's do it again.
Baby, 'cause you
You're the only one
who knows what I...
No, no, no, no, no!
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh...
Hello, New York!
Chicago!
Hello...
- Where are we?
- Detroit.
I can't hear you, Maggie.
Detroit.
I can't hear you, Detroit!
Stop for a minute,
stop for a minute
Oh, stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
- Cold. Oh!
- Detroit Free Press:
"Everything we'd expect
from a Grace Davis concert.
"Lucky her songs are good,
or by now
we would've tired of them."
- I need more ice.
- I don't agree.
- I know when I need more ice.
- Oh.
Baby, 'cause you
You got little
brittle pieces...
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
Stop for a minute,
stop for a minute, oh.
Thank you!
- Oh, I call tall blondie.
- Dark shorty.
- I call Mr. Chocolate.
- Grace!
- Yes, Jack.
- Look. Hey.
Hey, y'all.
Get the hell out of here.
- Beat it. Beat it.
- Oh, and hello to you, too.
- Give me that.
- Oh, give me that.
- Remember Alec? Caesars Palace?
- Oh.
Of course I do.
I wish I'd known
you were coming. I...
I would've gotten you box seats.
Oh, there's no need to fret.
Jack got me...
- the hookup.
- Ah!
I can't tell you how stoked I am
to be here and finally
be having this conversation.
We so want to be
in the you business, Grace.
Caesars is going through
a full revamp.
Uh, more seats,
brighter lights, louder sound.
It looked great in there.
It's hooked. And everything
you're doing on tour,
- we can do it right there.
- Yeah.
Five years, six years.
- Ten.
- Ten.
I would do the same thing
every night?
Man, that's my dream job.
- Easy money. Look, no stress.
- Mm-hmm.
All right? No more touring.
I love touring.
I like groupies, too.
No, I like touring.
I don't like groupies.
But this way...
this way, I ain't got to
reinvent your ass every time.
I'm just trying to take
a little pressure off myself.
I found your lucky glass.
It was on the balcony,
which was weird.
- Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't...
- Sweetheart, be an angel.
- Get me a drink. No soda. Ugh.
- Get, get, get, get.
Celine Dion did over
a thousand shows for us.
But I think, with your fan base,
we can beat that record.
Man, come on.
Man, come on.
- That's nothing.
- That's nothing.
It's "nathan."
It's... "nathan."
If you want the feel
of touring, we can do it.
We'll leave from Vegas,
we'll drive you around,
we'll come back to Vegas.
You'll feel like you're touring.
We'll do whatever you want.
Grace, there's a problem
with the house monitor,
so we just need to do
another sound check.
Oh, my God. Okay.
- So sorry. Duty calls.
- Oh.
- Got to go.
- Of course. Yeah.
We'll do anything
to get you there.
- So, uh...
- Thank you for coming.
Enjoy the show.
I had faith in you
I just kept on saying
Oh, no, not my baby
Oh, no...
Hey.
Are you okay?
Yeah. I can't sleep.
Do you want some tea?
Or I think Jack has
a lot of Ambien.
No. It's fine.
Stop. Relax.
What are you doing?
Schedule stuff.
What are you listening to?
And I should use my head
But I didn't listen
to what she said...
Aw.
Such a good song.
Maxine Brown.
You know who originally
wrote this?
- Yeah. Carole King.
- Very good.
- She's my favorite songwriter.
- Really?
- Other than you.
- Thank you.
I'm sorry.
- I'm joking.
- Mm.
Here.
That was a really good move
back there with Mr. Vegas.
It did not look like
you wanted to have
that conversation.
Oh.
Like you can read me so well.
Sorry.
I'm kidding.
I can't believe he pulled that.
He's just looking out for me.
He and I have been hustling
together since I was...
since I was 18.
I used to do these sets
at these late-night,
divey piano bars.
They were, like, sticky floors,
like, smoke everywhere.
Sound system was terrible.
They were awful.
Like, awful.
And every night, Jack would...
He would show up, and he'd be
standing in the back...
and his mouth was just, like,
hanging open, looking at me.
For where we come from,
getting locked into
a Vegas residency,
that is a win.
What?
Nothing.
I know everyone
is happy with me...
...doing the same show
every night.
I don't know, what if...
Whatever.
I remember watching you
on Oprah...
- Which time?
- ...when I was little, and...
I've done Oprah so many times.
I think you were talking
about your third album.
Uh-huh.
And you said this thing
that I'll never forget.
I think about it all the time.
You said, "When there are
no more surprises,
then who am I doing it for?"
- Oprah.
- Oprah.
Long time ago.
So, has this just been,
like, a long con?
Yes. Ever since
I was a little girl,
I've dreamed of giving you
an enema in Toronto.
Okay.
Do not bring up Toronto.
You know what clams do to me.

She was telling me about
all these amazing affairs
that she had. It...
So you didn't talk
to her about the album.
No.
You don't understand. Katie...
She doesn't have
any family, and no friends.
You're not friends.
We are friends.
You know how I know
we're friends?
Because friends don't pay
friends to be their friends.
I actually feel like I pay
for a lot of stuff
- in this relationship.
- This is like a trap, you know?
- No.
- You are not the only person in the world for her.
You are my only person
in my world.
I know that,
but if you told 12-year-old me
that one day I'd be working
for Grace Davis...
I mean, she's an icon.
It's the dream job.
Or at least it's,
like, the gateway
to my actual dream job, but...
It's the gateway to, like,
Stockholm syndrome.
Hey, I thought you left
your phone in the car.
Yeah, my...
I left my phone in the car.
This is my work phone.
Okay. You know what?
Listen to me, Maggie.
- Yes.
- Phone down. Eyes on me.
I know you think
that she's gonna
give you this, like,
life-changing shot
and you guys are gonna ride off
into the sunset
holding hands or some shit,
but I think we need to
consider the possibility
that this woman doesn't even
know your last name.
- She does, sometimes.
- Do we really think
she's gonna stop making you
wear her shoes around the house
to break them in
and, oh, I don't know,
make you her producer?
- Yes!
- Maggie!
She only did that once, by the way,
and it was for the Grammys.
Can you please want more
for yourself?
We are like this.
So, when you say "affairs"...
I'm not gonna tell you anything.
Like, give me a name. One name.
Because Grace and I are friends
and I signed an NDA.
We've been on the run
Driving in the sun
Looking out for number one
California, here we come
Right back where
we started from
Are-are these organic?
Oh, hustlers,
grab your guns...
I don't work here.
But yes.
California, here we come...
Great song.
- You don't think so?
- What?
California...
Ooh! He holds it out
the whole time, you know?
Here we come...
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, Phantom Planet.
Very good.
Well, everybody knows this song.
It's from The O.C.
Great show, right?
Right back where
we started from
I have to go.
A pedal to the floor,
thinking of the roar...
I'm just wondering
if your distaste for the show
is affecting your ability
to appreciate
the musical complexity
of the song.
Um...
Well, of all the songs
about California,
this is not the one
that I would pick.
- Okay.
- Joni Mitchell's "California," maybe.
Or "Going Back to Cali"
or "California Dreamin'."
They're all way better
than this.
- "California Love."
- Yeah.
Zeppelin's
"Going to California."
- That's an amazing song.
- Okay.
"Hotel California."
Mm, uh...
What's wrong with
"Hotel California"?
Well, the Eagles are hokey,
and Don Henley is
a very mean man.
- Okay.
- Randy Meisner almost died of a stomach ulcer
because the band
hated each other so much.
Yeah, but it's a perfect song.
It's, like, underrated,
to be honest.
Underrated?
- Yeah.
- It's literally always on.
- Okay.
- It's, like, the "Brown Eyed Girl"
of Southern California
soft rock.
So the Eagles won't make
your fantasy dinner party.
Who does?
Popsicle?
Oh, no, thanks.
Well, uh, living or dead?
It doesn't matter.
Um, Brian Wilson.
Mm-hmm.
Nina Simone.
She and I have
the same birthday.
Me and Mariah Carey.
So we're both very demanding
and very deeply sad.
Yeah.
- Otis Redding, for sure.
- Oh, you're not
one of those girls
who learned about Otis Redding
from the Dirty Dancing
soundtrack, are you?
I'm not even gonna
respond to that.
- So, yes. Last one.
- Hi.
Hi.
- Sam Cooke.
- Who's Sam Cooke?
- "Who's Sam Cooke?"
- Yeah, who's Sam Cooke?
You know Phantom Planet,
but you don't know Sam Cooke?
Folks, please
join us outside on the patio
for live music
and free vitamin B shots.
I'm having a party next week.
- You should come.
- Oh, n... that's all...
That'll be $45.17.
For the Popsicles.
- Yeah!
- Welcome to
the second annual
Laurel Canyon Wellness Fest.
I'm David Cliff,
and I'm gonna start off
with a song from
the King of Soul, Sam Cooke.
Hope you all know who that is.
All right!
Sam Cooke!
Darling, you send me
Ah, nice, brother!
I know you send me
Darling, you send me
Honest you do,
honest you do, honest you do
Whoa
- You thrill me...
- Son of a bitch.
It's just one simple meeting.
The label guys want to know
all about Vegas.
You know what?
Let's just talk
about this later.
Continue to do your, uh,
euca-load-of-shit.
"I don't want to sit with
a bunch of label guys who..."
What is that line?
"Have to be reminded."
"Have to be... have to be
reminded that I'm still alive."
What did we sit here
and talk about?
Mm.
Uh, "I've already done
"a greatest-hits album
and a live album,
and now a greatest-hits
live album?"
What?
Look, when I agreed
to come back,
what did you promise me?
Huh?
You said you was gonna
listen to me this time.
All I want to do is play it safe
so we can stack some money.
It's pathetic.
No, you pathetic.
'Cause you arguing with me
and your ass should be
on vocal rest.
I will decide
- what I want to do next.
- Yes.
- Give me the Popsicles, Maggie.
- Yeah.
You always walk away!
Grace.
Now ain't the time
for some damn sabbatical.


Oh, shit.
What is Richie doing here?
He been working on this shit,
like, two weeks, okay?
So, look,
I haven't heard it, either.
So, before you start
complaining,
at least give the man a listen.
- Hi.
- Richie Williams.
R-Dub...
that's what they call me.
- Yeah. Nice to meet you.
- I feel like we met.
The Met Ball
or the Oscar awards?
- Huh. Maybe.
- Or a rave? You ever go to raves?
Don't go to raves, Richie.
Well, we're gonna go to one
with this remix.
- Let me show you...
- Okay.
Richie Williams' version
of "Bad Girl."
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Bad... girl
- Signature sound right there.
- Yep.
Is that dope, or is that dope?
Trick question. This is dope.
- Gotcha. - We know that.
- All of it.
- What are you doing here, Maggie?
- Um...
Richie Williams. R-Dubs.
Grammy Award winner.
I'm working on the album.
If you want to
sit in the, uh, session,
I can mentor you a little bit.
Uh, it's important for me
to raise women up, you know?
- Come on in here, sweetheart.
- Come on, man.
We ain't got time
for that, okay?
All right.
Let's get back into it.
Let's focus on this.
Don't worry about her.
I mean, I'm...
Kind of feels done.
Let's talk about it.
This version of "Bad Girl."
The old one's
kind of old, right?
Feels old or whatever.
I feel like this one
spiced it up a little bit.
Feels global now.
Global, all right?
Matter of fact, intergalactical.
- Intergalactical.
- That's that EDM stuff, man.
This is just what
the doctor ordered.
Grace, may I please speak
with you for a moment?
- What?
- Um, well,
- I just, um, wanted to...
- Oh, my God, spit it out.
I... I did a cut of the album.
- Wh...
- I did a cut.
Seth helped me.
You hadn't hired anybody
to do it yet,
and I didn't want
to tell you or Jack.
Hey, hey. We can hear y'all.
Y'all know it's a damn
microphone in there, right?
How long have you been
working on this?
I came in before work
and after work
and whenever I could.
- I should have asked you.
- Yeah.
I just wanted to take a shot.
Do you want to hear it?
- Okay. I...
- Hell nah.
This is the spine of the song.
You're always talking about how
there has to be a heartbeat,
something to hold onto
and then give away,
and this is it.
Hanky's been playing this drum track
for 20 years, and it still
sounds as tight as it did
on the day you recorded it.
- Richard.
- R-Dawg.
Did you redo this with a synth?
It's actually called
cross synthesis,
which I invented,
which takes one synth
and cancels the other out
when they play at the same time.
Sounds dope.
That doesn't make any sense.
- Yeah, it does.
- It does.
You've heard of
cross synthesis, right?
No, but it don't matter.
- You the producer.
- Yeah.
You took out the backup singers?
They're kind of old-sounding,
I mean, honestly.
We got plug-ins
that do that stuff.
- Ah.
- We don't even need backup singers anymore.
I put my voice in there
and stacked it,
- put some Auto-Tune.
- Bad... girl
It sounds brand-new.
Sounds great.
- Grace, do you hear this?
- Bad...
You are the song.
You should not be buried
under all this flashy bullshit.
Sure, the track needs
some mixing and some editing,
but you could release
your demos,
and they would be way better
than anything
that he's ever, ever done.
Yeah, right.
I actually think you should
release your demos,
because I've heard them,
and they're unbelievable.
Who the hell you think you are?
Missy Elliott?
Who releases demos?
How you gonna
come in here and insult
- my man Richie?
- Plenty of artists. Bob Dylan...
- Okay, okay, okay.
- Go to Starbucks.
Everybody, stop.
Margaret, never talk to anyone
that Jack has hired that way
again, do you understand?
Yeah.
- Okay.
- Yes.
- Never.
- Never.
We got a hit.
We got a big one.
It's a hit.
- My version, not hers.
- Don't worry about hers, man.
- Oh, I'm not.
- See what I'm dealing with here?
She was kind of mean, right?
- She is very abrasive.
- Use her cut.
- What?
- Wha...
I'm still getting paid, right?
Maggie. Maggie!
Come here.
I don't know what planet
you come from
where rattling off
every little opinion
that's rolling around
in that brain of yours
is considered a skill.
But...
I was right.
This is not about being right
in the studio
for a moment in time.
This is a marathon.
I'm sorry, I disagree.
I think if she put out
something like that...
oh, my God.
Obviously.
We would never put out
garbage like that.
But that's besides the point.
It took me months to get them
in a studio together.
Months.
Off the off chance
she might say,
"Hey, Jack,
I want to do a remix album."
And I say,
"I got the perfect person.
"Oh, damn.
"We can't work with him anymore
"because your dumbass assistant
insulted the man,
"and he don't want to work
with you no more.
He'd rather do Rihanna."
Well, I...
I apologize for that.
And-and now that
I'm the producer,
I will look for my replacement.
Do you know how long
it took for Seth
to get a little-bitty
engineering credit?
Being a producer is about
having a point of view
that you've earned
over years of hard work.
It don't happen like this.
You're not a producer.
You're not a artist.
You're not a manager.
If you want to be a producer,
you find your own
goddamn clients
and stay the hell out of mine.

This is what we're gonna do.
We're gonna go in there.
Then we're gonna
get some drinks,
and then we are
going to find him.
- Ah. Yeah.
- I'll give him the spiel,
and then we're just gonna leave
as quickly as possible.
No, we don't have to
leave so quickly.
We're having fun.
We're hanging out.
When was the last time
you went to a party?
- Do work parties count?
- No.
I went, technically, to
Elton John's, um, Oscar party.
That doesn't count.
You stood outside
the entire time.
Whoa, he has a pool?
Do any of them have jobs?
Hi. Excuse me.
- Do you have a job?
- I'm a model.
Okay.
It's a Wednesday.
I didn't think
you'd ever wear it.
What is... Oh, my God.
Wait, I thought you said
he performed at a grocery store,
not that he owned it.
- You ready?
- Yes, I'm coming.
Yeah, I'm ready.
Oh. My drink.
- Ooh!
- Oh, my God.
- Is it bad?
- Oh, my...
Ugh, this is so crazy.
I know.
Why does he have a blow-dryer?
I don't even know him.
"Hey, man, um, from last week.
"I just want you
to remind yourself of me,
"and I would like to tell you
"that I'm just
a personal assistant,
"but I'd love to produce
your music,
- if you got any."
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey.
Look, all I do is basically
clean up
biohazardous materials,
but I get to walk around
and call myself a doctor.
That's not all you do.
Exactly.
Do not sell yourself short.
- Uh... I'm...
- You just produced
a live Grace Davis album
for no money and no credit.
And you're gonna do it again.
You know why?
Because you're following
your dream.
No, that's not my dream.
I don't want to do that again.
I'd love to get
money and credit.
God, he has so many products.
Ooh.
Feels like we shouldn't
go through his stuff yet,
- 'cause we don't even know him.
- Well, I've done it,
and here we are. Look, you need
to pull yourself together
and tell your vision-impaired,
fresh-breathed client
that you are a producer.
I am not a...
You are so lucky, Maggie.
So you get out there,
- and you close that deal.
- Okay.
You're way too comfortable
in his house.
- You are.
- I am not.
- Hello.
- Oh, that's you.
That's him.
Thanks for dressing up.
Oh. That's...
This is Katie.
- She's my roommate.
- Katie. Hi.
- Nice to meet you.
- You're very handsome.
- Thank you.
- Did you know that Maggie's
- a music producer?
- No, I didn't.
Yeah, she's amazing.
I like to say
the ear of our generation.
Katie, thank you so much
for coming to this party.
Got it. I'm gonna see how much
cheese I can fit into my bag.
- Mm.
- And then I'm gonna look his house up on Zillow.
Please don't.
Can't make any promises.
- Oh, my God.
- You want, uh,
another drink
to actually drink this time?
And here I was thinking
you had a crush on me
and just had to see me again.
Oh, no, I'm just here
for the pipes.
Babe, I thought you were
bringing me a vodka Red Bull.
Uh, Theresa, this is Maggie.
Maggie's a producer.
Cool.
I work at SpaceX.
Cool.
Why don't you come out?
DJ for us.
Wow.
Is that your girlfriend?
She's not looking
for anything serious.
Good for her.
Mm-hmm.
You have some lipstick.
Right here?
- All around your face.
- Mm.
Do you have any songs recorded?
Yeah.
Can I hear them?
Now?
Yeah.
It's incomprehensible
Excitement I've never known
I'm up while
the whole world sleeps
The way the sky falls for me
It's deep,
deep like the ocean
Deep, deep like devotion
Deep, deep like the valley
Where cold water streams...
This is pretty good.
Did you write this?
Yeah, it took me,
like, 20 minutes.
The first verse?
Whole song.
Why are you performing
at grocery stores?
I like it.
It's fun. It's no pressure.
It's just... it's nice.
Well, you can write.
And you've got the voice
and the tone
and, I mean,
an amazing record collection.
That Marvin Gaye and...
This Elmore James,
I had this CD in my car
for, like, six years.
That was the first album
my dad gave me.
Really?
Well, I, um...
I would love to...
I mean, if you are...
I-I could work with you
if you wanted.
I'm listening.
Well, you have an amazing sound.
Thank you.
I mean, there's a couple
of things that I-I-I...
If I may?
Please, you may.
Um, I think that your producer
might, uh, be...
sucks.
He's a friend of mine,
and he does it for free.
I mean, what... what exactly
do you want to do differently?
Well, to start, I would...
Your bassist is way too loud.
And then I'd probably drop
that weird drum track.
And then I'd move the bridge up.
And then you should definitely
be singing into a real mic.
I mean, I'm so sorry, but where
did you record this,
in a closet?
Wine cellar.
Who?
My wine cellar.
I thought the acoustics
would be better.
Ooh.
Will you send me the files?
No.
Please?
Come to my show next week.
Oh.
Um, I... well,
I should ask Katie,
'cause next week, I was...
- What's that?
- A jacket.
So I'll see you next Friday?
Oh, my God.
Do you wear this?
Oh, my God.
What is that?
This looks like Stevie Nicks
ran over Jason Derulo
with her car.
- Okay. All right, we're done.
- Oh, my God.
- Thank you so much. We're good.
- That is wild.
That's enough. That's enough.
Hey, you know
who's been up for 37 hours?
Me.
You dick.
So, if you can please just
make sure that she takes
the, uh, fish oil
and the little green one
after she eats dinner
because they upset her stomach.
Wow, you're really
the only person I know
who can make pills not fun.
Wait.
Why are you leaving early?
You never leave early.
Um...
because I got to go to
this thing at, uh, the airport.
'Cause my gr... my gran
is, like, demanding...
Well, I don't care
about any of that.
Sorry.
And I don't believe it.
It sounds like a whole lot
of "B"... bull crap.
This is exactly what happens.
It starts off with a thing,
and then you're gonna ask
for a weekend off.
All of you assistants
are the same.
You get lured in here
by the glitz, the glamour,
the swag, the celebrity,
the pool house.
You live in the pool house.
And you could, too.
Not at this moment,
because I'm not in the market
for a roommate,
but maybe someday.
If you play your cards right.
What are you doing?
This is all available to you.
Ah!
Ha. Found them.
Wow, I thought you were
cleaning the pool.
See, these are
a gift from Grace.
Do I prefer Dior?
Of course I do.
Am I gonna tell her that?
No. I'm gonna be grateful
for what I have
and for what she's discarded
because she's bored with it,
'cause then it comes to me.
And I can wear it.
And you got to start carrying
a notebook around
to write this stuff down.
Margaret!
Margaret!
Margaret!
Margaret!
Margaret!
Margaret!
Hi.
What do you think of this?
Do you think it's too booby?
Mm, yes.
Oh.
Perfect.
You can go.
Oh. Okay, great.
Thank you so much.
No, not you.
You guys can go.
- Thank you.
- Oh.
- Thanks.
- Okay.
- Okay, bye.
- Bye, Miss Davis.
- Well, Margaret.
- Yeah?
Are you sure all of this
is still okay with you?
Um...
'Cause after that little show
at the recording studio,
I'm... I'm not sure.
Because if there is something
else you want to be doing,
I don't want you to be here
if you don't want to be here.
No, Grace, I, um...
- Yes?
- I want to be here.
Good.
Because I want to go
through my closet
and donate things that aren't
sparking joy or whatever.
Yeah, right now?
Yeah.
Great.
Joy.
- Definitely joy.
- Joy.
Oh, my God.
Mm.
- Joy.
- Joyful.
How's everybody doing?
Yeah, that's what
I like to hear.
Well, I'm David Cliff,
and this is my band, and, uh,
we're gonna play a couple songs
for y'all, if that's all right.
All right.
Obviously, I'm keeping
the Gianni Versace.
- Obviously.
- Yeah.
All right.
So we did all the evening wear.
Let's do
the early-evening wear.
- Come on.
- Okay.
All right,
I've got one more song
for y'all tonight.
Oh, come on!
Thanks for coming.
I, yeah
I'm so in love with you
Whatever you wanna do
Is all right with me,
yeah...
Wow, I didn't think
you'd show up.
Well, we had a deal.
Ah, okay.
So, what'd you think?
Um, uh, well, that was
a great song choice.
Huh.
And you sounded incredible.
Really good.
Great start. What else?
Um, well...
- your band...
- I knew it.
You couldn't even last a minute.
- Well, the drummer.
- That's my friend.
Is he?
- Is he really?
- Here we go.
Here we go again. Wow.
You asked me,
and I'm not gonna tell you
that they're great
if they're not great.
I know there's a compliment
in there somewhere for me,
if you want to be more direct.
Can I show you something?
Is this your car?
Yeah.
Should I sign a waiver?
Okay.
This is more than a feeling
Is this my song?
More than attraction...
Oh, my...
The drum pattern is not bad.
I also brought you up a bit,
and I rerecorded the guitar.
Yes, it's good.
It's g... it's good.
You have real talent.
You really do.
Do you need me? No.
But you should want me
because I think I can help
bring out an entirely
different sound in you.
And if you work with me,
I can get you heard
by the right people.
Oh, I'm not worried about that.
I just want to know who else...
who else you working with
right now.
A producer never
discusses artists
with other artists.
That's just not
part of the... those...
- It's...
- Okay.
Okay.
How do you, um...
How do you know
how to do all of this stuff?
I grew up around music
and musicians
and people talking about music.
My dad worked in radio,
and my mom was a singer.
And then I went to school
for composing,
and then immediately after,
I started, um, producing.
If you could point
to any time in my life,
good or bad, I could tell you
who I was listening to
and how I got through it.
And if I had the opportunity
to work with an artist like you
and create something
that could maybe make somebody
or anybody feel
a little bit less alone,
then I want to be
a part of that.
I know how to
be a part of that.
So...
The Staple Singers
doing "The Weight,"
originally by...
The Band.
The Band.
I was feelin' 'bout a half past dead
I just needed someplace
All right, when do we start?
Where I could lay my head...
- Now.
- Now?
Well, I...
No, actually, I have to...
Um, uh, tomorrow or, you know,
when I can find time.
I'll have my...
my office reach out.
The office. All right.
Okay, get out!
I got to go.
- Come on.
- What you talking about?
It's a Friday night.
I know.
I have to work in the morning.
I'm in demand... by an artist
who doesn't have
their shirts custom-made.
And put the load
right on me...
It's good, though, right?
And went lookin'
for a place to hide...
Coming up next,
Grace Davis is set
to release a live album
recorded at
her tenth world tour.
The music icon has remained
a remarkably private person.
She's never married
or had children
and is tight-lipped
about her plans for the future.
All her fans are wondering,
when can they expect
another hit?
But first, hit maker Cardi B
on what it's like
to have yet another
number one song.
You okay?
Do I not look okay?
No, you look great.
A-Amazing.
Well, good,
'cause Michael B. Jordan's
coming over tonight.
Here?
- You got to be out of here by 5:00.
- Okay.
And can you get me everything
off the Jon & Vinny's menu?
Uh, the dessert section, too?
I don't eat dessert.
Okay.
Can you make sure
the sexecology oil
is upstairs in my bathroom?
What we gonna do with this?
Drive over the limit
with my eyes on you
I drive over the limit
with my mind on you
Why you always getting
in the back seat?
Yeah. Right there.
I drive over the limit
With my eyes on you
I drive over the limit
with my mind on you
Why you always getting
- In the back se...
- What's that?
Wh...
Oh, my God!
I'm really, really
so sorry about your face.
- Uh-huh.
- But let's just be honest
and say that that wasn't really
the best place to sit.
Who's that?
Uh, my dad, David Cliff Senior.
That's your dad?
- Yeah.
- Wow.
Sax player.
He plays better
than anyone else I know.
So, you said your mom
was a singer?
Well, she was.
Um, she died when I was six.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
- That's okay.
Um, she, uh, met my dad
backstage at
a Paul Simon concert.
My dad was there
covering the show for work.
And they met, and then she
moved in with him the next day,
and they got married
a month later.
Pretty crazy.
Not that crazy.
What about your mom and dad?
Never married.
My mom, um, she left me
with my dad when I was little.
And, um, it was complicated.
I don't know.
My dad's cool, though.
Pissed I don't play sax, but...
you know, he...
he's there for me.
- Yeah.
- How's your head?
Let's see.
- Ooh.
- "Ooh," what?
- Are you laughing at me?
- Oh, man.
This is my moneymaker,
so I don't really
get what's funny.
So, composing major...
can you play?
This keyboard?
Whichever one you like.
Typically, I'm just...
I'm-I'm in the studio.
I'm, like, behind the boards,
and I allow, you know,
the artist to... create.
- So...
- F.
Uh-huh. To E minor.
- That?
- Yeah, like that.
So it's just, uh...
To E. Yeah.
Uh-huh. To F.
- Oh, shit.
- Hey.
Stop interrupting yourself.
Let's try it again.
Okay. It was...
- Uh, that?
- Mm-hmm.
Nah, but I like that.
Do it fast like that again.
Yeah, punch it. Punch it more.
Yeah. Mm.
And then what about...
All right.
- Sing it a little.
- Mm.
Drive over the limit
with my eyes on you
I drive over the limit
with my mind on you
Get up in the front,
I'm not a taxi
- Oh, no
- That sounded good.
- Sounds sexy. Yeah.
- Can we do it again?
- Yeah, we can do it again.
- Okay.
Eyes on you
I drive over the limit
with my mind on you
Why you always getting
in the back seat?
Get up in the front,
I'm not a taxi
Oh, no,
drive over the limit...
So, Thursday, when we record,
I have these
really incredible...
I can't.
Playing a bat mitzvah.
- What?
- What?
I don't...
David, I don't understand.
The... Clearly, you're not
doing these gigs for money.
I don't...
I made a commitment.
Okay.
I'm not gonna beg you
to take this seriously.
Don't beg me.
David, you have
an incredible voice.
When you sing, it's restrained
and impassioned
and nostalgic, and...
people outside of various
L.A. community centers
should hear it.
Yeah, but what if
I'm not good enough?
- What?
- What if I'm just
some douchebag who thought
he could be a singer
like everybody else,
and then what?
Then what am I supposed to do?
Oh, my God.
What?
You're insecure.
This is amazing.
I'm coming at you with
some deep-seated anxiety
right now, and...
No, you're just self-sabotaging,
and I can work with that.
Sorry.
Hello? Hello?
Oh, okay. I will...
Yes, I'll be right there.
Okay.
Um, that was another client,
so I have to go.
You're amazing.
- All right.
- And I will see you soon.
- So...
- And we will continue this conversation.
- Yes.
- Okay, bye.
Good night, Maggie.
Thank you. Very nice.
Wait.
Is this your car?
Why do people keep
asking me that? Yeah.
You need to ask your boss
for a raise.
That's so funny.
Do you get it?
Because I'm your boss.
Hey. Do you get it?
Wait, pull over. Right here.
Right here, right here,
right here.
Hey. Can I get
two carnitas, please?
And one of them
should be chicken,
with hot sauce.
So, Michael B. Jordan insisted
that we leave my house
and go to a hotel
because he had...
this whole proposal planned.
We have very different problems.
What are your problems,
Margaret?
- Well, I mean...
- I'm hungry.
- Oh. Um...
- I'm so hungry.
- Okay.
- Is the food coming, sir?
Ma'am, we've been over this.
We are not a drive-through.
Okay, well, it should be.
- It could be.
- Oh, my God.
Is that Grace Davis?
- No.
- Hi.
Hi. I love you so much.
- I love you.
- Can I take a picture with you?
- Wow. Love, huh?
- I know.
- Sure. Yeah.
- It's Grace Davis!
I'm gonna get out. Hi.
- Hi. This isn't my car.
- Hi.
- Hello.
- Okay, followers, look who I am with.
- It's Grace Davis!
- Okay, one, two.
Hi, Grace Davis!
Hi!
You look gorgeous.
So glad I called you.
Uh, usually, you call Gail.
Are you kidding me?
It's after 10:00.
Miss Gail is passed out.
Anyway, I thought you would
enjoy this time with me
'cause you're always
hanging around me,
just hanging around me.
That's my job.
You know what I mean.
Mm.
Would you get married?
Oh, my God.
Not you, too.
I know that everybody wonders,
"Is Grace gonna find a man?"
I mean...
"Who's gonna put a ring on it?"
You know what?
I'm happy with me.
I am happy with me.
Yup.
I just thought that maybe,
if you were gonna do
anybody the favor,
then it may as well be
Michael B. Jordan.
I almost did.
Once.
- Really?
- Yeah.

But I was... I was too young.
Mm.
We were in love and...
the whole thing.
Mm-hmm.
It was before all this happened.
Then it did.
And I didn't choose him.
Obviously.
I didn't want it.
I don't want it.
I chose those countertops
in the bathroom.
They were like,
"You can have two sinks."
And I was like, "No."
"I want one... one big one."
- It is a very big sink.
- Mm-hmm.
What's happening?
Why are you all dressed up?
Why did you have to
steal from the needy
and take this $3,000
Saint Laurent jacket?
- How much?
- Oh, wait.
- Were you with a boy?
- No.
Yes, you were!
You were on a date.
Okay, okay.
Does he know who I am?
Well, he lives on Earth,
so yeah.
Listen to me, Margaret.
I am a very big draw.
Okay?
So you... you make sure
he's with you for you, okay?
- Okay.
- Okay.
Thank you.


So, this is just practice.
You don't...
There's no band.
It's just you.
- No pressure. Okay?
- Mm-hmm.
Just pretend you're at
a bat mitzvah.
Hmm.
Okay.
- You want to try one?
- Mm-hmm.
You're like track eight
On my favorite record
Nobody knows your name
But I...
Sorry.
I'm way ahead of it.
He's just a little nervous.
- Yep.
- Yeah, yeah. It's totally fine.
- Okay.
- We got all night.
Can I just go again
from the top?
- Yeah, whenever you're ready.
- If that's cool.
Thanks.
You're like track eight
On my favorite record
Nobody knows your name...
- Sorry. I-I feel like...
- You're doing so great.
It's okay. You just got to
loosen up a little bit.
You're gonna get there.
- All right.
- Um, I'm gonna come in.
I'm going in.
You okay?
Yeah, I'm good.
Yeah.
It's really beautiful
in here, isn't it?
Yeah.
Did you know that that was
Sam Cooke's original mic?
- Are you serious?
- Yeah.
Yeah, Seth and I found it
at an auction last year.
Darling, you send me
I know you send me
Darling, you
You, you, you send me
Honest you do
Honest you do,
honest you do.
Have you ever heard
that recording that he does?
That live recording?
- Talking about the one at the Harlem Club?
- Yeah.
- Have you heard it?
- Yeah, when he's like...
Oh...
You send me
Honest you do,
honest you do.
Feel a little better?
- Yeah.
- You want to go again?
All right. I'm down.
- Okay.
- Cool.
Fo' sho'.
You want to try one?
Yeah, a'ight.
You're like track eight
On my favorite record
Nobody knows your name
But I would die for you
You're like a date
That nobody paid for
You walk out the door
with the check in your pocket
But you just forgot it
Just trying
to figure you out with
Every word that comes
out of your mouth
Mouth
Mouth
Ooh, I drive over the limit
with my eyes on you
I drive over the limit
with my mind on you
Why you always getting
in the back seat?
Get up in the front,
I'm not a taxi
Oh, no.

Beautiful.
Was that really Sam Cooke's mic?
No.
- Can I hear that again?
- Mm-hmm.
I drive over the limit
with my eyes on you
I drive over the limit
With my mind on you
Why you always getting
in the back seat?
Get up in the front,
I'm not a taxi
Oh, no
I don't stop looking at,
looking at you
I don't stop
looking at, looking at you
Let me wipe the sugar
from your lips
I don't understand you
talking sweet like this...
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I drive over the limit
- With my eyes on you
- Drive over the limit
I drive over the limit
with my mind on you
Drive over the limit
Why you always getting
in the back seat?
I can't concentrate
with you behind me.
It's so good.
Oh, my God.
"Sea Dust."
That makes a huge difference.
Um, no big deal or anything.
Just your girl doing
open-heart surgery.
Okay, cool. Sorry.
Back to your art.
Everything we do is meaningless.
- Oh, such a good song.
- Jam.
Yeah.
Did you know that the guy
who produced this song
also did "Bills, Bills, Bills"
- for Destiny's Child?
- I did know that.
And did you know that he also
did a Sinad O'Connor song?
Did you know that I want
to hear the song on the radio?
- Oh. Sorry.
- Yeah.
Thanks, Margaret.
Let's sing it.
Trying to holla at me
And you're walking
Oh, yes, son,
I'm talking to you
If you live at home
With your mama
Oh, yes, son,
I'm talking to you
If you have a shorty
And you don't show love
Oh, yes, son,
I'm talking to you
Wanna get with me
with no money
Oh, no, I don't want...
Grace Davis!
- Oh, oh.
- Ah, there she is.
- Hey. How are you?
- Hey, hey.
- Hi there.
- Hey, man. See you over there.
- Hey, good to see you.
- Hey, Dave. How are you?
- Can I get you something to drink?
- Oh, no.
I'm fine. Ma-Margaret,
you want something?
- No? Okay.
- Sparkling? Still?
Well, Grace,
thanks for coming in.
- Hmm.
- This is Spencer.
He's on national press.
- Hi, Spencer.
- Can I just say...
my mom's more excited
about me working with you
than when I graduated Stanford.
What was that, like, a week ago?
I told you she was hilarious.
Yeah, that's a good one.
Baby, we are so excited about
your live album
release party next week.
Ugh, we're thrilled you okayed
Ariana Grande to open for you.
She's amazing.
Her mom loves you, too.
- Spencer.
- Yeah.
No more mom stuff.
You guys didn't bring me
all the way down here
so you could tell me that,
did you?
That's great.
Once the live album is out,
we really want to make sure
we think through
your next moves.
Yeah, what do you want
to do next?
Well, um...
I've been thinking, and...
I think it's time
I record a new album.
Um...
Well, I mean, that's one plan.
Um, we've talked about
a few different things,
and we really want to know
what you want to do.
I mean, where do you envision
Grace Davis in the future?
Yeah.
Have you thought any more about
the, uh... the Vegas residency?
We talked about Vegas, remember?
We think it's
a cool, reliable way
for you to showcase
where you're at.
Could be fun.
I mean, I'm-a have fun.
At least I can get
a damn drink somewhere.
Price of one.
We'll get you a damn drink.
We're super excited.
And, uh, if you want,
I can show you
the slideshow
that I put together.
I don't want to talk about it.
I thought you didn't want
to do Vegas.
I said I didn't want
to talk about it.
It's a big commitment.
You heard what they said.
It's-it's... it's not the same
as it used to be.
Yeah.
Some of their ideas
weren't terrible.
Yeah. I think a Spotify-curated
Christmas album
could be super cool.
Okay, just say it, all right?
I get it.
I know what you're thinking.
I'm a sellout. I get it.
That was humiliating.
Yep. You got to witness it.
- That was...
- What? No.
It's fantastic.
That's not what...
Grace, those pretentious
sparkling water blowhards
just spoke to you
like they forgot
that you basically built
this entire label for them.
- They were just trying to help me.
- What?
You've got, like, years
of career moves ahead of you.
If you want to do Vegas,
then fine, do Vegas.
But don't do it like
it's your farewell tour.
It's not over for you.
You said it in there.
You said it... a new album.
That is what
you should be doing.
Do you know what they were
avoiding saying in there?
What?
In the history of music,
only five women over 40
have ever had a number one hit.
And only one of them was black.
One.
Do you understand that?
No.
You do not understand that.
And none of you guys in there
understand what
I have been through.
So, I don't know.
Uh, we could just pretend.
We could pretend that we live
in some sort of magical world
where, I don't know...
let's see...
age and race are not a thing.
And then do you know
what the problem is?
I... not the label,
not Jack, not you...
have to come up with shit
that people give a shit about,
and I don't know
how to do that anymore.
I don't know if I know
how to do that.
Oh, my God.
I know you've been writing.
What?
I'm sorry, what?
Oh, no, no, no.
Have you been going
through my private stuff?
- No.
- You know what? No.
- That's not what I did.
- No.
I am not here for you.
You are here for me.
I am not your stepping-stone.
You're not a producer, Margaret.
I didn't ask you
to produce my song.
And I'm not gonna say
thank you, either.
You're an encyclopedia.
You memorize trivia.
You-you handle my itinerary.
You pick peanuts
out of kung pao chicken.
You're not the ticket
to people's breakthrough.
Okay?
And you know what,
those guys in there,
they're way better than you
because they were setting me up
for an easy win.
And you, little lady,
are setting me up for a fail.
Thank you.

Something I could say
To settle...
You're late.
I mean, what's-what's up, Mags?
We doing this or what?
Um, yeah. Let's, uh...
Uh, why don't we just take...
take it from, um...
Why don't we
take it from, um...
Let's just take it from, um...
Fuck.
Maggie.
What was... what was that?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay.
You okay? All right.
Okay.
Okay, what's wrong?
Nothing.
Nothing?
- You sure?
- No, I'm fine.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
Okay.
- All right.
- Mm-hmm.
Okay.
D-Do you not want
to do this anymore?
Is that... is that what's wrong?
Do you not...
Is that what it is?
No.
- No?
- No, no.
I mean, no, I want...
I want this more than anything.

I don't know what I'm doing.
You don't?
Mm-mm.
Well, you sure freaked out
James when you told him
that if he didn't get
his tuning right,
you was gonna run over him,
so that's...
Well, that's
a really big problem.
Look, Maggie, you got all of us
in that room, okay?
I know it wasn't easy.
But, look, you've got
that drummer in there,
and I don't know
where he came from,
but he's, like...
I think he's-he's big-time.
You know?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
So you know what you like.
That's what makes you great.
Just glad I made the cut.
Well...
barely.
Did you come up with
that guitar riff in there?
Yeah.
It's pretty good.
I'm pretty good.
I did it last night.
It was easy.
You could tighten it up, okay?
Mm-kay. Mm-kay.
So if there's something
I could do to twist
And turn back the time
Something I can say
To settle your mind
Something to prove
They don't love you
Like I do.
Whoo!
Yes, yes, yes.
That's what I'm talking about.
Oh, my God, y'all are good.
Okay, let's stop
for, uh, a second.
Something's off, yeah?
Yeah. I think...
I feel like it needs some,
like, layers, you know?
- A little bit of warmth and...
- Yeah.
Um, m-maybe some harmonies.
I can get some backup singers.
Can-can you just do it? I mean,
we could... we could always
replace it later. I just
want to hear it right now.
I can have somebody here
in an hour. It's no... It...
- We-We'll just...
- Maggie.
David.
- Maggie.
- David, no.
You know the song.
We wrote the song, right?
We've done it a hundred times.
Just come on and do it.
It'll be fun.
This is my area,
and that's your area.
So, nope.
Maggie, please.
Don't push me, David.
Come on.
Oh, my God. No.
Is there something
I could do to twist
And turn back the time?
Something I could say
to settle your mind
Something to prove
They don't love you
Like I do.
- Bye. - All right, bye.
- Thank you. - Nice job.
- I'll send you those guitar parts, okay?
- Good night.
- Hey, it sounds good, man.
- Thank you.
- Have a good one, man. You good.
- You, too, man.
- Bye, Seth.
- Bye.
You're the best.
Love that guy.
- He's pretty good.
- Good guy.
Yeah.
- You're not too bad, right?
- Oh.
- A little bit of...
- Wow.
- Bada... boom.
- Yep, and it...
And, uh... and, uh...
Okay.
Okay.
- So, that was a great session, and, um...
- Yes.
- I think that everyone feels very good about it.
- Mm-hmm.
- Mm-hmm.
- So I'll e-mail you.
And, um...
we will chat soon.

What?
Oh, God.
No.
We have a problem
with the release party.
Ariana can't perform.
She's trying to finish
a six-part album,
and-and she won't leave
the studio,
and, uh, th-that's crazy, but...
What about, uh, what's-his-face?
Oh, the guy who hit on us
at the Grammys?
- He hit on you. That one. Yes.
- The Weeknd?
He is on tour in Europe,
and also he has a girlfriend.
Okay, great. Well, um, let me
just do your job for you.
- Taylor Swift.
- She's writing a memoir.
- Do I need to lecture you...
- No.
...on the importance of
an opener for an album release?
Does she need
to lecture you, Maggie?
- That was the question.
- Okay, Margaret,
I'm not gonna come out there
to a cold crowd like an amateur.
You have totally
screwed this up.
And I have noticed
that you have not been
focused on your job
over the last few weeks.
I've noticed that.
I'll fix it.
Because scheduling is in
my very limited wheelhouse.
Well, then why don't you
find someone
who's not gonna embarrass me?
- I will.
- Great. Thank you.
Be nice if you could
do your job.
- Dan would love to do it.
- Fine.
I don't care. Whatever.
Hey, it's me. Can I come up?
Is this a work thing?
- No.
- Then no.
Oh. Hey, David.
You want to come in?
Is she just gonna say
this is not a good idea?
This isn't a good idea.
We really need to focus
- on our work together...
- Yeah. Forget that.
...and not be blurring
the lines and, you know...
- I let him up.
- What?
Okay, listen.
Brian Epstein did not sleep
with the Beatles.
Jerry Wexler and Aretha? No.
Jimmy Iovine and Springsteen?
No.
Actually, he did have
a whole thing with Stevie Nicks.
Anyway, David Geffen...
also had a thing with Cher.
And people do think
that Brian Epstein was
in love with John Lennon,
so there's...
Um, this is not...
I'm not...
You should...
I think that you should go.
- Cher's amazing.
- Mm-hmm.
So sexy.
Have you ever heard her version
of "All I Really Want to Do"?
Now, I ain't lookin'
to compete with you
Beat or cheat
or mistreat you
Simplify you, classify you
Deny, defy or mystify you
All I really want to do
Is, baby,
be friends with you
Baby, be friends with you
Now, I ain't lookin'
To fight with you
Frighten you
Or uptighten you
Drag you down
or drain you down
Chain you down
or bring you down...
- Hello?
- Have you confirmed
Dan Deakins for
the release party on Friday?
Yeah, yeah.
Of course I did.
- Yeah.
- Well, when was you gonna tell me, huh?
- He better be there.
- Yeah, it...
Oh.
Okay.
I ain't lookin' to...
What are you doing on Friday?
Hopefully this again.
Or lock you up, analyze...
Hi. It's Maggie.
Hey, girl.
Dan is so excited
for Grace's party later.
Well, that's what I was calling
to talk to you about.
Do you have a quick sec?
Uh, I'm actually
waiting on him to...
get out of a meeting
right now, so...
Oh, a meeting. Really?
Wha...
Maggie?
- How did you know we were here?
- Please. Everybody knows
this is the first place
he comes when he comes to L.A.
- Oh.
- How long have you been
Dan's assistant?
Like, five years?
- Yeah.
- Have you ever wanted
to do something
other than be his assistant?
Well, between you and me,
I've been working
on a screenplay.
It's 200 pages,
but I'm confident.
- It's hilarious.
- Okay, great. Yeah.
So, what would you do
to get, like,
I don't know,
Spielberg to read it?
Uh, anything.
Anything, right?
So, I've been working with this
really incredible artist on
the side without Grace knowing.
And I know that Dan
has already committed
to doing the party on Friday,
but I need you to help me
Ocean's 11 this whole thing
and get him to drop out at
the last minute, so then I can
swoop in and I can get
my artist heard
by Grace and the label,
and then everyone is
gonna lose their minds...
clearly,
like I've lost my mind...
and I'm gonna change the
trajectory of our entire lives.
Roll credits.
I love Ocean's 11.
Hey.
Let me hear him.
I drive over the limit
With my eyes on you
I drive over the limit
with my mind on you
Why you always
Getting in the back seat?
I can't concentrate
with you behind me
Oh, no...
All right. I'm in.
- Shut up.
- It'll piss off Grace,
but she needs a kick in the ass.
Sure you're ready for this...
working with musicians?
People like me, Grace, this kid.
Crazy little gods.
Before you know it, you'll be
on tour when
you're supposed to be
best man at
your brother's wedding.
Or in the studio when your
kid's winning the nationals.
Or buying another Rolls-Royce
when you've already got three.
No, four.
Yes.
Then you realize,
"Damn, I'm writing lyrics
"on a napkin in a toilet,
and I'm supposed to be
at the reception
for my fourth wedding."
No, fifth wedding.
And you think this kid
can handle that?
I do.
And you think that
you can handle that?
I do.
And do you want it
more than blood?
I do.
Send me the rest of his stuff.
I want to play it in the car.
How long till you
play me the song
That will make me
belong to you?
One dance
with my baby tonight
And we'll dance
till the night is through
What you,
what you gonna do?
I used to be
so ready to run
My philosophy...
Here's pictures of me
and Shwayze, man.
This girl right here can sing.
Make sure you tag me
in that, girl.
Instagram,
all them 'grams you got.
I'm the star now.
And which is
my better side, Jack?
Whatever side I'm on.
- This shit is confusing.
- Jack. Hi. Sorry.
- Can I just get a quick... One sec.
- Yeah.
Thank you,
'cause he talking about VR.
Why can't people just take
shrooms like they used to?
Um, Dan is a no-go.
What?
Yeah.
He's... not able to make it.
So I have a plan B.
You said you was
gonna handle this.
I am. Trust me.
- Where's your guitar?
- It's in the car.
I thought we were
going to dinner.
- Why this one? Oh, God.
- What? Why not?
Okay. Um, I'm gonna need you
to fight the urge
to get really mad at me
right now.
Okay.
I mean, what's going on?
Um, well, there's been
a little change of plans.
First of all...
I'm not a producer.
- What?
- I mean, I am,
but I'm not a real one.
I'm a personal assistant.
I'm just... I'm an assistant
to a big-time singer
who is having
a big party tonight,
and her whole label
is gonna be there
and a lot of other music people,
and you're gonna sing for them.
That's gr...
That's good, right?
You're an, um...
you're-you're an assistant?
Yeah, I am.
I'm an assistant to...
But my boss, Grace Davis,
is awesome.
You-you work for Grace Davis?
Yeah.
Wow.
David! Hey, wait.
Does she...
does she know about this?
Um, no, not yet,
but she's gonna love you.
Do you even have any clients?
I mean, did you lie
about that, too?
Oh, my God.
I'm sorry.
I should have told you.
And I don't...
I'm sorry that I...
Uh, but we can talk about
all of this later if...
You know, you're so arrogant.
You don't know shit.
You don't know anything.
You just walk around
pretending and shit.
- Like, who does that?
- I'm sorry that I lied to you.
It was wrong, but I...
we made something really good,
and it deserves a shot.
I think you deserve a shot.
And do you know what's in there?
That could change
your whole life.
It could change
both of our lives.
I'm not your escape plan,
Maggie.
That's...
That's not what I...
David!
And I love this jacket.
Come on in...
All right, well, I'm gonna have
another sip of this,
and I'll be right back.
Dumbass millennials.
Did you figure it out?
This was your second chance.
You couldn't handle it.
You want to be a producer?
Producing is about trust
and commitment
and taking care of your artist.
You couldn't even do that
as an assistant.
Why would I want
to work with you?
Why would anyone
want to work with you?
We're done.
Grace, it's time.
Thanks, Jack.
If you need a reference
for your next job,
have 'em give me a call.
I got a lot to say.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Grace Davis.
Hello, everyone.
How are you?
So, it looks like I'll be
opening for myself tonight.

Hey, I'm sorry today
was such a shit day.
I opened the Adele basket.
Okay.
I would never leave you.
What am I saying?
No, we were all meant
to be together.
Come on.
We're going home.

I didn't mean to hurt you
And I'm sorry I made you cry
I'm just a jealous guy
I'm just a jealous guy...
And that is
the late, great Donny Hathaway
doing John Lennon's
"Jealous Guy."
Live at The Bitter End.
Live at The Bitter End.
Hey, Magpie.
Hi, Dad.
I got to stop by Johnny's.
Just a few things,
then we'll be home.
What do you have to...
All right.

All right.
What do we need?
Want to order some pizza?
Hey, Maggie.
I got to do the morning show.
Want to come with me?
No.
What?
It's the singer-songwriter hour.
Gonna start with Joni Mitchell.
You know what album
I'm thinking of?
Guess.
Was she dating David Crosby
or Jackson Browne?
James Taylor.
My favorite.
For the Roses.
Attagirl.
Yeah, it's all about
being a rock star,
dating a rock star, and heroin.
I can't believe I let her
stay with me this long.
She was always in my face.
- Mm-hmm.
- "Hi. I'm Maggie.
"I know everything
about everything.
"Oh, I'm in the studio.
"I'm a producer.
I can pull off bangs."
No, you can't.
No, you can't,
because it's not 1970.
Hasn't been 1970 for some years.
- Oh, my God. Okay.
- She's a nightmare person.
And she's a bummer to be around.
Why is she always asking
if you need water?
I don't know.
And she's constantly
listening to your songs
over and over and over again.
Oh, my God.
And honestly, Grace,
I thought she was gonna be
the one who would stick it out.
- And I tried to help her.
- Did you talk to her?
I did talk to her.
- Okay.
- And I tried to tell her
that this was
an enormous opportunity.
And I saw myself in her.
You know, before I became
the strong, independent woman
that I am today.
I think she's just
obsessed with you.
She never asked you
for anything, which was weird.
- No, she actually did.
- What?
Did she ask you
for those "Louis Boutins"?
Because those are mine, Grace.
It goes from Grace
to Getty Images to Gail.
No, she wanted to produce.
Who?
Me.

Why?
I mean, you're retired.
I'm not retired.
Yeah, I'm a singer, Gail.
I thought we were retired.
Is she any good?
Next up, a song
by the great Lee Moses.
No.
Made famous by
the one and only Grace Davis,
here's "Bad Girl."
This is a song
about a bad girl...
I really don't want
to hear this right now.
Oh...
Your mother loved
that song, huh?
I knew the Grace version.
Everybody did, but...
She knew all the covers.
She was obsessed by 'em.
You know the way a song
can be one thing
when it comes out of
somebody's mouth, and then...
magic, and suddenly
it belongs to somebody else.
You know, it's hard.
It's hard for me
to think that...
oh, one day,
you're gonna wake up,
and you're gonna be older
than your mother ever was.
Dad.
But if she knew that you worked
for Grace Davis
- for two...
- Three.
...three years...
she'd have been so proud and jealous.
And she wouldn't want you
hiding out here.
Well, I really blew it.
But I did learn more than...
I'll ever learn anywhere else
working for Grace.
I didn't even know
I wanted to be a producer
when I started there.
And what did she say
when you told her that?
You did tell her that, right?
She does not want to talk
to me...
I think, forever.
Maggie, come on.
You can wallow around here,
or you can try
to make things right.
I'm not wallowing.
Well, call her.
Bad girl...
All right. What are you gonna
start with tonight?
Hmm.
- Maybe this one.
- Uh, nope.
Uh, please.
Not "Landslide"
by the Dixie Chicks. That...
It's a great song.
No.
Good evening.
This is Maggie Sherwoode.
I will be covering for Don
for the next couple weeks.
I'm gonna kick it off
with three different versions
of "The First Cut
Is the Deepest,"
originally by Cat Yusuf Stevens.
I would have given you
All of my heart
- But there's someone
- Jesus Christ.
Who's torn it apart
And he's taking almost all
that I've got
But if you want,
I'll try to love again
Baby, I'll try to love again
Oh, no.
But I know
The first cut is the deepest
Baby, I know
The first cut is the deepest
'Cause when it comes
to being lucky...
I'm gonna call her.
Okay.
Where's my cart?
It's a long story.
It died.
Hi, Grace.
It's Maggie.
Uh, Margaret Sherwoode.
Um...
I'm sorry about the party.
I-I had this whole plan
that was meant to show you
that I could be more
than just an assistant,
and then it totally fell apart.
Uh, so...
Um, mostly, though, I just
really wanted to say thank you.
'Cause I've always been
in total awe of you, Grace,
and to be able to witness the
person that I admire the most
do the thing
that she does best...
...was the greatest time
of my whole life.
Um...
and I'm so grateful.

Hello.
Are you still mad at me?
Yeah. But I got to talk to you
about something.
Well, I just want to tell you
that I'm really sorry
about everything, and...
I really just wish
we were writing.
Uh, uh, wh-where are you?
Well, actually, about that...
- Oh, my God.
- Hi.
What are you doing here?
Your roommate told me
where you were.
She was very rude. Yeah.
So, do you know where you sent
my suit to be tailored?
I want to wear it tomorrow.
Um, what suit?
The one I wore
to Michelle's birthday.
Obama or Williams?
I may or... Mm.
...may not have said some things
that could have...
hurt someone's feelings.
And, uh...
for that...
I forgive myself.
Yeah.
Was that an apology?
Absolutely not.
No. No, it wasn't.
I was pissed
because you messed up
and you didn't do your job.
And what else was I
supposed to do?
But while you were gone,
I, um...
...missed you.
I took having someone on my side
for granted.
- I'm always on...
- No, no.
No, no, no.
I have, actually, more to say.
I realized it's because...
I trusted you,
and I have never trusted
an assistant like that before.
Do not tell Gail.
But you were very good
at your job.
And you worked harder than...
anyone else ever has,
and you loved it, and...
which is...
And you love my music.
And I appreciate that.
Well, thank you for coming all
the way here to tell me that.
Maggie, that's not
why I came here.
I came here to tell you
that the work you did on
the live album was very good.
- Really?
- Yes.
I would have filled in
the audience track
a little bit more,
and I think you overmixed
- in some places.
- Okay.
But you made me sound...
...like me.
Me.
I haven't heard her
in a long time.
That's the sign
of a good producer.
Thanks.
So, it's gonna be tough,
you know?
Uh, because it's...
it's really bleak out there
for middle-aged singers.
And when I get there,
I'll-I'll confirm that.
But for female producers, mm...
I've never worked
with a female producer.
Uh, yeah.
Should we give it a go?
- Yes.
- Yeah?
Yes. I am available for that.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
I've been writing.
I knew it.
Do you want to hear 'em?
Yes.
- Now?
- So much, yeah.
There are things I know
that I should have said
That I couldn't say
To you
I've been hiding
in my tower of strength
And there's no room in there
For two
Still
You can't walk through fire
And not bear the scars
Do you feel
my heart trembling
Now you're here in my arms?
This is new to me
This is new to me.
It's called "New to Me."
- One second.
- Okay.
Really?
Okay. Well, that was...
Just bared my soul.
- Hi.
- So, before we talk,
I don't know
how you did it, but...
- Dan Deakins loves the songs.
- Oh. Yeah.
David?
- Um, this is...
- Mom?
What are you doing here?
"Mom"?
Did you send Dan the songs?
Oh, sweetheart,
are you recording?
Sorry.
Did you just call her "Mom"?
Are you his mom?
Not now, Margaret.
Yeah, I've been working
on some stuff with Maggie.
- Oh.
- And Dan showed his label the tracks,
and they want to sign me.
So, wait, you...
you were working with him
while you were working for me?
Is this the guy... Are you...
Is this...
Is this the boy?
Are you two dating?
- No.
- Yeah.
Hey, Magpie, I got some tacos.
Wow. It's, uh...
It's Grace Davis.
That's me.
Uh...
you came on the ferry?
- No, I have a helicopter.
- Wow.
- I do.
- Yeah.
- I have a helicopter.
- Tell everybody.
So...
when you said that
you and your mom
just started talking again,
you didn't think to tell me
that your mom is Grace Davis?
You didn't tell me
you were working for her.
Oh, don't change the subject.
We've met before.
1989, I interviewed you for
my radio show on K-SADJ, and...
- It was in L.A.
- Yes.
Downtown.
I can't believe
you remember that.
Yes.
Oh, my God. Wait.
- Yeah.
- You had long hair.
You didn't have the-the beard.
- Yeah, okay.
- And that voice.
That's you!
That was a really good show.
I think it was. Yeah.
And you had a pregnant wife.
Yeah. Yeah.
- Yeah.
- She used to help me.
And that was Maggie.
What-what...
The one inside
the pregnant wife.
Small world.
Fucking long con.
I had him when I was so young.
And I had a chance
to change things for us,
and I took it.
I took it.
Who else knows?
Gail.
Jack.
He was there when I had him.
Jack's always there.
I don't... I just don't...
How-how did this...
I know everything about you.
I mean...
I have really good lawyers.
Like...
- Damn.
- Mm.
Are you gonna tell people?
I wanted to.
Many times.
But he said he wasn't ready.
And after everything I put him
through, I... I respect that.
I wanted to help him
with his music.
But he was worried that people
wouldn't take him seriously
if I was involved,
which I understand.
It must have been really,
really hard for you.
- Yeah.
- For you both. I mean...
Mostly him.
There's a lot of things
I wish I had done differently.
We're here now.
He's really good, Grace.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
- Oh, my God!
- Oh, shit.
- Oh, my God. That was amazing.
- Oh, my God.
This is so crazy.
This is so crazy.
That was amazing.
You have to do it again. Go.
Encore. Encore. Do it. Yeah.
So, uh, before we go,
we've got a surprise for y'all.
Someone very special
is here tonight.
Oh, my God.
- Is he talking about you?
- No.
And she happens to be
a really great singer.
I'm not...
Come on out.
- Okay.
- Yep.
- Hold my phone.
- Got it. Yep.
- Excuse me, Margaret.
- Whoa.
Grace? Oh, my God.
- Okay, that makes a lot more sense.
- Sh...
My mom, Grace Davis.
Ooh.
Grace! Grace! Grace!
Grace! Grace! Grace! Grace!
Grace! Grace! Grace!
Grace! Grace! Grace! Grace!
- Excuse me, ladies. Can...
- Whoa. Geez.
- Can y'all back up off the stage a little bit.
- S-Sorry.
Why
Have I been this way?
Through all of my pleasures
Through all of the pain
I know that hard times
Can get in the way
But even the worst nights
There's nothing I'd change
I've been feeling
Like a fool
They don't love you,
they don't love you
Like I do
Is there something
I could do to twist
And turn back the time?
Something I could say
To settle your mind
Something to prove
They don't love you...
She been waiting to do this
for a long time.
Why
We battle
For blame
But you make it easy
To smile through
the thunder and the rain
So if there's something
I could do to twist
And turn back the time
Something I could say
To settle your mind
Something to prove
They don't love you
Like I
Do.
Ooh, ooh
I forget when
I was younger it was easy
Now I'm stressed-out,
always have to have the TV on
Watching memories
fade to gray
Unwinding slowly
Makes me uneasy
Making me crazy
- Crazy
- But is it fake love
If I'm lying to myself?
Trying to fix up
something real
I don't really care
I don't want to keep
my head down
Got nothing to share
Maybe I should put
my phone down
I don't really care
If everybody likes me
I just want to love myself
Love myself
- Mm, mm, mm, mm.
- Ooh...
Damn, the girl still
give me goosebumps.
Grace, that was so good.
Thank you, Maggie.
Let's take it from the top.
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
I forget when I was younger
it was easy
Now I'm stressed-out,
always have to have the TV on
Watching memories
fade to gray
Unwinding slowly
Makes me uneasy
- Making me crazy
- Crazy
But is it fake love
If I'm lying to myself?
Trying to fake
the way I feel
Am I a stranger
If I don't recognize myself?
Trying to fix up
something real
I don't really care
I don't want to keep
my head down
Got nothing to share
Maybe I should put
my phone down
I don't really care
If everybody likes me
I just want to love myself
Love myself
- Ooh, ooh
- Love myself
Ooh, ooh
It's hard to pay attention
when my mind talks
Only wish there was a way
to turn my mind off
Now the only way to sleep
is with the lights on
Making me lonely,
making me crazy
But is it fake love
If I'm lying to myself?
Trying to fake
the way I feel
Am I a stranger
If I don't recognize myself?
Trying to fix up
something real
I don't really care
I don't want to keep
my head down
Got nothing to share
Maybe I should put
my phone down
I don't really care
If everybody likes me
I just want to love myself
Love myself
My head is spinning
The ground breaks
And I can't pay attention
when my hands shake
When love is gone,
when every day is a bad day
Just need myself
to tell me that it's okay
I don't really care
I don't want to keep
my head down
Got nothing to share
Maybe I should put
my phone down
I don't really care
If everybody likes me
I just want to love myself
- Love myself
- I don't really care
I don't want to keep
my head down
Got nothing to share
Maybe I should put
my phone down
I don't really care
If everybody likes me
I just want to love myself
Love myself
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh.
- You got
- Oh, oh, oh, oh
Little brittle pieces
- You got
- Oh, oh, oh, oh
- You got
- Oh, oh, oh, oh
Little brittle pieces
- You got
- Oh, oh, oh, oh
- You got
- Oh, oh, oh, oh
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh

Monday morning,
and the sun is dead
Sky is broken,
and the clouds are bled
I was up,
was gonna go to work
Had my coffee,
then went back to bed
Aiyee
My baby, stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
Baby, 'cause you
You're the only one
who knows what I mean
Boy, if you knew
What this ache
is really doing to me
If you could just
stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
I know you'd
change your mind
'Cause, baby, it's true
You got little brittle pieces
of my heart all over you
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
Tuesday morning,
and I'm lying here
Phone is ringing,
I ain't answering, oh, oh
And I know I should
get out of bed
But I keep thinking about
the words you said
Aiyee
You left me
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
Stop for a minute
Stop, stop
Baby, 'cause you
Oh, you're the only one
who knows what I mean
Boy, if you knew
What this ache
is really doing to me
If you could just
stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
I know you'd change
your mind, baby
'Cause, baby, it's true
You got little brittle pieces
of my heart all over you
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh
Stop for a minute
Stop for a minute, oh.
Is that dope, or is that dope?
Trick question. This is dope.