Swimming with Sharks (2022) s01e03 Episode Script
Chapter Three
1
[haunting piano music]
- Alex Butler was like a son
to me.
A dear friend.
A vibrant, brilliant young man.
Alex was so much more than
an assistant.
A valued colleague.
And I loved him enormously.
- Our hearts go out
to his family
during this difficult time.
- Turn it off.
Toxicology reports came back.
There were a ton of drugs
in his system.
- Oh, I thought he was sober.
- He was sober.
She pushed him too far.
She never gave a shit
that he was sick.
His death is on her.
Finest trick of the devil
is persuading you
he doesn't exist.
- You're not eating your lox.
- I don't like lox.
- [scoffs]
[speaking Yiddish]
Martin.
You're a disgrace, Joyce.
- So in terms of the budget
on "Wanderlust"
- All right.
- Our stocks went up immediately
after we announced.
- Oh, yeah?
- It's a huge property,
and it needs to be
serviced as such.
We can't cheap out on this.
- Cheap out.
When have I ever "cheaped out"?
I have a cap and you know it.
And I never go over that cap.
No movie's worth it.
Dolce Vita!
- Yes, sir.
Can you bring me some more
caper berries,
but just two?
- Right away.
- In order to win this, we had
to agree to Meredith directing.
- First time director.
Female. Huge fucking risk.
- And we had to agree
to go high.
- And you did because
you thought I would be dead.
And you could spend as much
of my money as you wanted.
But you thought wrong.
- Here you are, sir.
- You are a prince of a man,
Dolce Vita.
- Thank you, sir.
- Thank you.
- I think his name is Marcello.
- And I call him Dolce Vita.
And you don't get it.
- Redmond, we cannot make
this film
as it's currently budgeted.
- Then they don't
fucking make it.
[ominous music]
[unsettling music]
♪
- I need to get on this plane.
- Investors are asking
if he's back.
- Stop.
- CAA's calling.
- I'm dealing with it.
- So what, is our budget
on "Wanderlust"
basically fucked now?
- Information for the car
picking you up
in Phoenix is on there.
I emailed and texted it
to you as well.
I got this for you.
It's a moonstone.
It's supposed to help
with fertility.
- Help Travis till I'm back.
- Of course.
Anything else?
- You could kill Redmond.
- Travel safe.
[dark orchestral music]
- Looks like somebody
got a promotion.
♪
- [grunts]
- Looks good.
Lining seems perfect.
I think we're good to implant
tomorrow as planned.
- Oh, good.
- Is Miles not coming?
- Uh, no.
- So then we'll just
be implanting
the one viable embryo.
The odds
- I'm aware.
- I don't need to tell you
the statistics.
- Statistics don't apply to me;
They never have.
[vacuum whirring]
[vacuum shuts off]
[unsettling music]
♪
[phone dings]
♪
[birds chirping]
[soft ethereal music playing]
♪
[knock at door]
- Hi.
Change of plans.
Water's too rough for sailing.
- Hmm.
You waited till I got here
to tell me that?
- I did.
- So what are we gonna do
instead?
- Possibilities are endless.
- Lost in a space
I haven't been before ♪
- How 'bout some wine?
- Mm-hmm.
- In love with it ♪
Lost in a space ♪
I haven't been before ♪
Never been before ♪
In love with it ♪
Walked to the edge ♪
Feeling closer now ♪
Closer now ♪
Getting closer now ♪
♪
- Take a nice deep breath.
In through the nose.
Out through the mouth.
Good, Joyce.
Just go ahead and do that again
and just kind of relax
the pelvis.
- What does your wife do?
- Real estate.
- She's so beautiful.
[eerie music]
♪
- All right.
I'm gonna remove the catheter,
so you might feel
a little pressure.
Nice deep breath.
♪
- Fuck.
- Congratulations
on a successful transfer.
There it is.
- Thank you.
- So you need to stay flat
for about 45 more minutes.
Just close your eyes
and try to relax.
If you have any cramping
or bleeding, let me know
as soon as possible.
♪
- [gasps]
[exhales shakily]
[sobs]
- Nobody named Lou Simms
was every employed here.
- A are you sure?
She listed you as a reference.
- Then she lied.
- What the fucking fuck?
♪
- Look, Alex was your friend.
[groans] But the kid
was a recovering addict.
Fell off the wagon
into his pool, drowned.
I mean,
it's pretty cut and dry to me.
- Okay, but look,
this new girl
There is literally no record
of her.
And what 22-year-old
isn't on social media?
- Doesn't make her a murderer.
- What she said.
I find it kind of refreshing
you asked me.
Town full of YouTube stars
make as much in a month
as I make in a frickin' year.
- Try a week.
No offense.
- You work in the movie biz.
Spend your days dreaming up
crazy shit.
Sometimes people
just fuckin' drown.
- Walked to the edge ♪
Feeling closer now ♪
Closer now ♪
Getting closer now ♪
[tense music]
♪
[serene music]
- I can get you
any A-list screenwriter
you want, Meredith.
- I wrote the book.
I wanna write the screenplay.
- Of course.
But as a first-time director,
we want to support you
through the process.
- What about Redmond?
- Redmond?
Not dead yet.
- Is he gonna fuck
with my budget?
- Absolutely not.
- Hey, let's set a time
for you to come in.
Kick things off.
- Well, make sure
my little friend's there.
♪
- Copy. Talk soon.
- Gonna get into any trouble
this weekend?
- No.
You?
- Always.
So were you born and raised
in Colorado Springs, or?
- Why the sudden interest in me?
- I don't know anything
about you.
In fact, no one knows anything
about you.
- How much can you really know
about anyone?
The cliché "bitter bitch façade"
you and every other twink
in Boystown project?
I mean
[bell rings]
Is that the real you?
[dark electronic music]
[Crosses' "The Beginning of the End"]
♪
- If beauty is skin deep ♪
Then your skin
is made of glass ♪
Oh, Mother Earth,
please hear me ♪
We may never learn
from the past ♪
♪
- I've always wanted
to come here.
My mom told me about this place.
She loved old Hollywood movies.
- Is she back in Colorado?
- She is.
- Come on.
Let's find a place to sit.
- Gracias.
Where's your little sidekick?
Oh, I'm sorry.
The new the new intern.
New Alex.
New Marty.
I don't trust that girl
as far as I can throw her.
- Right, well,
something tells me
you don't trust anyone, mate.
- Why don't you ask Meredith
about her?
At the story meeting.
- Meredith?
- Bring her a pomegranate açaí
throat lozenge.
[soft string music playing]
- Janet Gaynor was such
a goddess.
You know, she's buried here.
Next to her second husband,
Adrian.
- Didn't know that.
- Mm.
Where is Janet Gaynor's
tombstone located
in the Hollywood Forever
Cemetery?
♪
- Have you had much
interaction with Meredith
on "Wanderlust"?
- A little.
Why?
- Just curious.
You seem to be right in there
on everything.
Joyce clearly likes you.
It's no small feat.
- Who knows?
She could fire me tomorrow.
- [laughs]
Yeah.
Something tells me you'll
probably end up being my boss.
- That's not what I want.
- So what do you want?
Oh, shit.
Is everyone
from the fucking studio here?
- Marty.
- Hey.
- Hey, how are you? What's up?
- How you doing? You good?
- Yeah.
- This is my friend Drea.
- Nice to meet you.
- Hi.
I'm Lou.
- Hi, Lou.
- You two haven't met before?
Well, this is, uh,
this is Miles Bresson.
He's Joyce's husband,
and, uh, this is Lou Simms.
She works for Joyce.
- Mm.
- Nice to meet you, Miles.
- Nice to meet you.
[tense music]
[soft piano music]
- You have no brain.
What you think means nothing.
What you feel means nothing.
You are nothing.
Everything you do,
you run through me.
Can't take it?
Roll on back to Bumfuck, Iowa.
Where have you been?
- Blowing Brad Pitt.
- Wesley needs a walk.
- So fucking walk him.
- [laughs]
You're glowing, babe.
- [laughs]
- I seriously think
you're pregnant.
- Stop.
- You feel pregnant?
- [sighs] I don't know.
- Thanks for coming tonight.
I know the doctor said you
should still be on bed rest.
- I wouldn't miss
your big opening.
- I think Beaudreax's
gonna show.
The guys from Blackman Cruz
are super stoked.
If I can get these guys
on board,
this could be huge for us.
[phone buzzes]
[ethereal guitar music]
♪
I'm not cheating.
- Stop.
- This is my night.
Please don't ruin it.
- [sighs]
♪
- You know, I I love
that you say that.
You know,
it all comes from a place
of getting really quiet.
That simplification.
I just really wanted
To get rid of all the noise.
You work for my fucking wife?
What the fuck are you doing
here?
- Joyce invited me.
- Mm.
- What was I supposed to do?
Say no to my boss?
- Did you just text me
a picture of your tits?
- [scoffs]
Don't flatter yourself.
- You need to leave.
Now.
- We hung out for an afternoon.
Don't turn it into something
it isn't, Miles.
[mellow electronic music]
♪
Hey. Distilled water.
Thank you.
- What are you doing here?
- Just wanted to come
and support.
- What do you think?
- It's pretty.
- Translation?
- Derivative.
It feels a bit forced.
Did he grow up rich?
Feels like rich kid art.
- Get me a napkin.
Napkin.
Stand behind me.
- [sighs]
[ominous music]
♪
[sighs]
♪
[dark electronic music]
♪
[haunting piano music]
- Alex Butler was like a son
to me.
A dear friend.
A vibrant, brilliant young man.
Alex was so much more than
an assistant.
A valued colleague.
And I loved him enormously.
- Our hearts go out
to his family
during this difficult time.
- Turn it off.
Toxicology reports came back.
There were a ton of drugs
in his system.
- Oh, I thought he was sober.
- He was sober.
She pushed him too far.
She never gave a shit
that he was sick.
His death is on her.
Finest trick of the devil
is persuading you
he doesn't exist.
- You're not eating your lox.
- I don't like lox.
- [scoffs]
[speaking Yiddish]
Martin.
You're a disgrace, Joyce.
- So in terms of the budget
on "Wanderlust"
- All right.
- Our stocks went up immediately
after we announced.
- Oh, yeah?
- It's a huge property,
and it needs to be
serviced as such.
We can't cheap out on this.
- Cheap out.
When have I ever "cheaped out"?
I have a cap and you know it.
And I never go over that cap.
No movie's worth it.
Dolce Vita!
- Yes, sir.
Can you bring me some more
caper berries,
but just two?
- Right away.
- In order to win this, we had
to agree to Meredith directing.
- First time director.
Female. Huge fucking risk.
- And we had to agree
to go high.
- And you did because
you thought I would be dead.
And you could spend as much
of my money as you wanted.
But you thought wrong.
- Here you are, sir.
- You are a prince of a man,
Dolce Vita.
- Thank you, sir.
- Thank you.
- I think his name is Marcello.
- And I call him Dolce Vita.
And you don't get it.
- Redmond, we cannot make
this film
as it's currently budgeted.
- Then they don't
fucking make it.
[ominous music]
[unsettling music]
♪
- I need to get on this plane.
- Investors are asking
if he's back.
- Stop.
- CAA's calling.
- I'm dealing with it.
- So what, is our budget
on "Wanderlust"
basically fucked now?
- Information for the car
picking you up
in Phoenix is on there.
I emailed and texted it
to you as well.
I got this for you.
It's a moonstone.
It's supposed to help
with fertility.
- Help Travis till I'm back.
- Of course.
Anything else?
- You could kill Redmond.
- Travel safe.
[dark orchestral music]
- Looks like somebody
got a promotion.
♪
- [grunts]
- Looks good.
Lining seems perfect.
I think we're good to implant
tomorrow as planned.
- Oh, good.
- Is Miles not coming?
- Uh, no.
- So then we'll just
be implanting
the one viable embryo.
The odds
- I'm aware.
- I don't need to tell you
the statistics.
- Statistics don't apply to me;
They never have.
[vacuum whirring]
[vacuum shuts off]
[unsettling music]
♪
[phone dings]
♪
[birds chirping]
[soft ethereal music playing]
♪
[knock at door]
- Hi.
Change of plans.
Water's too rough for sailing.
- Hmm.
You waited till I got here
to tell me that?
- I did.
- So what are we gonna do
instead?
- Possibilities are endless.
- Lost in a space
I haven't been before ♪
- How 'bout some wine?
- Mm-hmm.
- In love with it ♪
Lost in a space ♪
I haven't been before ♪
Never been before ♪
In love with it ♪
Walked to the edge ♪
Feeling closer now ♪
Closer now ♪
Getting closer now ♪
♪
- Take a nice deep breath.
In through the nose.
Out through the mouth.
Good, Joyce.
Just go ahead and do that again
and just kind of relax
the pelvis.
- What does your wife do?
- Real estate.
- She's so beautiful.
[eerie music]
♪
- All right.
I'm gonna remove the catheter,
so you might feel
a little pressure.
Nice deep breath.
♪
- Fuck.
- Congratulations
on a successful transfer.
There it is.
- Thank you.
- So you need to stay flat
for about 45 more minutes.
Just close your eyes
and try to relax.
If you have any cramping
or bleeding, let me know
as soon as possible.
♪
- [gasps]
[exhales shakily]
[sobs]
- Nobody named Lou Simms
was every employed here.
- A are you sure?
She listed you as a reference.
- Then she lied.
- What the fucking fuck?
♪
- Look, Alex was your friend.
[groans] But the kid
was a recovering addict.
Fell off the wagon
into his pool, drowned.
I mean,
it's pretty cut and dry to me.
- Okay, but look,
this new girl
There is literally no record
of her.
And what 22-year-old
isn't on social media?
- Doesn't make her a murderer.
- What she said.
I find it kind of refreshing
you asked me.
Town full of YouTube stars
make as much in a month
as I make in a frickin' year.
- Try a week.
No offense.
- You work in the movie biz.
Spend your days dreaming up
crazy shit.
Sometimes people
just fuckin' drown.
- Walked to the edge ♪
Feeling closer now ♪
Closer now ♪
Getting closer now ♪
[tense music]
♪
[serene music]
- I can get you
any A-list screenwriter
you want, Meredith.
- I wrote the book.
I wanna write the screenplay.
- Of course.
But as a first-time director,
we want to support you
through the process.
- What about Redmond?
- Redmond?
Not dead yet.
- Is he gonna fuck
with my budget?
- Absolutely not.
- Hey, let's set a time
for you to come in.
Kick things off.
- Well, make sure
my little friend's there.
♪
- Copy. Talk soon.
- Gonna get into any trouble
this weekend?
- No.
You?
- Always.
So were you born and raised
in Colorado Springs, or?
- Why the sudden interest in me?
- I don't know anything
about you.
In fact, no one knows anything
about you.
- How much can you really know
about anyone?
The cliché "bitter bitch façade"
you and every other twink
in Boystown project?
I mean
[bell rings]
Is that the real you?
[dark electronic music]
[Crosses' "The Beginning of the End"]
♪
- If beauty is skin deep ♪
Then your skin
is made of glass ♪
Oh, Mother Earth,
please hear me ♪
We may never learn
from the past ♪
♪
- I've always wanted
to come here.
My mom told me about this place.
She loved old Hollywood movies.
- Is she back in Colorado?
- She is.
- Come on.
Let's find a place to sit.
- Gracias.
Where's your little sidekick?
Oh, I'm sorry.
The new the new intern.
New Alex.
New Marty.
I don't trust that girl
as far as I can throw her.
- Right, well,
something tells me
you don't trust anyone, mate.
- Why don't you ask Meredith
about her?
At the story meeting.
- Meredith?
- Bring her a pomegranate açaí
throat lozenge.
[soft string music playing]
- Janet Gaynor was such
a goddess.
You know, she's buried here.
Next to her second husband,
Adrian.
- Didn't know that.
- Mm.
Where is Janet Gaynor's
tombstone located
in the Hollywood Forever
Cemetery?
♪
- Have you had much
interaction with Meredith
on "Wanderlust"?
- A little.
Why?
- Just curious.
You seem to be right in there
on everything.
Joyce clearly likes you.
It's no small feat.
- Who knows?
She could fire me tomorrow.
- [laughs]
Yeah.
Something tells me you'll
probably end up being my boss.
- That's not what I want.
- So what do you want?
Oh, shit.
Is everyone
from the fucking studio here?
- Marty.
- Hey.
- Hey, how are you? What's up?
- How you doing? You good?
- Yeah.
- This is my friend Drea.
- Nice to meet you.
- Hi.
I'm Lou.
- Hi, Lou.
- You two haven't met before?
Well, this is, uh,
this is Miles Bresson.
He's Joyce's husband,
and, uh, this is Lou Simms.
She works for Joyce.
- Mm.
- Nice to meet you, Miles.
- Nice to meet you.
[tense music]
[soft piano music]
- You have no brain.
What you think means nothing.
What you feel means nothing.
You are nothing.
Everything you do,
you run through me.
Can't take it?
Roll on back to Bumfuck, Iowa.
Where have you been?
- Blowing Brad Pitt.
- Wesley needs a walk.
- So fucking walk him.
- [laughs]
You're glowing, babe.
- [laughs]
- I seriously think
you're pregnant.
- Stop.
- You feel pregnant?
- [sighs] I don't know.
- Thanks for coming tonight.
I know the doctor said you
should still be on bed rest.
- I wouldn't miss
your big opening.
- I think Beaudreax's
gonna show.
The guys from Blackman Cruz
are super stoked.
If I can get these guys
on board,
this could be huge for us.
[phone buzzes]
[ethereal guitar music]
♪
I'm not cheating.
- Stop.
- This is my night.
Please don't ruin it.
- [sighs]
♪
- You know, I I love
that you say that.
You know,
it all comes from a place
of getting really quiet.
That simplification.
I just really wanted
To get rid of all the noise.
You work for my fucking wife?
What the fuck are you doing
here?
- Joyce invited me.
- Mm.
- What was I supposed to do?
Say no to my boss?
- Did you just text me
a picture of your tits?
- [scoffs]
Don't flatter yourself.
- You need to leave.
Now.
- We hung out for an afternoon.
Don't turn it into something
it isn't, Miles.
[mellow electronic music]
♪
Hey. Distilled water.
Thank you.
- What are you doing here?
- Just wanted to come
and support.
- What do you think?
- It's pretty.
- Translation?
- Derivative.
It feels a bit forced.
Did he grow up rich?
Feels like rich kid art.
- Get me a napkin.
Napkin.
Stand behind me.
- [sighs]
[ominous music]
♪
[sighs]
♪
[dark electronic music]
♪