This is Simon Williams.
You're an actor. Do you think you can get close to him?
When Simon was little, he fell off his bike.
He always insisted on riding his father's bike,
even though he was too small for it.
It was a few years after Sanford passed.
Someone's actually remaking Wonder Man?
Not someone. Von Kovak.
This movie? Everything. It's too much.
I should be in bed or at the gym
or runnin' lines or...
Simon, we've got no lines to run.
Listen to me, Simon. Von Kovak is leaving town tomorrow.
- The callback has been moved up. - What?
The callback is happening now.
Get your ass to Von Kovak's house as fast as you can.
We gotta go!
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
Let's go, let's go.
I'm usually... usually better dressed.
Are you kidding? You look great.
All right, my friend, if you're sure.
Sure, I'm sure.
All right. Let me... Let me set the mood.
You're... You're at the bar. The music is pumping.
You feel the beat.
- Mmm-hmm. - Now you want a shot.
You approach the bartender. You make eye contact, and...
Make mine a mayberlab... Oh.
I'm sorry.
Make mine a Jägermeister.
Sorry, I'm not my best.
Are you kidding? That was great.
- That was great. - Oh.
I could really use the gig, mate.
- Really? - Yeah. I'm pretty desperate, to be honest.
Can we try another one?
Yeah. Yeah, actually...
that wasn't the real audition.
Oh, I see.
You're making something a little more adult, are you?
No. It's not like that.
Here.
- I might need a minute. - No, no, no, no.
- Have you seen this? - You don't have to memorize.
You don't have to memorize. I just want to get a sense of your tone.
- Tone? Oh. - Tone. Just the tone.
You got it.
Some people call me a terrorist...
Yeah. Try to sound scary.
Some people call me a terrorist...
Good, good.
Hold on one second.
Some people call me...
Here. Try one with these on.
Right. Right. Right, thank you.
Mmm-hmm.
Some people call me a terrorist.
- Shit! I fell asleep. - What's that?
I said I fell asleep, Trevor, because I'm exhausted.
Oh, well, I'm sure the adrenaline will kick in.
I hope so.
I've had plenty of all-nighters.
Trust me, the second wind will come. You just have to open your sails to it.
Well, whatever that means.
Hey, um, which one of these do you think sounds, uh, better?
"We only get one shot at this, Barnaby. It's not the time for games and riddles."
Or "We only get one shot at this, Barnaby. It's not the time for games and riddles."
Well, they both feel a bit...
- Terrible? - No. I was gonna say a bit forced.
They feel a bit forced.
Hey, Von Kovak doesn't know that we're coming together, right?
He doesn't even know that we're friends.
We could plan something and make it seem spontaneous.
- Like you can cut me off halfway... - Simon, listen to yourself.
- No. - If... If we plan something,
it won't be spontaneous, it will just feel inauthentic.
- I can't believe this shit. - Steady on.
No, I said... I said it last night, I'm supposed to be rested.
I should have went home or to the gym.
- I'm supposed to be on my game. - You're gonna be great.
Yeah, or... or I'm gonna blow the biggest opportunity of my life
because I got caught up in all your bullshit last night.
Well, you got one hell of a story out of it.
And what about Jayden? Because he almost got shot.
No, I had a feeling it would all sort itself out.
You say that about a lot of stuff, don't you?
Well, look at me.
I mean, here I am on my way to meet Von Kovak
for the role of a lifetime.
Slattery, Williams.
Would you look at that?
This is intense.
Ooh.
- One pair of shoes. That's weird. - How so?
If it's a shoes-off house, there'd be a whole line of shoes.
If it's a shoes-on house, there'd be none.
But one pair of shoes...
- What does that mean? - Someone forgot their shoes.
What? No. Trevor, this... this is a test.
Von Kovak is judging us based on every little thing that we do or say.
So, let's not give him any strange energy to pick up on.
We both have a lot riding on this, Simon.
Why would you say that?
Take it easy. Come on, try your box breathing.
Come on. Let's both stay loose and relaxed.
What? No. You know I can't do either one of those things.
Come in.
Mr. Kovak will meet you in the living room.
Amazing!
Is she wearing shoes?
I don't know.
Oh, shit. He's seeing us all at the same time.
That's a bit offside.
Everybody's wearing shoes. They probably all slept last night.
Hey. Manuel Maria José de Los Remedios.
Simon Williams. Goddamn.
- And you must be a fellow Barnaby, eh? - Yeah.
Trevor Slattery. Shall we fight it to the death?
Bang-bang.
So you all here for the callback?
- Mmm-hmm. - Claro.
I studied at Juilliard, mostly done theater.
But, I just wrapped up a Chris Nolan project.
Yeah, no formal training for me. I'm a student of life.
Also, I'm Paul Thomas Anderson's surfing instructor
and, yeah, one day he was like, "You should be in my movie."
Turns out, I'm a natural. Phone hasn't stopped ringing.
That sounds like a pretty rough journey.
Oh, it wasn't.
Nah, I was being sarcastic.
Oh, cool.
Not really into comedy.
Hello, everyone.
Thanks so much for coming to my little retreat.
I call it my "prison of opulence."
I wanted a home that represented
everything I both love and detest about Hollywood all at once.
Yeah, yeah. I... I can see that.
Follow me.
Wow.
Well... cheers, mate.
"We only get one shot at this, Barnaby. It's not the time for games and riddles."
"no time for games and riddles. I can't give up on this.
I can't do that. I can't..."
This is where I've been living with the project.
It's been taking shape in my head.
I wanted to bring you all inside my brain
so we can explore it together.
Jolines, eh... but, this is me!
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
You seem to have snuck into my subconscious, eh?
So, the Spaniard pulls ahead.
This is the song for the start of the picture.
Can you see it?
We're in space.
All alone. It's cold.
What is this strange, haunting song?
We're getting closer to an alien planet.
Closer, closer, closer.
Wait! This is no alien planet.
It's Earth.
We are flying alongside Wonder Man as he returns home.
Interesting. Interesting.
Okay, why don't we get started?
Let's split you up in pairs.
Uh, Trevor, Olly?
Oh, um...
- Actually, Trevor and I were kind of... - No, it's... it's okay, Simon.
Let's just roll with it.
Simon and Manuel.
And Jake and Richard. Okay?
- Let's do this. - Follow me.
General Broulard doesn't give a damn about the human costs.
How can one find a vulnerability in a monster without shame?
We only get one shot at this, Barnaby. It's not the time for games or riddles.
Damn it! He is a natural.
No. This isn't working.
No, you are fine. It's not you.
It's the words. They're getting in the way.
Let's throw away the scene.
- What? - Throw it away. We don't need it.
I love it.
I don't care what you think about this character
or whatever choices you have made about the script.
Our ideas about heroes and gods,
they only get in the way.
It's too difficult to comprehend them.
So, let's get past them.
Let's... Let's find the human underneath.
I want you to see who you really are.
I want us to explore the place between fiction and non-fiction.
That's tight.
Yes, Jake. It is tight.
L... Let's try something.
Melanie, make sure you film this.
Let's see where it goes.
Let's not limit ourselves to this room.
I want you to think of the whole house as yours.
Why don't we start with Trevor and Olly?
Olly, Trevor is your wife.
Okay.
You hate her.
But she's also the reason you want to live.
Hmm.
And...
you have an old hunting injury... here!
You... disgust me.
- Get out of my sight. - You don't mean that.
You're just mad about what my sister said.
She has nothing to do with this and you know that.
If you won't leave, I'll leave.
- No... - This won't work!
You're not listening! Listen to me!
We're broken!
Beyond repair.
No.
- No. - No.
Maybe.
Wow! They're so present.
Wonderful.
Simon and Manuel.
You are having an affair.
Manuel, you're worried you are losing Simon.
Simon, you are worried you are losing yourself.
And you squint a lot. You have no eyelashes.
The light is always in your eyes.
Come with.
Baby, my baby...
What happened to us?
I mean... We are losing our magic. Don't you feel it?
Don't you see it... slipping through your beautiful little fingers?
Hmm?
- You know what? - Hmm?
Just tell me one thing.
Why'd you make me get all dressed up?
Well, I thought you liked being dolled up, baby.
No, what I mean is...
If you're gonna tell everybody I'm a hooker,
why don't you just let me wear my own clothes?
In my own clothes, when someone like that guy, Stuckey, comes up to me,
I can handle it. I'm prepared.
Okay, sorry, but you're a little sensitive, okay?
You think you can just pass me around to all your friends?
I'm not some little toy.
No, I bought you toys,
- but I never used you as a toy. - Look, you don't own me, okay?
- Okay. Okay. - I decide.
I say who, I say when,
I say...
who.
I'm sorry I ever met you.
I'm sorry I ever got inside your stupid car.
I've never had anyone make me feel as cheap as you did today.
Okay, you did a scene from Pretty Woman.
Not what I was looking for.
Let's regroup in the living room.
Simon, I'm disappointed.
- You're blowing this. - I know.
If you don't turn this around soon, the game's up.
I know, and it's all your fault.
Oh, you gotta get over last night! It's just getting in your way!
Look, you can save the words of wisdom for your little scene partner.
1986, I'm in New York
in an off-off-off Broadway production of The Skin of Our Teeth.
- Where's Von Kovak? - We're on a break.
You know, one of those dire,
provide-your-own-wardrobe-and-props,
clean-up-the-theater-yourselves productions.
Don't worry, Olly, you've got all this to look forward to.
Anyway, there was a concert series that summer at Jones Beach.
I'll never forget. June 28th, 1986. That was the night.
Most of the others were excited to see Robert Palmer.
His... Addicted To Love was top of the charts.
No thanks!
But by some miracle of scheduling,
the opening act was... Chaka Khan.
- Ooh! - Eh?
Now, I've gotta tell you, lads, there's a performer. Magnificent.
I'm so sorry, no one in this room can hold a candle to her.
She closed with I'm Every Woman...
left it all on the stage.
Robert Palmer might as well have gone home.
I've gotta ask you something.
- A role like the Mandarin... - Oh, yeah.
How do you shake something like that after living inside it?
Well, to be honest, I can hardly remember. I was so blitzed out of my skull.
I can't imagine what you're carrying around.
You know, I still have nightmares from playing Padraic
in The Lieutenant of Inishmore.
I'm sorry, Richard.
I didn't realize you were such a fragile thing.
Pardon the phone call.
- How's everyone feeling? Everyone okay? - Fantastic, fantastic.
Let's try a new exercise.
I would love another shot.
Okay, if you think you can bring a little more of yourself into this?
Richard, let's have you up here.
Okay. Richard, pretend to be someone from Simon's past.
You're going to call him on the phone. Feel free to choose whoever you like.
A classmate?
Yeah. That will work.
And, Simon,
now really try to go back there.
Remember what it's like in grade school.
Ring, ring.
- Hello? - Hey, freak.
- Oh, it's you. - You're damn right, it's me.
You think you can hide from me, you little shit?
All right, that's enough.
Is it, you weirdo?
Everyone knows your secret. You're not fooling anyone.
That's not true.
We know.
We've all been talking about it behind your back.
- Hey, Richard! - Your dumb-ass friend
can't help you, Simon. No one can.
Please... stop.
You're a freak, and you always will be.
Oh, oh!
Oh, my God!
Simon?
Were you asleep?
Oh, no, um...
I'm sorry, yes.
Oh. Have we been boring you?
Uh...
I think I need a minute.
Hmm. Jeez. Didn't realize he was such a fragile thing.
Hey!
Are you okay?
No, Trevor, I'm not.
- It's not too late to turn this around. - Yes, it is.
I can't take this anymore.
Too tired.
And Von Kovak keeps pushin'.
He wants to see who we really are "underneath."
But I can't show my "underneath."
I can't share the real me.
The real me would get kicked outta here. I'd never be able to act again.
That's not true.
The real you isn't your... condition.
The real you...
It's the sum of everything you've experienced.
The loss, the joy.
Sadness, heartbreak.
Losing someone you love so much.
Wanting something so badly, you could burst.
Hurting someone you care about.
Being hurt by those you love.
That's your life.
That's who you are.
"Mirror up to nature." That's our job.
When we share... our pain, our grief, our joy,
the audience, less alone in theirs.
We're all less alone.
We only get one shot at this, Barnaby.
- It's not the time for games and riddles. - I agree. It's too late already.
That's what I've been trying to tell you.
I can't accept that.
I can't give up on this planet, these people.
What you can or can't accept no longer matters.
That's not true.
- If we work together... - We were never together.
Come on, that's bullshit.
Put...
Put the gun down.
He found my price, Wonder Man. Everybody has one.
I just pray you never have to learn yours.
Okay, you're not thinkin' straight.
He's gotten into your head. You're better than this, Barnaby.
Believe what you want to believe.
General Broulard has your coordinates. He's coming for you.
You're not making it out of here alive.
I'm never gonna give up.
I don't care about the cost.
Then it's your funeral.
So...
that's it? It's... It's over.
Wow.
Okay.
Hey! Where are you two going?
- Uh... - Huh?
Home?
Why would you do that?
Well, we weren't quite sure.
What's happenin'?
I didn't want to do this in the front of the others.
Simon, I was ready to dismiss you.
Yes.
But there is no denying...
you are Wonder Man.
Wait, really?
I can't imagine anyone else in the role.
And Trevor, you are my Barnaby.
It would be an honor.
The world is going to fall in love with the two of you.
We are going to make the last movie on Earth
because no one will have the balls to make another.
We will discuss more soon.
- Hey. - Yeah.
Thanks, Trevor.
Well, I think we've both earned some rest.
Yeah, you're damn right.
Congratulations, Simon.
Congratulations, Trevor.
- Whoa... - No, you don't.
Hey!
Trevor,
you're ignoring my calls.
Oh, yeah. Well, I... I've been a bit busy.
Where's my recording?
I... I'm afraid it broke. I... I'm really sorry about that.
Okay, right.
- You're going back to prison. - No, no, no, no, no! You can't do that.
- Why not? - Because...
you're right about Simon.
He is an enhanced and incredibly dangerous.
- Really? - Yeah.
And you're willing to testify that in court?
What good will that do you, the word of a convicted terrorist?
It's nothing. You know that.
You need more evidence, and I know how to get it for you,
but... I need some time. I... I can't be pressured.
That's all I ask.