Halston (2021) s01e05 Episode Script
Critics
[MAN SNIFFING]
[SNIFFS]
[GROANS]
['80S POP MUSIC PLAYING]
How can I be sure ♪
That belt's not working. Here.
Okay. Go.
When you don't give me love ♪
You gave me pale shelter ♪
You don't give me love ♪
You give me cold hands ♪
And I can't operate on this failure ♪
- When all I want to be is ♪
- Go.
Completely in command ♪
[HALSTON SNIFFING]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
So, it's come to this, has it, Sassy?
It was a dazzling show.
Shouldn't there be a hundred people here
saying just those very words?
Staying up too late, having too much fun.
But, no, it's just you and me.
You're only here
'cause you're being paid so I'm not alone.
You've got the reviews,
haven't you, Sassy?
[LIGHTER CLICKS]
[LIGHTER HITS TABLE]
I don't wanna hear them.
They're all jealous of me
since I became a big star.
I confuse people.
They see me on Donahue,
then they see me out and about
with Barbara Walters
or Andy Warhol or Cher.
I get it. I've got too much.
I'd hate me.
What do you think is the main criticism?
I think it's mostly that, at one point,
you reinvented women's fashion.
Wrapped a woman in a feeling.
In your taste.
And now it's all sweatshirts
and zippers and--
Oh, fuck you.
I'm not saying that. They are.
Oh, darling. I'm only kidding.
[HALSTON SNIFFS]
Read one.
SASSY: Um
Okay.
"His new line for JCPenney is Halston"
Go on.
"is Halston diluted to a pale substance
that is a flimsy representation
of the designer's work."
Another one.
"Halston's mega-collection
for the American mall
is undermined by inattention to fit."
"A red and black jersey suit,
for example, is--"
I can't hear you!
"is shown on a realistically short,
plumpish model
but cut so sloppily
as to all but engulf her."
"Conversely, a hot purple wrap dress
is too skimpy to pass muster
at a proper luncheon,
or for that matter,
at the neighborhood singles' bar."
Reviews don't matter.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
Hey, good morning. How are you?
Good morning, everyone.
Hi.
[SIGHS]
How are you?
[VICTOR SPEAKING SPANISH]
[GLASS SHATTERING]
- That was a Moser, you fucking idiot.
- I don't care what the fuck it was.
That's all you care about. Your things.
They're so precious, so valuable.
You know what's the most valuable thing
you've ever had, Halston? Me.
Yes, you really are my rock,
aren't you, Victor?
VICTOR: Fuck you.
Victor.
What do I need to do to get you to leave?
As if you could.
You'll fucking start crying.
"Please, Victor, don't leave."
"You're the genius.
Everything I have is because of you."
- HALSTON: You never heard me say that.
- Bullshit!
You take all the credit.
You take all the fucking money.
But you know it all came from here.
From this brain.
Do I take any fucking credit?
No, you treat me like a fucking dog.
HALSTON: Victor.
Just tell me, what is it you want from me?
[VICTOR CLEARS THROAT]
I want a million dollars.
[HALSTON CHUCKLES]
I want a space.
A big one. Just like Warhol.
I want my own Factory to scale up my work.
Fucking Andy has everybody
doing it for him. That's what I want.
A million dollars?
You'll make that money back in a year.
It's good business.
You're out of your tiny mind.
That's the least I deserve.
Well, it's not nearly what you deserve,
Victor, but I just want you to leave.
[VICTOR LAUGHS SARCASTICALLY]
You don't want to do this, man.
I have dirt on you, Halston.
All the home movies, the videos?
You think the old ladies at JCPenney's
want to hear what you do in the bedroom?
Don't you fucking dare.
Oh, I'll do it, bitch.
You fucking pay me,
or I'll send it to Donahue.
That's what you're gonna do? Blackmail me?
After all these years protecting you?
Providing for you?
That's what you're gonna leave me with?
Get the fuck outta here,
and don't ever come back.
You broke my fucking nose, Halston!
I'm gonna fucking sue you!
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[DOOR SLAMS]
[LIGHTER CLICKS]
Susan!
Something's wrong with these numbers.
It says here he spent $40,000 last year
on just orchids.
- Oh, no, that's right.
- What about these travel expenses?
Here. $354,000 in one year?
Somebody make a mistake
and put an extra zero?
Well, he takes the limo everywhere.
That's $5,000 a month right there.
Then, last month,
Martha Graham was being honored in Paris,
so he bought a new set of Goyard luggage,
flew himself and 11 staff members
to France on a private jet,
put 'em all up at the Ritz.
Why is he flying to Paris
for Martha Graham?
They're old friends.
He's bankrolling her dance company.
No. Why is Esmark supposed to pay for that?
Test fabrics. $750,000.
[SCOFFS]
Someone's gotta be skimmin' off the top.
What's muslin cost? Five bucks?
He doesn't use muslin when he's designing.
If the dress is gonna be in satin,
he builds it in satin.
I mean, I get it.
His whole allure is in materials.
How it falls and whatnot.
He's the artist. Fabric's his medium.
That's just the way it is.
You know what happens if I go to the board
of Esmark Corporation,
a publicly-traded company,
and tell them
the division I was hired to turn around
can't control its costs
because "that's just the way it is," huh?
- What do you think happens?
- You get fired?
- LIZA: Halston! I love it.
- SASSY: He's on a call!
HALSTON: Oh, I'm sorry, Liza. I've gotta go.
An egg salad sandwich
just walked into my office.
- LIZA: Oh, goodness.
- Lots of love.
- [KISS SMACK]
- Yeah. Call me back.
Your expenses are through the roof.
You told me you'd take care of that.
I think you must be
suffering from delusions, Carl.
I said no such thing.
I'm designing for you on a scale
that can only be described as Herculean.
Those numbers reflect
how I can achieve that.
I've given you suitcases, sunglasses.
I've given you knitwear.
I've given you belts.
Well, how about menswear?
Home furnishings?
You said those would be ready weeks ago.
- Where are they?
- Well, this isn't canned goods, Carl.
I was not in canned goods, Halston.
I was the general manager
of the Playtex division of Esmark,
and now
I am the managing director of Halston.
Okay, well, I don't design tampons, Carl.
Although
I'm sure you'll ask me at some point.
I'm working myself to the bone.
Seven days a week.
I know.
You're burning the candle at both ends.
I know how you're doing it too.
Janitors come in here at night,
and they take Polaroids
of cocaine residue on your desk.
You wanna see?
No.
You got a drug problem, Halston.
Or drugs and alcohol. I don't know.
What I do know
is that if you just got back to normal,
we could get this place humming,
you and me.
Normal?
What is normal, Carl?
Are you normal?
Give me the Mexico deal.
You don't even have to say yes.
Just wave your hand, and it's done.
It's all ready to go.
$30 million right there.
You can keep spending however you want.
No.
Don't say no until you know
what you're saying no to.
I know what I'm saying no to.
That's the last word.
You diluted my brand more than enough,
thank you very much.
I will not put my name and my legacy
on licenses designed by other people!
People that I do not know
and I have not approved!
I categorically refuse! Now get out!
Just wave your hand, Halston.
Just nod your head.
Look at my head, Carl.
It's not moving.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[WOMAN SIGHS]
Oh, no, no, no. Thank you.
I I've had quite enough.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
- [WOMAN SIGHS]
- [HALSTON GROANS]
Halston.
You look tired.
It's getting old, Martha.
One foot in the grave.
[EXHALES]
I'm only kidding.
I'm just under a bit of pressure.
Can I say something? Out of love.
Uh-oh.
God forgive me for talking about critics,
but you know
what they say about critics, right?
They've all soured on me.
I know.
Oh, well. Quel dommage.
MARTHA: Yes, but, Halston,
I feel like you've soured on you too.
That's the point.
I know what you're capable of.
You could wow them again if you wanted.
I know you could.
I just don't care anymore.
I know who I am. I know what I am.
I'm an artist.
But I just care
about the money at this point.
Just wanna make as much of it as I can
and then drive off into the sunset.
What?
You've just managed to cram
"I'm an artist"
and "all I care about is money"
into a single sentence.
Well, what would you have me do?
MARTHA: Something different.
Go get inspired.
God, do something that isn't about money,
for Christ's sake.
Well, like what?
You could design the costumes
for my new dance.
With my arthritis,
I I can't do it anymore.
Be my hands.
Hmm?
I've been dying to do Persephone.
- Persephone?
- Mm-hmm.
I was taken over by Esmark, Martha.
I have already descended into hell,
thank you very much.
You could have total freedom.
It could do you good.
Dessert?
[BELL RINGING]
Mohammed?
Martha wants dessert.
[MARTHA SCOFFS]
- [HALSTON LAUGHS]
- You're impossible.
SUSAN: This just came through.
$200,000 for a plane ticket?
Halston took the Concorde.
Told them not to bill him for six months
so it wouldn't come through on the report.
Dammit!
[DOOR OPENS]
[CARL SIGHS]
Get me Betty Ford.
On his phone.
[LINE RINGING]
WOMAN: Hello?
Hello, Mrs. Ford. This is Carl Epstein.
I don't know who that is.
Betty, it's Halston.
Halston, are you okay?
CARL: Halston
is addicted to cocaine and alcohol.
He's out of control.
It has rendered him unable
to fulfill his contractual obligations.
BETTY: Please, let Halston speak.
I'm here, doll.
Halston, do you need help?
Well, of course I do.
I need someone
to add ten hours onto every day,
but I doubt you can help me there.
And I need out of this Esmark contract.
For a company that makes adult diapers,
they certainly
wet their pants an awful lot.
[BETTY LAUGHING]
HALSTON: Honestly, Betty,
I'm fine. I hit a bit of a rough spot.
I'm exhausted, but trust me.
If I ever need any real help,
you'll be the first one I call.
I was thinking about you.
Remember that charmeuse fitted dress
you wore to Bianca's birthday at 54?
Yes. I remember it well.
Those were the days.
Oh, those were the days.
But listen. There's great days ahead.
Give my love to Gerry, Betty. Goodbye.
[PHONE HANGS UP]
[HALSTON SHOUTS]
How dare you?
Who do you think you're fucking with?
You pull that shit on me again,
and I'll have you killed!
You hear me, you thick-fingered jackass?
Go back to hocking
baked beans in a fucking can!
CARL: Gentlemen, the Halston ship has sunk.
The drug abuse is bad.
The lack of respect, bad.
The refusal to sign off on licensing deals
that would keep this division afloat?
I'm sorry to report we've hit rock bottom.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
CARL: Halston arrives at the office at 6:00 p.m.
This is after waking up
around four in the afternoon, mind you.
SASSY: Good afternoon.
CARL: Then he walks into his office
and snorts cocaine.
- He's barely coherent.
- HALSTON: silk.
At 7:00, he has a light supper.
She said,
"I like my coffee the way I like my men."
CARL: This is before doing
any work at all, mind you.
Still hasn't told anyone the plan.
HALSTON: "we don't have any gay coffee."
[ALL LAUGH]
I think the color we want here
is persimmon.
- And I'll need to see that.
- Okay.
- Now?
- HALSTON: No.
No, that's enough work for today.
I'm not feeling inspired.
CARL: Meanwhile, the staff has been there
since eight in the morning.
It's very clear to me
what we have to do here.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
Sorry, I've been trying to call you.
I had my phone off the hook.
I had a headache.
Who are you?
I'm John David Ridge.
What are you doing here?
I've been hired to help design
so you can make your deadlines.
I would like to speak with
John David Ridge in private, everybody.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING]
[INHALES] You can understand
why this is my worst nightmare.
Yes.
The humiliation of this.
The betrayal.
Building something that's your own name
and then being replaced.
I don't think you're being rep--
But, yes,
I imagine this must be very difficult.
I don't know if I should say this.
It's an honor to be here.
For me.
Just so you know.
It's a dream come true
to be working with you
and
surreal.
I've admired you
for as long as I can remember.
Where did they find you?
I'm a costume designer.
Broadway.
We're doing costumes now, are we?
It's all costumes, though, really,
isn't it, fashion?
We dress ourselves up
to be someone we're not.
Jackie Kennedy's pillbox hat.
Now there's a bit of costume
if ever there was one.
So, maybe you can help me fix this.
And what are we fixing?
My name.
It'd be an honor.
I always wanted to do a cruise line.
You know, in the Caribbean tones.
This might work. Do you think?
JOHN: In aquamarine.
Yes.
Yes, we could put a belt.
- I like what you've done here.
- Oh, thank you.
LIZA: I can't believe it.
It's it's slanderous!
I'm too nervous, darling.
Can you read it to me?
No!
Liza, if you love me,
then you'll read it to me, okay?
Fine.
[EXHALES DEEPLY]
"It's no secret celeb designer Halston
loves the limelight."
"A source close to the fashion icon
paints a portrait
of a designer unraveling."
"A spirited drug user
when partying at the notorious Studio 54,
Halston's heavy cocaine use
now extends through the workday
in his mirrored studio in the sky
in Midtown's Olympic Tower."
Blah, blah, blah.
"Artist Victor Hugo is
the designer's lover man of longstanding,
but Halston has also enlisted some of
Manhattan's priciest male prostitutes."
"His preferred gigolos have purportedly
visited with the insatiable designer--"
That's enough.
All right. It's bad, okay?
But look at it this way--
No, it's Victor.
It's not gonna stop.
He has tapes, Liza.
Home videos of he and I with-- Well
Halston.
God, how could you do that?
You can't leave yourself so exposed.
Not when you're famous.
I know. I know. I
I was so high every time.
And I trusted him.
All right, honey.
Here's what you're gonna do.
- Pay him off.
- No.
Halston.
Pay him off!
He'll be out of your life forever,
and then you can move on.
I'm not gonna give him one goddamn cent.
He already cost me so much.
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
[WOMAN, MUFFLED]
6572?
6572?
6572?
May I smoke?
How long have I got?
WOMAN: That's hard to say.
Have you had any pneumonia-like symptoms?
Dark splotches on your skin?
Well, that is encouraging.
Do you think you'll need a counselor?
No.
I need to speak to my PR agent.
You see, I don't have AIDS.
I have liver cancer, should anyone ask.
Sorry, I'm thinking out loud.
Anything new on Page Six?
No, but there is something
you should know.
HALSTON: You.
You said I could trust you.
You said you were here to support me.
Halston, I don't know
what you're talking about.
You submitted a sketch to Epstein
behind my back!
We were eight weeks behind.
He needed a design.
I I couldn't get in touch with you.
You didn't come in yesterday.
- I didn't know what to do.
- How dare you?
How dare you?
How dare you be so irresponsible
with the empire
you spent your whole life working for?
How could you be
so careless with your own brand?
Your own name.
You are the most talented man I have
ever met, and you are throwing that away.
And I will never understand why.
HALSTON: Send everybody home.
CARL: Halston, you can't just quit.
Yes, I can.
I quit. There, it's done.
Quitting would be breaking your contract.
You would owe us $925 million.
You okayed a design without my permission,
so you broke our contract.
So you owe me $925 million.
This isn't working.
You said it yourself.
So we're bending over backwards
here trying to restructure a deal
to make you happy so we can be happy.
Well, I'm not happy.
It's a good deal, Halston.
All we're asking for
is is 20 days out of the year.
Ten for Penney's. Ten on fragrances.
We can take care of the rest.
That leaves you 345 days
that you don't have to do anything.
- How can you not be happy with that?
- Don't know. It's a mystery, isn't it?
Nick, would you please
talk some sense into your client?
Here's my offer, Carl.
You fuck off.
And you fuck off, and you and you and you,
you can all fuck off,
and I'll find someone new to work for.
Someone who knows how to manage talent,
which you've never known how to do, Carl.
And you mark my words.
I'll start from scratch, and in one year,
I'll be bigger than I ever was.
Bigger than Calvin Klein.
You know why?
Because I have two things
that you'll never have.
My talent and my name.
Okay. Let's just take a break
so Mr. Lewin can familiarize his client
with the basics of contract law and logic.
I'm high-strung, Nick.
I'd be the first to admit it.
NICK: Evicting you, telling the press.
What did you think they would do?
And you gave away all our leverage.
The deal we had to take,
it was a hundred times worse.
Nick, I know,
I went off the deep end. Really.
But I signed the contract,
and I have turned the page.
I've been clean and sober for two weeks.
I even look better.
Thanks for noticing.
And what it is, a million dollars a year,
and I don't have to do anything.
[NICK CLEARING THROAT]
Well, it's not as simple as that.
Well, I know it's not as much money
as I'm used to, but we'll be fine.
I'm gonna start over.
Set up meetings all over town.
We'll find a new backer.
You can't just go work for somebody else.
I know what they said,
but they can't hold me to that.
Of course they can.
That was the agreement.
Well, then get me out of it.
You sold your name, Halston.
Anything you make or try to sell,
Esmark owns that.
For how long? For a year?
Five years?
NICK: For the rest of your life.
You are not Halston anymore.
They are.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
Well, moving forward,
next time I sign a contract,
I'll be sure to read it first.
Well, what can I do?
Design dresses for your friends.
But they can't say
they're wearing Halston.
I'm doing two Oscar dresses
for Anjelica Huston and Geraldine Page.
Well, then you'll be doing it
out of your own pocket.
And they can't say
they're wearing a Halston.
This is their pound of flesh, Halston.
This is what you have to give up
to get a million dollars every year
without lifting a finger.
There's also the subject of Victor.
He's threatening us now.
If we don't pay him off,
he said he's sending those tapes
to People magazine.
Just give him the money.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES]
I missed you.
I heard what happened. You got fucked.
I have a plan for us.
And you're gonna love it.
Halston, please.
Just hear me out. Please.
Okay, you and me. That's settled.
Thank you for the money. I appreciate it.
I got what I deserved,
so I'm not angry anymore.
You have talent, and I have talent.
So we're gonna figure this out
together as a team.
I'm not gonna let you give up.
So you lost your name. Who cares?
We're gonna start a new line,
and it's gonna be better.
We're gonna call it "Roy."
Everybody's gonna love it.
What do you think?
Huh?
What?
[CHUCKLES] You're still angry with me
because of the money?
Come on, baby. That's just how I am.
You know me, and I know you.
I loved you.
I did.
[CLASSICAL PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
MARTHA: And
Don't take your eyes off her, Willy.
Effort.
I need to see more effort.
[PIANO STOPS]
We'll get back to this.
Let's call that lunch.
How are you, darling?
Well, besides the cancer and the soupçon
of pneumonia, I'm just peachy.
MARTHA: I called you several times.
Never heard back.
I was worried you were done with me.
Oh, darling, never.
No, I just needed time to reflect.
You probably heard I was fired.
I don't even own
my own creativity anymore.
[CHUCKLES]
But you know me.
I've got to create.
So I was thinking
Would you still have me?
Of course.
Oh, thank you, Martha.
So how long have we got? When do we open?
Oh, darling, we open in a week.
Well, I like a challenge.
- Mr. Halston.
- Hello, Susan.
Uh, you're not supposed
to be here anymore.
I've come to see Mr. Ridge.
Oh, but, uh--
[SEWING MACHINES WHIRRING]
Hello, everyone.
ALL: Hello.
Don't worry.
I haven't come to try and kill you.
How can I help you, Halston?
I have a project.
I need an assistant.
Someone who I admire and trust.
I immediately thought of you.
[SOFT PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
JOHN: Hem to the floor is 36.
JOHN: Okay.
That's it.
I bought every last ACE bandage
in New York City.
Wow. That's extraordinary.
SASSY: Hold the phone.
They're not taking the dye.
You know what helps me sometimes?
I stop thinking about
how I want the costume to look,
and I think about how I want
the audience to feel when they see it.
When the dancers move,
I want the audience to feel something
pulling back against them.
The mortality that everyone's
desperate to escape from but can't.
It's Greek tragedy. Persephone.
[SIGHS]
I wanna feel the membrane
that separates our world from the heavens
that we can never quite touch.
If if we could just stretch
a little further
we'd be immortal.
[CHUCKLES]
I feel like I wanna wrap up
all the dancers
in great big bolts of Spandex.
[EXHALING]
Then why don't you just
wrap them up in big bolts of Spandex?
[SLOW UPLIFTING MUSIC PLAYING]
Thank you, Mohammed.
Thank you, Mohammed.
It's been a long time, H.
I can't do this right now, Joe.
Drive.
JOE: Look, I'm not kidnapping you.
Sassy still takes my calls.
I have it on authority
that Got Tu Go Disco was the biggest bomb
on Broadway since the Moose Murders.
Well, at least
I didn't sell away my fucking name.
You messy, miserable bitch.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
Oh, Joe, I missed you.
Oh, I missed you too.
[HALSTON SIGHS]
How's Elsa? Have you heard from her?
She's good. She's
She's Elsa.
[WHISPERS]
Oh, good.
Good.
[SIGHS]
Joe.
Tell me you're healthy.
I am.
I hear you finally got rid of Victor.
Oh, finally.
God knows it took me long enough.
Any idea how many Warhols
he stole from me?
Oh God.
I thought, "Fuck you. You can have them."
Oh, Joe, I saw your designs for Tiffany's.
The china.
Sublime.
I almost started smashing them
right in the store.
I was so jealous.
Bullshit.
But thank you.
I am so excited
to see this performance tonight.
I can't wait to see
what you've come up with.
Well, you know the critics will hate it.
They'll say, "Halston hasn't had
a glimmer of inspiration in ten years."
JOE: Who cares?
I'm just so glad that you're
doing something on your own again.
Away from all that corporate bullshit.
I never did anything on my own, Joe.
I always had you.
[CHUCKLES]
You were right about one thing though.
I did sell my name.
Oh, sweetheart,
I was just teasing you about that.
No. We're given one name, Joe.
Just one.
And that's all we have
while we're on the earth.
And it's all we leave behind us
when we're gone.
I wasn't precious enough with mine.
And I sold it cheap.
I didn't even think twice about it.
Hundreds of millions of dollars
ain't cheap, Halston.
But it is, Joe.
You know how I know?
I'd spend twice that to get it back.
Yeah. Here we are.
[BELLS RINGING]
[APPLAUSE]
[SLOW CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
Well, it's time, Joe.
- Time for what?
- For the reviews.
Mohammed! I asked him to get the papers.
You always said reviews didn't matter.
Well, still, I've got to read them.
I know they'll say, "Will someone please
tell Halston his time has come and gone?"
You mark my words.
- JOE: No.
- Not me, Mohammed.
- Joe's gonna read them.
- Oh, Halston, please don't make me.
Please, come on, Joe. Just one last time.
And just skip straight
to the parts about me.
I don't wanna hear about
the third ballerina from the left.
[JOE CHUCKLES AND SNIFFS]
Ah! Here it is.
Blah, blah, blah. "Martha Graham."
Blah, blah, blah.
"The dancers"
"The costume design by Halston
could have easily sent this production
off the rails."
"Instead, it steals the show."
[SNIFFS]
Okay, Daily News.
Oh, you're the headline.
"Move over, Martha.
Let Halston take a bow."
"Dreamed up by superstar designer Halston,
the costumes
sadly won't be available for purchase
at even the most upscale boutique."
"But perhaps that's for the best."
"They are far too beautiful
to be worn by mere mortals
and meet every moment with grace
in Martha Graham's staging
of Persephone at City Center."
All right, Joe. Let's take the gloves off.
What does The Times have to say?
Okay.
"The costumes by Halston
will have the world wondering
whether the man should
have made his career in the theater
rather than on the runway."
"The stretch-fabric design
is sensual, innovative,
and upon reflection, uniquely brave."
"Perhaps even a high-point
of a long and illustrious career."
Well?
Well, reviews don't matter.
Bravo.
Thanks, Joe.
Now what the fuck do we do with it?
[LAUGHS]
I don't know.
- I've never carved a fucking turkey.
- Well, me neither!
Uh, okay.
I'll do it, but, um, you can't laugh.
[CHUCKLES]
Oh, poor thing.
It was murdered once.
Now it's being murdered again by you.
You should know
that while I am doing this,
I am thinking about
that Olympic Tower asshole.
- Now, now.
- No, I mean it.
What he did to you
I don't know why
you can't get angry about that.
Oh, I'm through with angry.
Frankly, I should thank him.
It wasn't till after all that
that I found a little peace.
Wow. Then find some for me, won't ya?
[LAUGHS]
Happy Thanksgiving, love.
Oh, Liza. I love you.
I love you.
Oh.
[CHUCKLES]
Thank God for this place.
Well, I should tell you.
I've decided to get rid of it.
And I've sold the townhouse.
LIZA: What?
What are you gonna do?
I'm gonna go to the West Coast.
San Francisco.
Take a little time.
Go up and down the coast.
[CRYING] I don't understand.
Why would you do that?
Oh, Liza, look at me. You know why.
Baby, come here.
Come here.
- [SOBBING]
- It's all right. It's all right.
Shh. Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh.
It's okay.
[LIZA SOBBING]
You promise me that this isn't the end?
No, no, no, no.
I'll come back. I promise. I promise.
- I'm sorry to spring it on you like this.
- [SOBS]
- It's all right.
- [SNIFFLES]
Don't worry.
MOHAMMED: Just checking in, sir.
We've been here over an hour.
You wanna get moving?
In a minute.
Look at the blue of that ocean.
How the sun hits it.
It keeps changing color.
Look, it's all silver now.
Years ago, I'd look out there,
and I'd look at that blue,
and I would think,
"What can I do with that blue?"
My mind would start racing,
thinking about the collection I could do.
Or maybe more than one.
Maybe all the shades of blue.
Could I get it ready by the fall?
What cover could I get it on?
Would they like it?
But now
I only think about
what a pretty blue it is.
All right. Let's go.
Thank you.
Where to?
Anywhere.
Let's just drive.
['80S MUSIC PLAYING]
Ruby suns and ruddy ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
It's a life of pain ♪
By the pearly-dewdrop's drops ♪
Ruby suns and ruddy ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Ruby suns ♪
And ruddy cups ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Ruby suns ♪
And ruddy cups ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪
Ruby suns ♪
And ruddy cups ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Ruby suns ♪
And ruddy cups ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Ruby suns and ruddy
Ruby suns and ruddy ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Ruby suns and ruddy
Ruby suns and ruddy ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Ruby suns and ruddy
Ruby suns and ruddy ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Ruby suns and ruddy
Ruby suns and ruddy ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
[SONG FADES]
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC PLAYING]
[MAN SNIFFING]
[SNIFFS]
[GROANS]
['80S POP MUSIC PLAYING]
How can I be sure ♪
That belt's not working. Here.
Okay. Go.
When you don't give me love ♪
You gave me pale shelter ♪
You don't give me love ♪
You give me cold hands ♪
And I can't operate on this failure ♪
- When all I want to be is ♪
- Go.
Completely in command ♪
[HALSTON SNIFFING]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
So, it's come to this, has it, Sassy?
It was a dazzling show.
Shouldn't there be a hundred people here
saying just those very words?
Staying up too late, having too much fun.
But, no, it's just you and me.
You're only here
'cause you're being paid so I'm not alone.
You've got the reviews,
haven't you, Sassy?
[LIGHTER CLICKS]
[LIGHTER HITS TABLE]
I don't wanna hear them.
They're all jealous of me
since I became a big star.
I confuse people.
They see me on Donahue,
then they see me out and about
with Barbara Walters
or Andy Warhol or Cher.
I get it. I've got too much.
I'd hate me.
What do you think is the main criticism?
I think it's mostly that, at one point,
you reinvented women's fashion.
Wrapped a woman in a feeling.
In your taste.
And now it's all sweatshirts
and zippers and--
Oh, fuck you.
I'm not saying that. They are.
Oh, darling. I'm only kidding.
[HALSTON SNIFFS]
Read one.
SASSY: Um
Okay.
"His new line for JCPenney is Halston"
Go on.
"is Halston diluted to a pale substance
that is a flimsy representation
of the designer's work."
Another one.
"Halston's mega-collection
for the American mall
is undermined by inattention to fit."
"A red and black jersey suit,
for example, is--"
I can't hear you!
"is shown on a realistically short,
plumpish model
but cut so sloppily
as to all but engulf her."
"Conversely, a hot purple wrap dress
is too skimpy to pass muster
at a proper luncheon,
or for that matter,
at the neighborhood singles' bar."
Reviews don't matter.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
Hey, good morning. How are you?
Good morning, everyone.
Hi.
[SIGHS]
How are you?
[VICTOR SPEAKING SPANISH]
[GLASS SHATTERING]
- That was a Moser, you fucking idiot.
- I don't care what the fuck it was.
That's all you care about. Your things.
They're so precious, so valuable.
You know what's the most valuable thing
you've ever had, Halston? Me.
Yes, you really are my rock,
aren't you, Victor?
VICTOR: Fuck you.
Victor.
What do I need to do to get you to leave?
As if you could.
You'll fucking start crying.
"Please, Victor, don't leave."
"You're the genius.
Everything I have is because of you."
- HALSTON: You never heard me say that.
- Bullshit!
You take all the credit.
You take all the fucking money.
But you know it all came from here.
From this brain.
Do I take any fucking credit?
No, you treat me like a fucking dog.
HALSTON: Victor.
Just tell me, what is it you want from me?
[VICTOR CLEARS THROAT]
I want a million dollars.
[HALSTON CHUCKLES]
I want a space.
A big one. Just like Warhol.
I want my own Factory to scale up my work.
Fucking Andy has everybody
doing it for him. That's what I want.
A million dollars?
You'll make that money back in a year.
It's good business.
You're out of your tiny mind.
That's the least I deserve.
Well, it's not nearly what you deserve,
Victor, but I just want you to leave.
[VICTOR LAUGHS SARCASTICALLY]
You don't want to do this, man.
I have dirt on you, Halston.
All the home movies, the videos?
You think the old ladies at JCPenney's
want to hear what you do in the bedroom?
Don't you fucking dare.
Oh, I'll do it, bitch.
You fucking pay me,
or I'll send it to Donahue.
That's what you're gonna do? Blackmail me?
After all these years protecting you?
Providing for you?
That's what you're gonna leave me with?
Get the fuck outta here,
and don't ever come back.
You broke my fucking nose, Halston!
I'm gonna fucking sue you!
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[DOOR SLAMS]
[LIGHTER CLICKS]
Susan!
Something's wrong with these numbers.
It says here he spent $40,000 last year
on just orchids.
- Oh, no, that's right.
- What about these travel expenses?
Here. $354,000 in one year?
Somebody make a mistake
and put an extra zero?
Well, he takes the limo everywhere.
That's $5,000 a month right there.
Then, last month,
Martha Graham was being honored in Paris,
so he bought a new set of Goyard luggage,
flew himself and 11 staff members
to France on a private jet,
put 'em all up at the Ritz.
Why is he flying to Paris
for Martha Graham?
They're old friends.
He's bankrolling her dance company.
No. Why is Esmark supposed to pay for that?
Test fabrics. $750,000.
[SCOFFS]
Someone's gotta be skimmin' off the top.
What's muslin cost? Five bucks?
He doesn't use muslin when he's designing.
If the dress is gonna be in satin,
he builds it in satin.
I mean, I get it.
His whole allure is in materials.
How it falls and whatnot.
He's the artist. Fabric's his medium.
That's just the way it is.
You know what happens if I go to the board
of Esmark Corporation,
a publicly-traded company,
and tell them
the division I was hired to turn around
can't control its costs
because "that's just the way it is," huh?
- What do you think happens?
- You get fired?
- LIZA: Halston! I love it.
- SASSY: He's on a call!
HALSTON: Oh, I'm sorry, Liza. I've gotta go.
An egg salad sandwich
just walked into my office.
- LIZA: Oh, goodness.
- Lots of love.
- [KISS SMACK]
- Yeah. Call me back.
Your expenses are through the roof.
You told me you'd take care of that.
I think you must be
suffering from delusions, Carl.
I said no such thing.
I'm designing for you on a scale
that can only be described as Herculean.
Those numbers reflect
how I can achieve that.
I've given you suitcases, sunglasses.
I've given you knitwear.
I've given you belts.
Well, how about menswear?
Home furnishings?
You said those would be ready weeks ago.
- Where are they?
- Well, this isn't canned goods, Carl.
I was not in canned goods, Halston.
I was the general manager
of the Playtex division of Esmark,
and now
I am the managing director of Halston.
Okay, well, I don't design tampons, Carl.
Although
I'm sure you'll ask me at some point.
I'm working myself to the bone.
Seven days a week.
I know.
You're burning the candle at both ends.
I know how you're doing it too.
Janitors come in here at night,
and they take Polaroids
of cocaine residue on your desk.
You wanna see?
No.
You got a drug problem, Halston.
Or drugs and alcohol. I don't know.
What I do know
is that if you just got back to normal,
we could get this place humming,
you and me.
Normal?
What is normal, Carl?
Are you normal?
Give me the Mexico deal.
You don't even have to say yes.
Just wave your hand, and it's done.
It's all ready to go.
$30 million right there.
You can keep spending however you want.
No.
Don't say no until you know
what you're saying no to.
I know what I'm saying no to.
That's the last word.
You diluted my brand more than enough,
thank you very much.
I will not put my name and my legacy
on licenses designed by other people!
People that I do not know
and I have not approved!
I categorically refuse! Now get out!
Just wave your hand, Halston.
Just nod your head.
Look at my head, Carl.
It's not moving.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[WOMAN SIGHS]
Oh, no, no, no. Thank you.
I I've had quite enough.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
- [WOMAN SIGHS]
- [HALSTON GROANS]
Halston.
You look tired.
It's getting old, Martha.
One foot in the grave.
[EXHALES]
I'm only kidding.
I'm just under a bit of pressure.
Can I say something? Out of love.
Uh-oh.
God forgive me for talking about critics,
but you know
what they say about critics, right?
They've all soured on me.
I know.
Oh, well. Quel dommage.
MARTHA: Yes, but, Halston,
I feel like you've soured on you too.
That's the point.
I know what you're capable of.
You could wow them again if you wanted.
I know you could.
I just don't care anymore.
I know who I am. I know what I am.
I'm an artist.
But I just care
about the money at this point.
Just wanna make as much of it as I can
and then drive off into the sunset.
What?
You've just managed to cram
"I'm an artist"
and "all I care about is money"
into a single sentence.
Well, what would you have me do?
MARTHA: Something different.
Go get inspired.
God, do something that isn't about money,
for Christ's sake.
Well, like what?
You could design the costumes
for my new dance.
With my arthritis,
I I can't do it anymore.
Be my hands.
Hmm?
I've been dying to do Persephone.
- Persephone?
- Mm-hmm.
I was taken over by Esmark, Martha.
I have already descended into hell,
thank you very much.
You could have total freedom.
It could do you good.
Dessert?
[BELL RINGING]
Mohammed?
Martha wants dessert.
[MARTHA SCOFFS]
- [HALSTON LAUGHS]
- You're impossible.
SUSAN: This just came through.
$200,000 for a plane ticket?
Halston took the Concorde.
Told them not to bill him for six months
so it wouldn't come through on the report.
Dammit!
[DOOR OPENS]
[CARL SIGHS]
Get me Betty Ford.
On his phone.
[LINE RINGING]
WOMAN: Hello?
Hello, Mrs. Ford. This is Carl Epstein.
I don't know who that is.
Betty, it's Halston.
Halston, are you okay?
CARL: Halston
is addicted to cocaine and alcohol.
He's out of control.
It has rendered him unable
to fulfill his contractual obligations.
BETTY: Please, let Halston speak.
I'm here, doll.
Halston, do you need help?
Well, of course I do.
I need someone
to add ten hours onto every day,
but I doubt you can help me there.
And I need out of this Esmark contract.
For a company that makes adult diapers,
they certainly
wet their pants an awful lot.
[BETTY LAUGHING]
HALSTON: Honestly, Betty,
I'm fine. I hit a bit of a rough spot.
I'm exhausted, but trust me.
If I ever need any real help,
you'll be the first one I call.
I was thinking about you.
Remember that charmeuse fitted dress
you wore to Bianca's birthday at 54?
Yes. I remember it well.
Those were the days.
Oh, those were the days.
But listen. There's great days ahead.
Give my love to Gerry, Betty. Goodbye.
[PHONE HANGS UP]
[HALSTON SHOUTS]
How dare you?
Who do you think you're fucking with?
You pull that shit on me again,
and I'll have you killed!
You hear me, you thick-fingered jackass?
Go back to hocking
baked beans in a fucking can!
CARL: Gentlemen, the Halston ship has sunk.
The drug abuse is bad.
The lack of respect, bad.
The refusal to sign off on licensing deals
that would keep this division afloat?
I'm sorry to report we've hit rock bottom.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
CARL: Halston arrives at the office at 6:00 p.m.
This is after waking up
around four in the afternoon, mind you.
SASSY: Good afternoon.
CARL: Then he walks into his office
and snorts cocaine.
- He's barely coherent.
- HALSTON: silk.
At 7:00, he has a light supper.
She said,
"I like my coffee the way I like my men."
CARL: This is before doing
any work at all, mind you.
Still hasn't told anyone the plan.
HALSTON: "we don't have any gay coffee."
[ALL LAUGH]
I think the color we want here
is persimmon.
- And I'll need to see that.
- Okay.
- Now?
- HALSTON: No.
No, that's enough work for today.
I'm not feeling inspired.
CARL: Meanwhile, the staff has been there
since eight in the morning.
It's very clear to me
what we have to do here.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
Sorry, I've been trying to call you.
I had my phone off the hook.
I had a headache.
Who are you?
I'm John David Ridge.
What are you doing here?
I've been hired to help design
so you can make your deadlines.
I would like to speak with
John David Ridge in private, everybody.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING]
[INHALES] You can understand
why this is my worst nightmare.
Yes.
The humiliation of this.
The betrayal.
Building something that's your own name
and then being replaced.
I don't think you're being rep--
But, yes,
I imagine this must be very difficult.
I don't know if I should say this.
It's an honor to be here.
For me.
Just so you know.
It's a dream come true
to be working with you
and
surreal.
I've admired you
for as long as I can remember.
Where did they find you?
I'm a costume designer.
Broadway.
We're doing costumes now, are we?
It's all costumes, though, really,
isn't it, fashion?
We dress ourselves up
to be someone we're not.
Jackie Kennedy's pillbox hat.
Now there's a bit of costume
if ever there was one.
So, maybe you can help me fix this.
And what are we fixing?
My name.
It'd be an honor.
I always wanted to do a cruise line.
You know, in the Caribbean tones.
This might work. Do you think?
JOHN: In aquamarine.
Yes.
Yes, we could put a belt.
- I like what you've done here.
- Oh, thank you.
LIZA: I can't believe it.
It's it's slanderous!
I'm too nervous, darling.
Can you read it to me?
No!
Liza, if you love me,
then you'll read it to me, okay?
Fine.
[EXHALES DEEPLY]
"It's no secret celeb designer Halston
loves the limelight."
"A source close to the fashion icon
paints a portrait
of a designer unraveling."
"A spirited drug user
when partying at the notorious Studio 54,
Halston's heavy cocaine use
now extends through the workday
in his mirrored studio in the sky
in Midtown's Olympic Tower."
Blah, blah, blah.
"Artist Victor Hugo is
the designer's lover man of longstanding,
but Halston has also enlisted some of
Manhattan's priciest male prostitutes."
"His preferred gigolos have purportedly
visited with the insatiable designer--"
That's enough.
All right. It's bad, okay?
But look at it this way--
No, it's Victor.
It's not gonna stop.
He has tapes, Liza.
Home videos of he and I with-- Well
Halston.
God, how could you do that?
You can't leave yourself so exposed.
Not when you're famous.
I know. I know. I
I was so high every time.
And I trusted him.
All right, honey.
Here's what you're gonna do.
- Pay him off.
- No.
Halston.
Pay him off!
He'll be out of your life forever,
and then you can move on.
I'm not gonna give him one goddamn cent.
He already cost me so much.
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
[WOMAN, MUFFLED]
6572?
6572?
6572?
May I smoke?
How long have I got?
WOMAN: That's hard to say.
Have you had any pneumonia-like symptoms?
Dark splotches on your skin?
Well, that is encouraging.
Do you think you'll need a counselor?
No.
I need to speak to my PR agent.
You see, I don't have AIDS.
I have liver cancer, should anyone ask.
Sorry, I'm thinking out loud.
Anything new on Page Six?
No, but there is something
you should know.
HALSTON: You.
You said I could trust you.
You said you were here to support me.
Halston, I don't know
what you're talking about.
You submitted a sketch to Epstein
behind my back!
We were eight weeks behind.
He needed a design.
I I couldn't get in touch with you.
You didn't come in yesterday.
- I didn't know what to do.
- How dare you?
How dare you?
How dare you be so irresponsible
with the empire
you spent your whole life working for?
How could you be
so careless with your own brand?
Your own name.
You are the most talented man I have
ever met, and you are throwing that away.
And I will never understand why.
HALSTON: Send everybody home.
CARL: Halston, you can't just quit.
Yes, I can.
I quit. There, it's done.
Quitting would be breaking your contract.
You would owe us $925 million.
You okayed a design without my permission,
so you broke our contract.
So you owe me $925 million.
This isn't working.
You said it yourself.
So we're bending over backwards
here trying to restructure a deal
to make you happy so we can be happy.
Well, I'm not happy.
It's a good deal, Halston.
All we're asking for
is is 20 days out of the year.
Ten for Penney's. Ten on fragrances.
We can take care of the rest.
That leaves you 345 days
that you don't have to do anything.
- How can you not be happy with that?
- Don't know. It's a mystery, isn't it?
Nick, would you please
talk some sense into your client?
Here's my offer, Carl.
You fuck off.
And you fuck off, and you and you and you,
you can all fuck off,
and I'll find someone new to work for.
Someone who knows how to manage talent,
which you've never known how to do, Carl.
And you mark my words.
I'll start from scratch, and in one year,
I'll be bigger than I ever was.
Bigger than Calvin Klein.
You know why?
Because I have two things
that you'll never have.
My talent and my name.
Okay. Let's just take a break
so Mr. Lewin can familiarize his client
with the basics of contract law and logic.
I'm high-strung, Nick.
I'd be the first to admit it.
NICK: Evicting you, telling the press.
What did you think they would do?
And you gave away all our leverage.
The deal we had to take,
it was a hundred times worse.
Nick, I know,
I went off the deep end. Really.
But I signed the contract,
and I have turned the page.
I've been clean and sober for two weeks.
I even look better.
Thanks for noticing.
And what it is, a million dollars a year,
and I don't have to do anything.
[NICK CLEARING THROAT]
Well, it's not as simple as that.
Well, I know it's not as much money
as I'm used to, but we'll be fine.
I'm gonna start over.
Set up meetings all over town.
We'll find a new backer.
You can't just go work for somebody else.
I know what they said,
but they can't hold me to that.
Of course they can.
That was the agreement.
Well, then get me out of it.
You sold your name, Halston.
Anything you make or try to sell,
Esmark owns that.
For how long? For a year?
Five years?
NICK: For the rest of your life.
You are not Halston anymore.
They are.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
Well, moving forward,
next time I sign a contract,
I'll be sure to read it first.
Well, what can I do?
Design dresses for your friends.
But they can't say
they're wearing Halston.
I'm doing two Oscar dresses
for Anjelica Huston and Geraldine Page.
Well, then you'll be doing it
out of your own pocket.
And they can't say
they're wearing a Halston.
This is their pound of flesh, Halston.
This is what you have to give up
to get a million dollars every year
without lifting a finger.
There's also the subject of Victor.
He's threatening us now.
If we don't pay him off,
he said he's sending those tapes
to People magazine.
Just give him the money.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES]
I missed you.
I heard what happened. You got fucked.
I have a plan for us.
And you're gonna love it.
Halston, please.
Just hear me out. Please.
Okay, you and me. That's settled.
Thank you for the money. I appreciate it.
I got what I deserved,
so I'm not angry anymore.
You have talent, and I have talent.
So we're gonna figure this out
together as a team.
I'm not gonna let you give up.
So you lost your name. Who cares?
We're gonna start a new line,
and it's gonna be better.
We're gonna call it "Roy."
Everybody's gonna love it.
What do you think?
Huh?
What?
[CHUCKLES] You're still angry with me
because of the money?
Come on, baby. That's just how I am.
You know me, and I know you.
I loved you.
I did.
[CLASSICAL PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
MARTHA: And
Don't take your eyes off her, Willy.
Effort.
I need to see more effort.
[PIANO STOPS]
We'll get back to this.
Let's call that lunch.
How are you, darling?
Well, besides the cancer and the soupçon
of pneumonia, I'm just peachy.
MARTHA: I called you several times.
Never heard back.
I was worried you were done with me.
Oh, darling, never.
No, I just needed time to reflect.
You probably heard I was fired.
I don't even own
my own creativity anymore.
[CHUCKLES]
But you know me.
I've got to create.
So I was thinking
Would you still have me?
Of course.
Oh, thank you, Martha.
So how long have we got? When do we open?
Oh, darling, we open in a week.
Well, I like a challenge.
- Mr. Halston.
- Hello, Susan.
Uh, you're not supposed
to be here anymore.
I've come to see Mr. Ridge.
Oh, but, uh--
[SEWING MACHINES WHIRRING]
Hello, everyone.
ALL: Hello.
Don't worry.
I haven't come to try and kill you.
How can I help you, Halston?
I have a project.
I need an assistant.
Someone who I admire and trust.
I immediately thought of you.
[SOFT PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
JOHN: Hem to the floor is 36.
JOHN: Okay.
That's it.
I bought every last ACE bandage
in New York City.
Wow. That's extraordinary.
SASSY: Hold the phone.
They're not taking the dye.
You know what helps me sometimes?
I stop thinking about
how I want the costume to look,
and I think about how I want
the audience to feel when they see it.
When the dancers move,
I want the audience to feel something
pulling back against them.
The mortality that everyone's
desperate to escape from but can't.
It's Greek tragedy. Persephone.
[SIGHS]
I wanna feel the membrane
that separates our world from the heavens
that we can never quite touch.
If if we could just stretch
a little further
we'd be immortal.
[CHUCKLES]
I feel like I wanna wrap up
all the dancers
in great big bolts of Spandex.
[EXHALING]
Then why don't you just
wrap them up in big bolts of Spandex?
[SLOW UPLIFTING MUSIC PLAYING]
Thank you, Mohammed.
Thank you, Mohammed.
It's been a long time, H.
I can't do this right now, Joe.
Drive.
JOE: Look, I'm not kidnapping you.
Sassy still takes my calls.
I have it on authority
that Got Tu Go Disco was the biggest bomb
on Broadway since the Moose Murders.
Well, at least
I didn't sell away my fucking name.
You messy, miserable bitch.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
Oh, Joe, I missed you.
Oh, I missed you too.
[HALSTON SIGHS]
How's Elsa? Have you heard from her?
She's good. She's
She's Elsa.
[WHISPERS]
Oh, good.
Good.
[SIGHS]
Joe.
Tell me you're healthy.
I am.
I hear you finally got rid of Victor.
Oh, finally.
God knows it took me long enough.
Any idea how many Warhols
he stole from me?
Oh God.
I thought, "Fuck you. You can have them."
Oh, Joe, I saw your designs for Tiffany's.
The china.
Sublime.
I almost started smashing them
right in the store.
I was so jealous.
Bullshit.
But thank you.
I am so excited
to see this performance tonight.
I can't wait to see
what you've come up with.
Well, you know the critics will hate it.
They'll say, "Halston hasn't had
a glimmer of inspiration in ten years."
JOE: Who cares?
I'm just so glad that you're
doing something on your own again.
Away from all that corporate bullshit.
I never did anything on my own, Joe.
I always had you.
[CHUCKLES]
You were right about one thing though.
I did sell my name.
Oh, sweetheart,
I was just teasing you about that.
No. We're given one name, Joe.
Just one.
And that's all we have
while we're on the earth.
And it's all we leave behind us
when we're gone.
I wasn't precious enough with mine.
And I sold it cheap.
I didn't even think twice about it.
Hundreds of millions of dollars
ain't cheap, Halston.
But it is, Joe.
You know how I know?
I'd spend twice that to get it back.
Yeah. Here we are.
[BELLS RINGING]
[APPLAUSE]
[SLOW CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
Well, it's time, Joe.
- Time for what?
- For the reviews.
Mohammed! I asked him to get the papers.
You always said reviews didn't matter.
Well, still, I've got to read them.
I know they'll say, "Will someone please
tell Halston his time has come and gone?"
You mark my words.
- JOE: No.
- Not me, Mohammed.
- Joe's gonna read them.
- Oh, Halston, please don't make me.
Please, come on, Joe. Just one last time.
And just skip straight
to the parts about me.
I don't wanna hear about
the third ballerina from the left.
[JOE CHUCKLES AND SNIFFS]
Ah! Here it is.
Blah, blah, blah. "Martha Graham."
Blah, blah, blah.
"The dancers"
"The costume design by Halston
could have easily sent this production
off the rails."
"Instead, it steals the show."
[SNIFFS]
Okay, Daily News.
Oh, you're the headline.
"Move over, Martha.
Let Halston take a bow."
"Dreamed up by superstar designer Halston,
the costumes
sadly won't be available for purchase
at even the most upscale boutique."
"But perhaps that's for the best."
"They are far too beautiful
to be worn by mere mortals
and meet every moment with grace
in Martha Graham's staging
of Persephone at City Center."
All right, Joe. Let's take the gloves off.
What does The Times have to say?
Okay.
"The costumes by Halston
will have the world wondering
whether the man should
have made his career in the theater
rather than on the runway."
"The stretch-fabric design
is sensual, innovative,
and upon reflection, uniquely brave."
"Perhaps even a high-point
of a long and illustrious career."
Well?
Well, reviews don't matter.
Bravo.
Thanks, Joe.
Now what the fuck do we do with it?
[LAUGHS]
I don't know.
- I've never carved a fucking turkey.
- Well, me neither!
Uh, okay.
I'll do it, but, um, you can't laugh.
[CHUCKLES]
Oh, poor thing.
It was murdered once.
Now it's being murdered again by you.
You should know
that while I am doing this,
I am thinking about
that Olympic Tower asshole.
- Now, now.
- No, I mean it.
What he did to you
I don't know why
you can't get angry about that.
Oh, I'm through with angry.
Frankly, I should thank him.
It wasn't till after all that
that I found a little peace.
Wow. Then find some for me, won't ya?
[LAUGHS]
Happy Thanksgiving, love.
Oh, Liza. I love you.
I love you.
Oh.
[CHUCKLES]
Thank God for this place.
Well, I should tell you.
I've decided to get rid of it.
And I've sold the townhouse.
LIZA: What?
What are you gonna do?
I'm gonna go to the West Coast.
San Francisco.
Take a little time.
Go up and down the coast.
[CRYING] I don't understand.
Why would you do that?
Oh, Liza, look at me. You know why.
Baby, come here.
Come here.
- [SOBBING]
- It's all right. It's all right.
Shh. Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh.
It's okay.
[LIZA SOBBING]
You promise me that this isn't the end?
No, no, no, no.
I'll come back. I promise. I promise.
- I'm sorry to spring it on you like this.
- [SOBS]
- It's all right.
- [SNIFFLES]
Don't worry.
MOHAMMED: Just checking in, sir.
We've been here over an hour.
You wanna get moving?
In a minute.
Look at the blue of that ocean.
How the sun hits it.
It keeps changing color.
Look, it's all silver now.
Years ago, I'd look out there,
and I'd look at that blue,
and I would think,
"What can I do with that blue?"
My mind would start racing,
thinking about the collection I could do.
Or maybe more than one.
Maybe all the shades of blue.
Could I get it ready by the fall?
What cover could I get it on?
Would they like it?
But now
I only think about
what a pretty blue it is.
All right. Let's go.
Thank you.
Where to?
Anywhere.
Let's just drive.
['80S MUSIC PLAYING]
Ruby suns and ruddy ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
It's a life of pain ♪
By the pearly-dewdrop's drops ♪
Ruby suns and ruddy ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Ruby suns ♪
And ruddy cups ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Ruby suns ♪
And ruddy cups ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪
Ruby suns ♪
And ruddy cups ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Ruby suns ♪
And ruddy cups ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Ruby suns and ruddy
Ruby suns and ruddy ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Ruby suns and ruddy
Ruby suns and ruddy ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Ruby suns and ruddy
Ruby suns and ruddy ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
Should you ruddy ruddy
Pearly pearly pearly ♪
Bite the pearly-dewdrops off ♪
Ruby suns and ruddy
Ruby suns and ruddy ♪
Of the pearly-dewdrops' drops ♪
[SONG FADES]
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC PLAYING]