Chapter 51 (2025) Movie Script

1
[reel buzzing and whirring]
[foreboding music]
[heart beating]
[music intensifies
to threatening]
[muffled chopper blades
chuffing]
[dramatic sting]
[music fades]
[retro electronic buzz]
[reel buzzing and whirring]
[monochrome era jingle playing]
[somber music]
[Male Narrator] Between 2018
and 2022,
three actresses were murdered
during production
of the film Dissident
by an individual known
as The Hollywood Killer.
THK attempted a fourth murder
on actress Audrey Evans,
who escaped and went on
to finish the film.
The only evidence that exists
is the footage of the murders
that THK filmed
and outtakes
from the film Dissident.
The case remains unsolved.
[music continues]
[unsettling music]
Killing isn't as scary
as it sounds.
When you do it enough,
you actually start to enjoy it.
Cut, don't move, stay there.
Dustin,
I got a question for you.
-Are you a killer?
-Yes.
Yeah? Let me see your eyes.
I can't see them.
Look at me. Are you a killer?
-Yes.
-Go back over there.
-Are you a fucking killer?
-Yes.
That's crazy 'cause I don't
fucking believe you.
-Are you a killer?
-Yes.
-Are you a killer?
-[aggressively] Yes.
-You're a killer?
-Yes!
-You're gonna kill for me?
-[tensed] Yes.
-You're gonna kill for me?
-Yes.
Okay. Wait.
-Roll camera.
-[Man] [indistinct].
[Director] You a killer, Dustin?
[brooding] Yes.
[Director] Action.
Killing isn't as scary
as it sounds.
When you do it enough,
you actually start to enjoy it.
[classical strings music]
[music obscures into eerie
and triumphant]
[abstract piano music]
[Thomas] My name
is Thomas Scott.
I'm a former FBI agent.
And when I was at the Bureau,
I had the highest success rate
of any profiler in history.
I caught
every single serial killer
I ever chased, except for one.
This one,
The Hollywood Killer.
Also known as THK,
he became famous
because of the cinematic nature
of his crimes.
He was the first serial killer
ever to film the murders
and upload them
to the Internet.
But why is he so hard to catch?
Is it the lack of evidence? No.
I've solved plenty of cases
with very little evidence.
The real challenge lies
in the unconventional
and peculiar nature
of the suspects.
And let me just say,
this is the strangest group
of suspects I've ever seen.
Christopher Pace,
the writer
and director of Dissident
and a six-time Oscar winner.
Lawrence Hughes,
one of the most respected
actors in the world.
Tedd Mankiewicz,
the most powerful manager
in Hollywood.
Dustin Scott,
a former teen heartthrob.
And Melvin Asher,
the biggest
box office star ever.
And one of them could be
responsible for the murders
of three of the most famous
actresses in history.
Ava Bergman, Barbera Ball,
and Greata Daniels.
It's important to understand
what connects everyone.
And the thing that links
the suspects,
the victims, and the killer
all together
is the film Dissident,
a film which has made history
for a variety of reasons.
The first being that
the original director,
Christopher Demy,
did something
that he had never
done before,
that no one
had ever done before.
He was going to let
the cameras roll
when no one knew
they were rolling.
The only people that knew
was the guy who loads the film
and Ivan
who's shooting the film.
The writer didn't know.
The actors didn't know.
No one else knew.
All of the outtakes
have become evidence
in the largest murder case
in history.
So Demy, right at
the beginning of the project,
instructed me very clearly
that the camera
was never to be cut.
And, at first, it sounded
very strange.
I've never done that before.
I've shot everything
in my life.
But not cutting a camera
just makes no sense.
Now, he was right
because what he was after
was the magic that happens
in between the shots,
in between the takes.
So this film shot
the most feet of film
ever in history.
The logistic is complicated,
but the camera
was never to cut.
So everything was rolling
at all times.
[Thomas] So how do you feel
about the fact
that the cameras were rolling
the whole time?
Uh, you know, I think it's
ultimately, uh, irrelevant,
how do I feel.
Uh, clearly, I'm not
a performer.
It's not what I get enjoyment
or pleasure out of.
So I think that there's
this misconception
about the way
that I conduct myself
is, in and of itself,
a performance
that I was aware that
the cameras were rolling.
Uh, nothing could be further
from the truth.
Uh, unfortunately,
what you are getting
is, um, unadulterated,
uh, reality.
You are getting me as I am
in those moments.
Or I will make the blood
come out of your fucking mouth
for real.
You got it.
[Christopher] You ever bled
like this?
You.. Yeah.
-Yeah? You bled like this?
-You already got it.
Think about the last time
you bled like this, okay?
Think about it.
Just think about it, okay?
Again. Come on!
[panicked breathing]
-Yeah? Uh-huh. No, no!
-Okay, can I go?
[Christopher] You got to stop
running away from it, okay?
Don't be afraid of it!
Stay with it!
Again!
[panicked breathing]
-[Christopher] Uh-huh.
-Okay--
No, no. It looks like you're
going to have a fucking orgasm.
Thank you, guys!
[Christopher]
Get back down in the blood!
Get the fuck
back in the blood!
-[Greata] Bye!
-Greata, I swear to God!
Come back here!
If any of us knew the cameras
were rolling at all times,
none of us would have acted
the way we did.
I'm excited that
all this footage exists,
because it shows you the hell
that we go through
just to entertain people.
-Marty? Marty!
-[Marty] Yeah.
Listen to me.
I can feel your effort
to drive straight through
the rubber and aluminum.
Do not drive like an actor,
Marty!
[Actress] Hold the window.
-Do not drive like an actor!
-[Actress] Go away!
-Drive like a fucking man!
-[Actress] Go away!
Drive like a man!
In the history of movie making,
I've never seen anything
like this happen.
I mean, I've made 218 movies.
I've filmed in 40 countries
in the world.
I've had six fucking wives,
and this is unprecedented.
You can't talk
about Hollywood lore
without talking
about three films.
Apocalypse Now, The Wizard
of Oz, and Dissident.
But to understand why
Dissident is on that list,
we have to meet
the original architect,
Christopher Demy.
[Thomas] Can you tell me
a little bit
about who you are
and what you do?
I'm an auteur.
You know what that means?
That means someone who has
a clear vision
of the kind of films
they want to make.
And the films I make are big,
and people seem to like them.
[Thomas] Demy is one of
the top-grossing directors
of all time,
but Dissident was written
by one
of the hottest screenwriters
in the world,
Christopher Pace.
So I was excited to ask Pace
what he thought about Demy.
He's a lost little boy.
Um, still playing with toys,
believing that big explosions
and, uh, rotating cameras
and putting things in reverse
make a film.
He is an artist
in search of art.
Um, I don't know what to say
about that.
I will let the hearsay,
the pundits, the Internet,
your mama,
say whatever they want to say.
I know who I am.
It's easy to say they're not
fans of each other.
Maybe the biggest issue
between them was the fact
that Demy
kept the cameras rolling
without Pace's knowledge.
Pace claimed that Demy used
the controversy
around the outtakes
and their feud
to turn the film
into a social commentary.
So I asked him,
"What does it mean?"
Everyone wants to know,
"What does it mean?
What does it mean?"
It's whatever the fuck
you want it to mean.
It's like, what the fuck?
I'm not supposed to do
all the work for you.
I'm supposed to lay out the art.
I know what the fuck
I know what it means,
but people, "But wait,
was it this?"
They stop me on the street.
I can't go to Starbucks.
"Hi, hey, Chris, is it this?"
I'm like, "I don't know."
It could mean
female independence.
It could mean liberation.
It could mean,
uh, deconstructive masculinity.
You name it.
Whatever it is,
that's what I'm happy with.
I create the art.
You create the interpretation.
All I know is that what I did
on this film
will be deconstructed,
and reinterpreted, and pondered
for many, many years
in film schools
across this land.
I was there the day Demy
walked away from the film.
It was the day
that I would never forget
and it was the day
that changed the film forever.
The phone booth day.
Listen to me, Demy!
How about that?
How about if I just talked
to you
and told you
that I am not a writer,
nor am I a hero?
I am the fucking devil!
Yeah, two Oscars.
I melted 'em down into a pen
and I wrote this fucking script
with it!
I don't give a fuck
about your Oscars!
And if you could honestly
tell me that this scene,
the way it's going,
the way he's doing it,
isn't fucking dog shit,
then I will walk away
and let you piss all over
my dream.
I won't shoot until you get down
on your knees and pray to me.
You want to get a new phone
booth in here, maybe?
So after we wrap tonight,
I'm going to come
to your fucking hotel room,
room 246,
and I will beat you
until you fucking love me!
[Demy] You're not a fucking...
You see that? That was...
[Demy] You're fucking trash.
You fucking ingest it
over and over again
while I'm throwing the fuck up
on you.
I'm fucking vomiting it all
back to you!
You're fucked up!
That's not fucking art!
Fuck you! Fuck you!
Oh, in the beginning,
Demy and Pace were a dream team.
They were great.
They got along really well.
But, you know, even Pippen
talks shit on Jordan now.
I hate this man.
-Mm-hmm.
-I would love to beat him.
The only reason I can't is
because of...
Well, some obscure DJ law,
you're not supposed
to fucking kick the shit
out of [indistinct]
Um, this is
an awful environment,
and I apologize for that.
[Martin] The moment Pace
walked into that phone booth
was the moment Demy walked
off set.
Forever.
When Demy quit,
Hollywood was riddled
with speculation as to why
this massive director
would walk
from such a big movie.
Those people have
no idea where I come from
and the kind of worlds
that I create
and the kind
of sets that I create.
The real reason why I quit is
because I just couldn't take
working with Pace.
So I left the film,
and the press
labeled me as a monster.
You know, I'm not
even gonna name the monsters,
but there are many monsters
in this industry
and I'm definitely not one
of them.
At this point, we were
three weeks behind schedule
after two weeks of shooting.
You do that math.
I knew from the first
production meeting
that Pace and Demy would never
be able to work together.
The only one who understands
Dissident is Pace.
[Christopher] You'll never be
able to understand Dissident
without understanding
a theatrical technique
called theater of cruelty.
That is what Dissident is.
Dissident is theater
of cruelty.
The principle conceit
of theater of cruelty
was to create
theatrical pieces
that were so shocking,
that were so upsetting,
grotesque, uh, and powerful
that the audience did not
have the opportunity to think.
They had nothing to do
but live, but to exist,
but to experience
what they were seeing.
I told Demy,
just like I told Mocker,
just like I told Mankiewicz,
that nobody could shoot this
movie but me.
And yet Demy, finding himself
caught between the Scylla
and Charybdis,
the crashing rocks
of my creation
and the sea monster
of trying to interpret it,
he realizes that he's drowning
and he starts a fight with me.
He wanted a reason
to walk off that set.
And I gave it to him.
So when Demy quit before he
walked out of the set,
he pulled me aside
and he made me promise
that I would keep rolling
the camera in between takes.
So I did.
We started working together.
You said one thing, you said,
"I make it look good," okay?
But this does not look good.
You don't let me make it
look good.
I don't let you?
How could I stop you?
You choose the lenses.
Of course I'm gonna choose
the lenses.
This is my fucking film.
It is my job.
-It's my lens, though.
-No, no, no.
I feel like you really struggle
with object permanence, okay?
It's not your lens.
What Demy didn't know
when he asked Ivan to do this
was that this footage would
lead to Christopher Pace
being a murder suspect
and would soon be part
of one of the largest
murder investigations
in Hollywood history.
But let's start
with Pace taking over
as the director
of Dissident.
You're here, right?
Like this and then boom,
like that.
-Did you see me?
-Yeah.
But it's a motion! It comes up!
Ow!
I still remember the day
that Pace took over.
It is a day that will live
in infamy
as the worst day of my life.
Give me your hand.
This one, right here.
-All right, ready?
-Yeah.
-Put your finger out like that.
-Yeah.
All right?
Now I want you to poke me.
Poke me. Come on. Poke me.
-Yeah, there we go. Uh-huh.
-Mm-hmm.
-It's getting difficult, right?
-Yeah.
-Why don't you fucking poke me?
-[grunts aggressively]
Right? Okay.
Now I want you to ask me to do
the same thing.
I want you to poke me.
Ah, fucker!
-Stop trying to win, Dustin.
-God damn.
And fucking listen to me.
Pace made my life a living hell.
I remember getting a call
from Dustin's manager
saying that he was trying
to kill him with a helicopter.
[triumphant music]
Personally, I thought
the helicopter
should have been closer,
but the film industry
is full of pussies.
Pace is one of the smartest
directors out there.
He knows everything
about everything in film.
He did his homework.
He's a contemporary
of Tarantino in that way.
He's younger,
but he's as smart,
and he has a really,
really deep perception.
He used the neorealist aspect
in order to reinvent cinema
from himself.
And here's something that Pace
said to me at one point,
which I think is interesting.
There's a quote from Chaplin,
famous quote.
Life when viewed in close-up
is a tragedy,
and in long shot,
it is a, uh, a comedy.
Pace said to me,
"Chaplin got it wrong.
"In close-up, it's a comedy.
In long shot,
that's when it's a tragedy."
The thing
that people don't realize
is they're just
playing checkers.
Pace is playing
four-dimensional chess.
[Christopher] Okay, Zeus,
I need you
in conversation with the wind.
I want you to think about, uh,
it's like
My Dinner with Andre.
Give me Wallace Shawn!
That's beautiful!
Beautiful work.
Okay, Audrey,
I want you to know
that the helicopter pilot
has a better understanding
of human emotion than you do.
You're a titan of banality!
Hey, you know what, Ivan?
Ivan, I don't...
Just film something.
I don't even care anymore.
Just shoot it.
Every director has their tactic,
their, their method.
And Pace says
he's a Meisner guy,
and he's really method,
and he likes to exist
in the, the situation.
But, really, his tactics
are a lot like Mein Kampf,
you know, like, like Hitler.
Like, he's the son of Hitler,
I'm pretty sure.
We get these
constant comparisons
to the Fourth Reich,
to the Nazis, to Hitler.
Um, when these comparisons
are made,
it's about methodology, right?
Because the prevailing
mythology
around the fascists is,
yes, they were awful,
yes, they were brutes,
yes, they were genocidal,
but the trains ran on time,
but they got things done.
So I get this comparison,
I assume,
because the idea
is that I am brutal,
but I get things done.
Well, I get things done
not because of cruelty,
not because I am willing
to wipe out people
in order to accomplish
my goals, no, no, no.
It is perpetual motion.
It is Oppenheim.
I am become death.
Because once something
has, uh, begun,
once, once the ball
is rolling,
it has to reach
its conclusion.
And that is, that is how I work.
Once I have begun,
uh, I will not be stopped.
This is not about you.
You know what is about you?
This moment, this scene, okay?
So I want you to focus on that.
I don't give a shit about
anything else around it.
No, no, no. This.
You know why I put
the gloves on?
-No.
-So that I can hurt you
without leaving marks
on my skin.
Pace didn't care
what the scene was.
I mean, hell, he'd have walked
in on the birth of Christ
and given Mary instructions
how she could do it better
and with more meaning.
You know what, Dustin?
I've been watching the monitor
and it seems to me
that you're starting
to perspire.
Does that seem accurate to you?
I'm having an issue
with the sweat.
I need you to stop that.
I mean, for us,
a cut was never a cut.
We just kept the camera rolling
all the time
because we got
some great stuff,
because Pace
was compelling people
to do things they might not
have wanted to do.
Yeah, Pace had a way of taking
anything and everything
that brought you joy
and just drowning it
in darkness.
-Are you crying?
-No, I'm not crying--
No, no, no. No, no.
There's no crying.
There's no crying in filmmaking!
No! There's no crying in film!
There is crying on film!
On film, never in film.
What I say to my actors
is between us.
It has no bearing on anything
but what you see
in that frame.
There's a lot of tension
between you guys.
[loud helicopter chuffing]
Normally that would be okay.
In this section, not good.
Okay? So I need you to release
the tension.
At the end of the next take,
I just want the two of you guys
to just have sex, okay?
And we're gonna film it,
but be prepared to stop
and start
because I will have adjustments
specifically for you.
Hey, pay attention, okay?
Pace is one
of the most mysterious people
I've ever investigated.
He's an orphan with no family,
no friends,
and no discernible past.
In fact, the only person
we could find to interview
who knew him
before he was famous
was his college roommate.
My name is Randall Birch.
I'm a Tony Award-winning actor.
That means I perform
on the stage.
And Christopher Pace
was my college roommate.
I would describe
living with Christopher Pace
as, as a FOG:
Fear, Obligation, Guilt.
He was masterful
at getting anyone
besides myself, I would say,
to do exactly what he wanted,
no matter how depraved.
They were like cult members,
and he was a cult leader.
When I saw the first video
posted on social media of Ava,
I immediately called the LAPD,
and I told them,
Christopher Pace is the one
that did this murder.
It was filmed exactly like how
Christopher would film
everything that went on
in our house.
I think it's fascinating
that we've had
famous serial killers
throughout time,
and yet no one else filmed
the act.
I think the idea
that Christopher Pace did that
makes a lot of sense to me.
I can tell you this.
Pace is definitely a murderer.
I just don't know
if he's the murderer.
I will stab you
in the fucking throat, Tedd.
-I will do it. Okay?
-Do it.
You'll never work again. Do it.
I don't need to work.
I could work in prison.
I'd put on a prison play
that would win a fucking Oscar,
all right?
And I would fuck
all the inmates.
Is he out of his fucking mind?
No doubt about it.
But when you're a genius,
people have to tolerate you.
And that's what Pace is.
He's a genius.
I am all things to all people.
I am Mother.
I am Father.
I am killer, I am saint,
I am devil, I am savior.
I am Idi Amin
and I am also Gandhi.
-You know what this is?
-That's film.
Yeah, this is the film
from that really tight
profile shot I got of you.
I just ripped it out
of the fucking camera.
-You know why I did that?
-No.
Because I can't fucking use it.
I can't use any of this shit,
Dustin.
Because Pace didn't start
as the director,
he didn't get to choose
the cast.
But the one person he did get
was Ava Bergman.
I ain't afraid of dying.
I already done it.
Ava was Pace's muse.
The whole movie, the whole
concept of the movie was her.
I don't want to say that I wrote
the role for her
because I don't write roles
for actors.
I am, I am haunted
by a character.
They live inside my, my brain.
Uh, they destroy my life.
And then to prevent suicide,
I write them onto a paper.
And when I finished
with this, with this woman,
uh, she was Ava.
Talk to me. What do you need?
Uh, I'm just not sure that I...
-What?
-Okay. Um--
You're not sure that what?
That I really understand, uh,
the character at this point.
You are the character.
What is there to understand?
She was his Scarlet Empress.
She was his Marlene Dietrich
to Josef von Sternberg.
If von Sternberg
had lost Dietrich,
this would have been
a big hole
in the history of cinema
uh, and some images that were
amazing and shocking.
I think it was a real blow,
um, to Pace
uh, when this happened.
And I think that it turned him
into a dissident
toward his own movie,
which was Dissident.
Quit ripping the film
out of the fucking camera!
What are you going to use
it for, Tedd?
Quit ripping the fuckin' film!
What do you want me
to do with it, Tedd?
At least look at the dailies,
motherfucker!
I don't need to see the dailies!
I do all the scenes, Tedd!
[Melvin] People think Pace's
issues started with Barbera,
but the fact of the matter is
it wasn't all sunshine
and rainbows with Ava, either.
Pace was in pursuit
of perfection.
And from what I saw,
Ava couldn't give it to him.
-I think we can drill down...
-Okay.
...and start doing
something interesting.
I need, I need, I need somebody,
I need somebody to literally,
like, call my therapist
because, like, she knows that
when I'm stressed out,
like, I need, like,
a breathing exercise...
I think you need to act
when you're stressed out.
I think you need to let it go.
No, I don't think that I should.
This is beautiful,
but you gotta let it out.
From my research, Pace never
had an issue with her acting.
He had an issue
with her boyfriend,
a man who many people say
is the greatest actor
of all time.
Our next suspect,
Lawrence Hughes.
Welcome to the picture show!
[reel buzzing]
Lawrence is a unique suspect
for three reasons.
Number one, he was not
in the film, Dissident.
Two, I was not able
to interview him
while at the FBI
or for this documentary.
And, finally,
the day before Ava's murder,
he disappeared
and has not been seen since.
So to understand Lawrence,
let's start with
his relationship with Pace.
The only way to describe
Lawrence and Pace
is the same type of relationship
that Werner Herzog had
with Klaus Kinski.
Herzog and Kinski were at each
other's throats all the time.
They fought constantly.
They pulled guns on each other.
They threatened
to kill each other,
walk off movies, et cetera.
But they made five films
together between 1972 and '87.
And they were good, good movies.
Lawrence and Pace
made The Last Great Actor,
which some people consider
to be the greatest film
ever made.
And often compared
to Citizen Kane.
But the truth is,
without Lawrence's star power,
there wouldn't have been
a film.
And without that film,
there would be no Pace.
Reality is that movie wouldn't
have been made without him.
I was nobody.
And he took a massive risk
by signing on to it.
And despite everything that's
happened between us since,
I will always be grateful
to him for that.
[Ivan] When Lawrence signed on
to do The Last Great Actor,
I was shocked.
Um, he had not done a movie
that small in a long time.
Lawrence is great
in every movie he does.
But in this one, he delivered
the performance of a lifetime.
When I was a kid, you know,
I had this little bunk bed.
And my, uh, my brother
would sleep underneath me.
So I climbed down one night.
I couldn't sleep.
I was thinking
about scary stuff, you know?
And, uh, there's this little
sculpture of a rattlesnake.
It was my dad's favorite,
favorite sculpture.
He got it in Arizona.
I don't know.
I wanted to see it.
I wanted to play with it.
So I grabbed it down
and I looked at it.
And all of a sudden,
it slipped from my hands
and just shattered
into a million pieces.
All of a sudden, my...
My dad flings open the door
and he makes his face
just like this.
And his hands got so big!
And then he started wailing
on me and my brother!
Just beating
the living piss out of us!
And my brother's
in the corner of the bed just,
"Ah! Dad! No, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no!
No!"
And then my dad just shuts
the door and he leaves!
And there's my brother, Luke,
and he's in the corner,
and he's just like, "Why?
"Why would he do that?
"Why would he come in
in the middle of the night
and just beat the shit
out of us?"
And I knew why,
because I was fucking around,
but he never knew.
I never told him.
[heavy breathing]
Even to this day,
I've never told him.
Some people say
that is the greatest scene
in film history.
Their words, not mine.
I have written the greatest
scene in film history.
But it's not that one.
After The Last Great Actor,
everyone thought
that Lawrence and Pace
were, you know, the next
Scorsese and De Niro.
They made the film
for $1 million
and it grossed $120 million.
Despite the success of the film,
both men swore
that they would never
work together again.
In fact, no one who has
ever worked with Lawrence
will work with him
a second time.
And it's not
because people hate him.
It's because they are scared
of him.
Lawrence's talent
is his biggest enemy.
[sobbing]
I mean, about what anybody else
knows about him,
he's probably the most talented
actor that's ever existed.
This guy's dedication
to his craft
and to the arts
is second to none.
Lawrence is dedicated
to performance.
Man, if there's one guy
I've always been looking up to,
it's him.
I discovered Lawrence
when he was nine years old.
Sometimes, I wish
I really didn't
because he never had a chance
to live a normal life.
And I feel guilty
because of that.
Yeah, I think he had
unrealistic expectations
put on him from an early age.
And although he fulfilled them
with talent,
in his own body,
he never felt like himself.
[Christopher] Why is Lawrence
a great actor?
Uh, is it
because he wins many awards?
Is it because
he commits himself
to the roles to the detriment
of himself
and to everyone around him?
No, no, no, no.
The hardest thing
for any actor to do
is to lose themselves,
to give up their own humanity
in place of the characters.
Lawrence is great because he
has no self to lose.
Lawrence is not a human being.
He is an empty shell.
Regardless of what you see
on screen,
he is simply not there.
Which is why he's able to do
anything once the camera rolls.
The second you call cut,
the man is a disaster.
[Thomas] Do you have any
idea who the killer might be?
Oh. If I had to pick a guy,
I think it's Lawrence.
Lawrence is one
of these guys that,
I don't know
what they call 'em,
but he'd get into a role
and he'd stay in that role
through the whole movie.
I mean, whether he was
in our car
or ordering a hamburger
at McDonald's,
he'd stay in that role.
I mean, it's a little weird
when he does that.
So, you know,
when he goes home
after playing Neil Armstrong,
I think he's thinking
he's home,
walking on the moon.
And when he goes home
as a crazed murderer,
he might be a crazed murderer.
[Harry] Working with
Lawrence Hughes
on Justice Explosion
was one of the most
rewarding experiences
of my entire career.
I often tell people,
Lawrence is, is like
a wild Mustang.
The good part of that is one
of the most beautiful sights
you'll ever see.
The bad side,
you try to ride him,
you'll get bucked
from the saddle
and he'll trample you to death.
No one dedicates themselves
more than Lawrence.
On Justice Explosion,
he started to lose it.
We got calls
from the cast and crew
saying he scared someone
or made someone cry every day.
This is the reason I think
people believe that Lawrence
is The Hollywood Killer.
I mean, he had been
in over 30 films
where he'd had to do
serious stunts.
I mean, he has a background
in wrestling,
boxing, jujitsu, wire work.
It's really impressive,
his, like, physical ability.
And...
he might have been
the only one who was capable
of committing
some of these crimes.
[Samuel] He's certainly got
what it takes.
Close, intimate relationship.
Uh, disappeared
after the murder.
Plays a lot
of unhinged characters.
Known for not ever
breaking character,
even when the film
is long gone.
So he's living
split personality day to day.
And in some ways,
I really admire that.
[Thomas] Aside from
his connection to Pace,
Lawrence was also connected
to Dissident in another way,
through his relationship
with Ava.
Ava and Lawrence were together
on and off for three years.
But during production
of Dissident,
Ava ended things with him
for good.
And this sent Lawrence
into a downward spiral.
Despite a restraining order,
Lawrence kept showing up
anywhere she was,
and even showed up
on the set of Dissident.
-Hi.
-Hi, how you doing?
-Hey... Dustin.
-Lawrence. Nice to meet you.
-How are you?
-Damn good.
-Hi. Hi, how are you?
-Hi.
No, no, let's
try it again, okay?
Obviously, this did not go
over well with Pace.
-[Christopher] Larry Hughes?
-Hey.
My old fucking friend.
How you doing?
-Hey--
-Fucking come onto my set!
You come onto my fucking set!
Yeah?
[Thomas] After this, Lawrence
was banned from the set,
which made him even more crazy.
Me and my dad both begged
Lawrence to stop showing up,
but he just snapped.
He would do anything to try
and see her.
Everyone needs to stay put.
Larry's here.
He's going crazy outside,
and I got Ava locked
in the trailer.
So we just need to sort of,
you know, shelter in place
until, um, he's done
with whatever rant
he's going on.
[Ivan] He kept calling me
and trying to figure out
when Ava was on a break
and when she was stepping out
for lunch or something.
I had to stop answering
his calls
'cause he was just...
freaking crazy.
And production had security
guards on the perimeter.
He could not get anywhere near.
-It got crazy.
-He's obsessed.
-No.
-It's not healthy.
-It's absolutely bizarre.
-That's crazy. You know what?
I'm going to keep my eyes open
because that is insane,
and I want you to be comfortable
at all times on this set.
-Thank you. Thank you.
-I'm serious.
We've been knowing each other
for too long.
Thank you. You're sweet.
But if you, um, do you find me,
like, in a vat of oil
or, like, dismembered
in the valley,
like, just, you know,
probably him.
[Effy] Ava was over it.
She didn't want to talk
to Lawrence anymore,
and he knew that.
I mean, I remember her
telling me that,
uh, she was terrified of him.
But he kept calling.
Please calm down
and listen to me!
-[Lawrence] I am listening!
-Please.
[Lawrence] You need
to make a choice.
It's either me or the film.
No, I'm always going to choose
the film!
[Lawrence] You'll regret this!
Mark my words!
-You'll regret this!
-Babe--
Okay, okay, okay, okay.
And now what do we do?
We go to the thing, and we block
the number, right?
Give me the finger. There we go.
We hit that. There we go.
-And now where do we have block?
-You have to scroll down.
We scroll down. Okay, okay.
And now we blocked him.
Look at that.
[Ava] [crying]
And now we don't have
to worry about it ever again.
These calls were scary.
I mean, he would call all of us
and just yell over and over to
get Ava to pick up the phone.
And I'll tell you this.
Every call was worse
than the last.
[Lawrence] I'm going
to destroy this film,
and I'm going to destroy you!
Okay?
And if I, if Ava isn't on
a fucking plane in 30 minutes,
I'm going to come to that set
and drag her off
by her fucking hair!
There are a few reasons why
this clip is so important.
One being that Lawrence says,
"I will destroy this film,"
which is a theory as to why
he murdered the other girls.
The second is because
this was the last call
ever made
from Lawrence's phone
and the last time
anyone heard from him.
Ava Bergman was murdered
the following day.
[muffled screaming]
Help-- [choking] Help me!
[grunts]
Help! [screams] No! Please!
Please! Help me! No!
[choking] [gasping]
[sustained exhale]
[eerie music]
[Demy] That's the problem
these days.
We want to show everything
and be grisly.
Detail.
The idea that this, this fucker
was holding a phone
while he's attempting to...
Hm.
This is the world we live in.
It's really fucking dark.
[Thomas] The initial
investigation by the LAPD
uncovered no
physical evidence.
But none of that mattered,
because everyone was convinced
it was Lawrence Hughes.
And even with
an international search,
no one could find him.
His whereabouts remain unknown.
Despite this tragedy,
shooting for Dissident
resumed 24 hours later
with a new actress.
After losing a lead actress
in such a horrible way,
most producers would cut
their losses
and shut down the film.
Tedd is not most producers.
Now let's meet
our third suspect,
Tedd Mankiewicz.
Like, Jesus Christ,
can I get a fluffer here?
I'm spritzin' everywhere.
It's actually not even cold.
I just, like, have to wait
on my nuts.
Got fucking drool
coming out of my mouth.
I got ball sweat.
Feel like I've lost 10 pounds.
You're like,
"Did you fuck Barb?"
And I go,
"Oh, I fucked her to death,
but I didn't kill her."
[Thomas] First, let's start
by understanding who Tedd is.
Not only is he one of the most
powerful people in Hollywood,
he represented all three of
the women that were murdered.
The one who survived,
two of the suspects,
was a suspect himself,
and was having an affair
with Barbera Ball at the time
of her death,
something that his wife
was very upset about.
All roads lead back to Tedd,
okay?
He got John into producing.
He got Lawrence into acting.
Produced Pace's first film.
Made Melvin a movie star.
Shared a lover with Dustin.
And he's thanked more than God
at the Oscars.
I've got a soft spot for Tedd.
He's the best manager
of all time.
But I understand that Tedd
has made some enemies
in this business.
A lot of people hate him,
and Pace may be at the top
of that list.
The devil never convinced
the world that he did not exist.
No. The devil exists.
Tedd Mankiewicz exists.
The man is real.
And he's out there,
and you all sit back and go,
"I don't know. I don't know.
Is evil real?
Is darkness real?"
Look in the fucking mirror.
I know that a lot of people
talk shit about Tedd
-Mm-hmm.
-I totally get that.
But for me, it's like, I know
that he would legit kill for me.
I've never killed anyone
for a client.
But I would, and that's why
they fucking signed with me.
During my investigation
into Tedd,
I found that he would normally
do one set visit on his movies.
On Dissident, he visited set
four times a week.
Oh, oh, ladies and gentlemen,
can we get a round
of applause here?
You understand what's happening?
Yeah, the Antichrist
has returned.
All right?
So that means we rejoice.
What do producers do?
They are supposed
to put together the elements
that lead you
to making the film.
Why would that entitle them
to be on the set
once it's begun?
Their job is prologue.
They are the preamble.
They are the Greek chorus
before the play begins.
Once the story starts, fuck off.
The moment Tedd Mankiewicz
arrives on set,
whole energy shifts.
[Tedd] The luckiest day of
your life is when you met me.
[Christopher] What are you
talking about?
[Tedd] Everyone says
you suck now,
and this movie will never be
as good as
The Last Great Actor.
[Christopher] This movie
will never be
as good as
The Last Great Actor?
[Tedd] Yeah, totally.
[Christopher] You think maybe
that's because you're standing
in the middle
of my fucking shot?
[Martin] And if that
wasn't bad enough,
the motherfucker would walk in
and show you
how to do your scene.
This is how you cock a gun.
There's two things you need
to be able to do
to be a movie star.
Kiss the girl...
and fire a gun.
-And you can't do either.
-Just don't overthink it.
Acting is so fucking easy.
Most of the time, these people
just get so caught up
in their own heads.
They're lazy.
Most of them don't have talent
to begin with.
So I show up
and I show them what to do.
I don't know why so many people
get offended by this.
Do you think Reese Witherspoon
blinks?
No.
Do you think
Nicole Kidman blinks?
-No.
-Then why would you blink?
I don't know.
Give me more Meryl Streep.
Okay. [heavy breathing]
Look at the camera
and don't blink.
Tedd was like a steamroller.
He'd come in there
and intimidate everybody.
[grunts]
[groans painfully]
[Smitty] Yeah, every so often,
I would go up to Ivan and say,
"You sure you want me
to keep this camera rolling?"
I mean,
some of the circumstances
were a little sketchy.
Tedd Mankiewicz
was a fucking animal.
Did he know what he was doing?
Sure.
Yes, okay.
Was he very good at his job?
Also, yes.
The man was a fucking animal.
To understand why Tedd
is a suspect,
we have to talk
about Barbera Ball,
the second murder victim,
and how she ended up
in Dissident.
Barbera made a name for herself
when she was cast in Breathe
alongside Lawrence Hughes.
[classic jazz music playing]
[speaking French]
I believe I went to school
with that chap.
[speaking French]
Should I go approach him?
Oui.
Your French isn't
that good anymore.
-I think you need some practice.
-Good enough.
Whatever you say.
On y va.
Every actress in the world
wanted that role.
But my dad made sure
that Barbera got it.
After the success of Breathe,
Tedd cast Barbera in Dissident
without ever talking to Pace
about it.
Pace is quoted as saying
he hated Barbera Ball
more than his own mother,
who abandoned him as a child.
[indistinct]
Barbera, am I looking
at the monitor?
I can't, I can't tell.
There's four cameras
on this fucking scene.
One of them can probably see it.
I can't see it.
I'm not watching the camera.
I'm watching you.
I'm watching your reaction.
You know what I see?
-What?
-I see fear.
Why do I see fear?
This gun has got no bullets
in it.
It's not even a real gun.
I mean, let me
show you something, Barbera.
You see this? All right?
This is my fucking gun.
This shit's loaded.
Am I afraid? No!
[Thomas] You wanted Barbera
taken out of the film.
-Why?
-Absolutely.
Uh, because she's not very good.
So, uh, once she was forced
upon me,
I did what anyone does
when they are put
in a compromising situation
that they did not ask
to be in.
They try to get out.
And that's what I did.
-How much does she want this?
-A lot more than this film.
Okay, so then why is she here?
Wouldn't you rather spend it
on the film rather than her?
Think about it.
Oh, you hadn't even thought
about that.
We could get someone
who was more talented
and less expensive.
There isn't somebody
more talented.
You don't think there's anyone
more talented?
-No, I don't.
-Oh, my God.
The myopic... Jesus.
This is a normal occurrence.
I had to go to set every day
to make sure Barbera stayed
in the film.
Your female lead
is out of frame.
Yes, I know, I know.
This is how we're going
to do the movie now, okay?
[Effy] My dad's going to see
the dailies.
What do you think
he's gonna say?
I think he's going to whine
and bitch like a child.
You're whining and bitching
like a child
because you can't
have a two-person scene.
Barbera's out of the movie,
Effy.
That's not how it works.
[Melvin] Pace needed his North
Star for that character.
And Barbera wasn't it.
So he was determined to make
her life a living hell.
You're killing me.
You're literally killing me.
-Yes. I'm going to kill you.
-Oh, yeah.
I feel like you're going
to kill me.
I'm working up to it.
Every single fucking day I come
to set,
I don't know what's going
to happen.
[Dustin] Barbera was living
in a constant state of fear.
But not from being murdered.
She was more afraid
of being fired than dying.
She would tell me all the time
how she thought
she was going to get fired.
I mean, I think she said that
to me almost every single day.
And it got to a certain point
where I thought it was going
to happen too.
I think the fact
that she's this bad
violates the terms
of the contract.
And I think we can
get rid of her
without actually triggering
any type of lawsuit.
She's the star
of the fucking movie.
We've been shooting
for three months.
But not if we fire her.
She's not coming
out of the movie.
Pace was never a fan of Barbera.
And he asked me multiple times
if we could replace her.
I need Barbera gone.
Your father is asking me
to sculpt with razor wire.
I have always respected you,
okay?
I've always respected
your artistic vision.
And I just, I need you
to let this one go
because my dad is never going
to fire Barbera.
-That's it.
-Okay, okay.
Do you think, do you think
this is the first time
I've been told
I can't do something
-or I have to let something go?
-I'm letting you know.
I am a screenwriter, okay?
I create worlds
and I fucking destroy them.
And if you make me
destroy this world,
I will do it. You understand?
Then you're not going
to have a movie, Pace.
I don't give a fuck
about the movie.
-I do.
-I don't care what you think.
I care about making art.
And if she is in this film,
it doesn't exist anymore.
There is no story,
there is no beauty,
there is no art.
So I may as well burn
the fucking thing down.
-You understand?
-Then go ahead.
-Burn the thing down.
-Great.
Okay.
Remember that you said that!
And then don't come crying
to me when it's over.
Remember.
[Effy] Pace threatened Barbera
all the time.
And when it was decided that she
was staying in the film,
he couldn't handle it.
[Tedd] Hey, what's up?
Um, I'm sat here
with Pace right now.
He doesn't believe, uh, anything
that I'm saying right now.
So do you mind refreshing
his mind
and telling him
what you told me?
[Tedd] Hey, Pace.
I just got off the phone
with Mocker.
And Barbera's staying
in the fucking film.
So do whatever you want
with that information.
Okay. Uh, Barbie.
-Uh, I gotta apologize to you.
-Yeah?
-Okay?
-Is this sincere?
Yes. That was the easy way
for you to leave this film.
And now we do it the hard way.
All right?
-Good luck.
-Thanks. Appreciate it.
I always adored Barbera.
She had such a hard time
on set.
She didn't deserve
how she was treated.
I don't know
who to trust anymore.
I don't know who are my friends.
Everyone's fucking mean.
Well, you know you got me.
I'm lucky I do.
You and your dad.
Initially, there was a lot
of confusion as to why
Tedd was fighting so hard
to keep her in the film.
There's a very simple reason
Tedd refused to replace her.
Because they were having
an affair.
They managed to keep
their relationship quiet
for over a year.
But once Barbera was on set,
Tedd could no longer keep
the relationship secret.
His jealousy and paranoia
drove him
to make sure everyone knew
she was his.
And what made him so paranoid
was Barbera's castmate
and former lover,
Dustin Scott.
The story of their romance
is shrouded with intrigue.
I mean, Tedd and Barbera
were having an affair.
Dustin and Barbera were having
an affair.
It was like the inception
of affairs.
So Dustin was in love
with Barbera
and Barbera was in love
with Tedd.
And it was disaster
for all of us.
Are you having a relationship
with Barbera?
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
And you're aware that she
is currently having
a relationship
with Tedd Mankiewicz?
Yeah.
And you thought,
in your infinite wisdom,
that this was a good idea
for you to do?
She was my girlfriend first,
and...
Okay. With the playground rules.
Brilliant.
[Thomas] Can you talk to me
a little bit about
Dustin and Barbera's
love affair?
Mm, yeah, um,
I know they were
childhood sweethearts
and then, uh, had some sort
of large, uh, profound
relationship,
I guess, at least for Dustin.
Uh, and then
it started up again.
Basically, the moment
she arrived on the set,
which obviously drove
Tedd insane.
He is a man that cannot
comprehend things
he cannot control.
Dustin, I want you to kiss her
like you know he's watching.
Because he is.
You know what I'm saying?
You're trying
to make me jealous.
No, no, no,
I'm trying to make you
understand that you're
a lesser man.
[Barbera] What am I
supposed to do?
You're supposed to like it more
than you like kissing him.
I'm jealous right now.
I want you to... You're jealous?
It's working?
We're having a reaction?
[Tedd] Don't say that out loud.
[Christopher] Doesn't it feel
good to have a human emotion?
You know what I mean?
I think there's a...
Oh, there it is. Look at that.
[Dustin] Imagine you met
the love of your life.
And you had a beautiful romance.
And then you fucked it all up.
You break up.
You're miserable.
And then you're working
on this movie
and you find out
that your ex-lover
is now gonna be with you
every single day.
Sex scenes, kissing scenes.
And you have to watch
the person that you love
be in love with somebody else.
And if that wasn't bad enough,
her new boyfriend
was my boss and would tell me
what to do every day.
You're grabbing her tits like
it's an eighth-grade dance.
Grab her like this.
Let me get to your level.
If you cross me again,
I'll fucking kill you.
Yeah, that's how it's done.
Tedd was always fucking
with Dustin.
He would do these, like,
psychological mind games
for dominance.
And it was abusive.
I just can't believe that you do
that shit in front of me, okay?
It's so fucking disrespectful.
It makes me sick to my stomach.
Do you know how many fucking
times I've heard this from you?
What do you mean?
Do you know how many times I've
heard you say that shit to him?
Tedd uses a tactic called
disruption of thought freedom.
It's a genius military strategy
to take over someone's brain
and ruin them.
And that's how
he broke Dustin.
[melancholy piano music]
I...
I truly believe you only get
one real love in your life.
That one person that's
supposed to be there with you,
going through
the ups and downs, and...
And it was Barbera.
We were meant for each other.
And I fucked it up.
And the really funny thing
is that the one person
who was trying to help me
fix this relationship
more than anyone else
was Pace.
Now did Pace really want us
to get back together
'cause he cared about us?
I don't think so.
I think he was really just
trying to fuck with Tedd.
But, nonetheless, he was being
a couples counselor,
trying anything
and everything he could
to bring us back together.
And if Barbera
wouldn't have died,
I think it would have worked.
I was doing what I could to...
to, well, not mend
the relationship,
I just needed them to be able
to get through a fucking scene.
And, and in, in that context,
that required her to be able
to, uh, look him in the eye
without rolling her eyes
or vomiting or screaming
or any of the things
that would happen
when she would see him.
You are welcome to attach
a humanitarian instinct to me
whenever you like.
You would be wrong.
I'm simply doing
what is necessary
to get the film made.
No! No, no, no! Stop it!
Stop! Right now! No, no.
No, no, listen. Okay?
Kissing is elemental.
It's primordial.
It's deeper than sex, right?
It's just, it's natural, okay?
I don't want to see sex.
I want to see love.
Okay? Show me.
-I give love.
-Show me. Show me love.
I heard the rumors.
I tried to warn Dustin
about not getting involved
with Barbera,
but he didn't listen.
And when my dad found out,
it was actually worse
than I thought it would be.
Did you fuck Barb?
-No! I didn't--
-Dirty Dick Dustin.
-Dirty Dick Dustin.
-I didn't do anything.
-[Christopher] Tedd, Tedd, Tedd.
-Pull your dick out.
I want to see
if it smells like Barb.
Pull your dick out.
Starting a war
with a guy like Tedd,
someone with an infinite amount
of resources,
wouldn't even bode well for me,
let alone Dustin.
[Tedd] I'll have Dustin
killed right now
if you just cast Chalamet.
[Christopher] Uh, could you have
him killed without, uh, Timmy?
[Tedd] Absolutely not.
[Christopher] Why does it have
to be Timmy to kill--
[Tedd] You gotta give,
you gotta give me something.
[Christopher] No, but can we get
somebody else?
[Tedd] I'll have nothing for me
to kill Dustin.
They say all is fair
in love and war,
so Dustin decided
to tell Tedd's wife
about the affair
with Barbera,
which caused her to confront him
in front of everyone.
-Who told you that?
-You've been cheating on me.
-I've never fucking cheated.
-Tell me the truth.
-I know you've been doing it!
-I am telling you the truth.
-You've never... This is--
-I've never cheated on you.
Yes, you have!
What the fuck are you
even talking about?
-You've never told me the truth.
-Who told you that shit?
I'm not going
to tell you who told me,
-but I know that it's true.
-Was it Dustin?
[Thomas] After this
was filmed,
Ted's wife threatened
to leave him
if he didn't end things
with Barbera.
And with her ability
to prove infidelity,
he was looking
at a billion-dollar divorce.
Two days later, Barbera Ball
was murdered
by The Hollywood Killer.
[unsettling music]
[heavy breathing]
[constricted breathing]
I don't understand
why the man isn't in prison.
He had the motive.
Obviously, he had the access.
He was sleeping
with the woman killed.
To me, to anyone with eyes
or who is not being paid,
it should be obvious.
But in order to avoid
a fifth lawsuit from the man,
I'll call him
an alleged murderer.
Who's alleging it? I am.
My dad would never hurt Barbera.
She made him so happy.
I've never seen him
love anyone
as much as he loved her.
What they shared
was like something
you read in a romance novel.
He always said
that she reminded him
of a Caravaggio painting.
I've never heard him talk
about anyone like that.
[Tedd] I saw so much
greatness in her
as a human being, her talent.
[unsettling music]
She was my everything.
[Thomas] Do you miss her?
I miss her more than any
human being that's ever lived.
[Thomas] Tedd's phone records
show no calls
on the day Barbera died.
On a normal day,
he averages 250 to 300 calls.
My dad and I went
to Saint Moritz
for a few hours to look
at a new house he was building,
and he broke his phone
at the airport.
But I can assure you
that his alibi is real,
and I was with him.
During any investigation,
it's always fascinating
to see who a suspect thinks
could have committed the crime.
And in this case,
there's footage of it.
I'm not going to jail.
Rich people don't go to jail.
I wasn't even in the country,
I swear.
You can check
all the flight logs.
Everybody knows
Dustin fucking killed her.
I have so many videos.
Tell them I'll cut a deal.
We're now going to dive
into our fourth suspect,
Dustin Scott.
There are many reasons
why Dustin is a suspect,
but one stands out
above them all.
[constrained breathing]
Dustin! Dust--
That video does not get you
a conviction.
It does, however,
tell us something,
that Dustin was the last thought
on Barbera's mind.
But why Dustin?
Was it because
she was saying goodbye
to the love of her life,
or because the love
of her life was killing her?
You got that, right?
[Christopher] Got it.
Won't use it. Do it again.
[sighs]
Put my hat back on.
You're a fucking bitch.
[John] I know he was a pain
in the ass,
but I'll always feel sorry
for this kid.
I mean, this movie
ripped out his soul.
I love Dustin Scott.
I just think he has
one of the most
expressive faces.
Um, his performances
are in the eyes,
gateway to the soul, his body.
He puts everything into it.
I mean, he's, he's
a very emotional actor,
and I think
he is literally a human PSA
about, don't be an actor,
don't put your kids in acting.
I mean, every single thing,
uh, that actors,
every trap actors can step in,
he's actually stepped in.
Uh, a lot of the trysts
that he had,
the women that he was with,
uh, some
of the, the controversy
that he caused
because of his relationships,
we don't see any of that.
We just see this,
and we think
this is the only thing that's
happening in this frame.
But there is another
behind the scenes,
which is what actually happens
off the set.
So, yeah, Dustin looks like
he is just being pummeled.
He's the martyr for everyone.
He's the whipping boy here.
Um, but what Dustin does off
the set is pretty outrageous.
I swear to God, if you bring
another fucking prostitute--
sex worker on set again,
I will kick your ass.
[John] Dustin really took
Barbera's death hard.
He was doing
all kinds of drugs.
We found him in a gutter,
unconscious at a strip club,
4:00 in the morning.
We covered it up from the press.
I would do whatever it took
to keep him upright
in this movie.
I already got, you know,
the investments there.
We were way into this thing
and Dustin has to be healthy,
and he was a fucking mess.
So my, my question for you,
and I want you to take this
with you into the scene, is,
what recently happened
to Barbera,
uh, what do we think
about the idea
that maybe you don't remember
what, what you may have done?
'Cause I know you don't think
you did anything,
but what about
what you don't remember?
I remember one time,
growing up as a kid,
some money came up missing
at a church bingo,
and Father McCauley got
so upset,
he bitch-slapped
Sister Elizabeth.
I mean, if you push someone
far enough,
it can get out of hand.
I want you to hang
the inadequacy
of your performance
around your neck and wear it
like a fucking albatross.
You understand?
It's a millstone, all right?
You're dragging all of us down.
-All right.
-It's like a, it's a thing.
-If I pull this...
-[chokes] Okay, yeah.
...you can feel that, right?
You can feel that.
I gotta hang you with this shit.
That's how bad
your performance is.
I could use it to kill you.
Doing the same scenes
over and over again
on multiple occasions,
it kind of takes it
out of you.
It's like if you had
a tube of toothpaste
that's already empty
and you just keep squeezing it
and you think
something's going to come out,
but there's nothing in there
and you're just crushing it
in your fucking palm.
[sighs] I'm the tube
of empty toothpaste.
I think I might faint.
-You're going to faint? Why?
-I don't know.
Have you read this scene?
Is this a fainting scene?
-Okay, Martin, you see that?
-Whoa, whoa, whoa.
No, no, don't touch him.
You understand what happened?
This man's talent
cannot overcome
his given circumstances.
That's what we call bad acting,
all right?
Don't look at him.
Do the scene without him.
I'm going to back up and get
the shot, all right?
Okay, let's go!
This film took pieces of me
that I will never get back.
I fucking hate you! All you do
is you yell and you lie
and you yell and you lie!
And I can't take it anymore!
Why don't you do something
about it, Dustin?
Fuck! [grunts]
Now we're going
to learn about acting.
What is acting, Dustin?
Acting is...
[Dustin] [grunts] [screams]
It's being acting, okay?
We're not trying to win.
-[screams maniacally] [grunts]
-All right, okay, now...
-[Dustin] [choking]
-[Christopher] [grunts]
All right, Marty.
Um, I need something
sort of tempting.
Pace used to tell me
to never argue with Dustin
because it's hard to win
a fight with a smart person,
but impossible to win one
with a crazy person.
I worked with the guy
for five years.
There's no doubt in my mind
he could be the killer.
The things I've seen,
you wouldn't believe it.
Shut the fuck up, Martin, okay?
Just shut the fuck up!
-Shut up?
-Yeah, shut-- [choking]
-More an angle.
-I'll shut up?
-More an angle.
-Shut up? I'm sick of you!
Marty, Marty, what did I
tell you about the carotid?
-Martin!
-You put pressure right here.
-Martin, I'm sorry!
-Then he'll go to sleep.
Very close to me.
And then brace the back
of his head here. Break it here.
You know, not many people
know this,
but I actually used to go
to middle school with Dustin.
Um, he had a nickname.
Back then, it was, uh,
it was Bundy.
Not for Al Bundy,
but for Ted Bundy,
because he was voted
"most likely to become
a serial killer"
in our yearbook.
You know, when I really think
about it, Dustin makes sense.
I let him
go down on me once.
Blind man looking for a nickel.
There's this moment when a man
is between your legs.
You can feel that energy
just, you know, coming up,
and I got that,
I got that murder energy.
What? You're not
rolling fucking...
I just...
Oh, my fucking God!
What are we...
What are we doing here?
What are we doing here?
I've been doing this
for four fucking years,
and now you're not even,
you can't roll fucking sound?
What?
I was supposed to be
a movie star, Pace!
I was supposed to be
a movie star!
Now I'm going to rehab,
and I'm gonna fucking work
at a McDonald's
because of this goddamn...
Fuck these fucking
asshole punks!
I'm fucking done!
I'm telling you,
Dustin is The Hollywood Killer.
That guy? That's a killer?
I mean, come on. He's so dumb.
Everybody knows this,
you know?
He's about as smart
as mayonnaise.
He's like the character from
Sling Blade in real life.
The only person
that Dustin really wanted
to kill was himself.
I can't do this anymore!
Why is this happening to me?
[sobbing]
Churchill famously said that,
when you are going through hell,
you just keep going.
Dustin's hell is within him,
but he is a coward,
so he distracts himself
with women.
He had a relationship
with Ava,
and then, obviously, he had
his relationship with Barbera,
and when she was killed,
he moved on to Greata,
and when she was killed,
he attempted a relationship
with Audrey.
The problem is that, when you
have that inferno within you,
when you want to taste
the heart of darkness,
you must release it,
because whether or not
you do it,
it will find you.
It will come for you.
And if you don't rise
to meet it,
it will swallow you whole.
-[Dustin] [squeals]
-I don't think that he's okay.
Mm, he's fine. He's okay.
[Dustin screaming gutturally]
Are we... Are we gonna break?
[Christopher] Yeah, break.
Get off set for a second.
-Just fuck off.
-[Dustin sobbing]
No, you can drink the water
out of my shot.
Get the fuck out.
[Dustin] Can somebody... Oh!
I need my mom!
[Christopher] Yeah,
you know what, Marty?
I think you should clear out,
too.
[sobbing maniacally]
I pinned the camera down,
because I was watching a murder,
a very slow murder
in front of me.
[Thomas] During his tenure
on Dissident,
Dustin allegedly slept
with all three of the victims,
was committed to
a psychiatric ward twice,
and overdosed once
the day after Barbera died.
Dustin Scott
was never charged.
However, when Barbera
was murdered,
despite a public outcry
to shut down the film,
the search
for a new actress was on.
At this point,
uh, we are in the maelstrom.
This ship is taking on water.
The waves are crashing over
the deck.
The crew is mostly dead
of scurvy,
and the ones
that are still alive...
are considering mutiny.
And then at this exact moment,
a ship appears on the horizon.
A ship with its cannons firing
directly at us,
flying a pirate flag
with the name Greata Daniels.
-What is inside you?
-I've never died before.
You've never died before?
What a fucking statement
that is.
Fucking obvious.
What is inside you, Greata?
-Nothing.
-Exactly.
There's a saying in Hollywood.
The show must go on.
And with that, Dissident cast
its third lead actress,
Greata Daniels.
Sometimes I think
you just say fancy words
and think that they make sense,
but they don't,
because you just want
to impress everybody around you.
Greata was a combination of
Marla Singer from Fight Club
and Amy Dunne from Gone Girl.
A beautiful disaster.
You're so creepy.
Do you know that?
It's part of the thing.
I love it, but, like,
the shit that comes out
of your mouth sometimes
is just mind-blowing.
[Pearl] Greata was
a shooting star in the sky.
Greata was a genius
wrapped in pain.
When I find girls like this,
I peel them like an onion.
And I peel all the pain
and the hurt
and the trauma
and the distrust.
And you know
what's in that onion?
A pearl.
I don't think Greata was ready
for Dissident,
but Dissident definitely
wasn't ready for Greata.
They explained this to me.
She, she's an alcoholic, right?
-That's what we're dealing with?
-No, no, no, no, no.
This just keeps her level.
-It keeps her on an even keel.
-It's my natural state.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, so we
keep her at this even keel.
She's drunk
right at this moment?
No, no, I wouldn't
call it drunk.
-I would call it...
-You know what, Pearl?
A state of meditation.
That's exactly what we call it,
a state of meditation.
-It makes me a better actor.
-Yeah, and keep her even.
She was supposed to be
in rehab for 120 days.
We picked her up for production
[chuckles] on the 30th day.
I shot up
some Benadryl last night,
and then I did a lot of cocaine.
Do you think I'm gonna die?
What?
She just wasn't really easy
to work with,
but the second that she
really committed herself,
she's so talented
and incredible to watch.
I would find myself watching
her, like, magnetized almost,
like I could not take
my eyes away.
It was insane,
and everybody felt like that.
Everyone was obsessed
with her.
I mean, she could
have been a cult leader,
and we all would have
blindly followed
her every single move.
A little cute puppy,
and you just want to squeeze it
and throw it in the trash can.
I usually want to grab them
by their ankles and just,
you know, against the wall.
No, but, like, when a baby
is so cute, you just want to...
Greata was the most
unpredictable person
I've ever met.
I mean, you never knew which
version of her you would get
or if she would even show up.
Okay, I'll definitely
come tomorrow.
Okay, fantastic.
So, again, uh, Martin,
for you...
You couldn't count on Greata
for much,
but what you could count on is
the bigger the day, the less
likely it is she shows up.
[Tedd] Greata would just do
whatever she wanted.
It didn't matter
if she was shooting 30 minutes
or 30 hours on set.
She would just vanish.
Nobody could find her.
[Christopher]
All right, good morning, boys.
How we doing today?
Listen, I, uh,
I just got off the phone,
and Greata's gonna be
a no-show today.
[Martin] What?
Okay, yeah, Greata's not coming.
-What happened to Greata?
-Well, it doesn't matter.
A series of events
probably occurred,
all involving,
you know, strangers' dicks
and, uh, and, you know,
Colombian cocaine.
But that's not the point.
The point is she's not going
to be here.
[Chad] Greata's gonna do
whatever she wants
at any given moment.
Um, she's driven
purely by instinct
and her own id, I think.
If she wants cocaine,
that's what she's gonna do.
If she wants to show up on set,
great, she'll be there that day.
If not, tough shit.
[Ivan] We're getting ready
to do the big helicopter scene,
stuns several cameras,
everybody's in place.
It's a big, it's a big scene
to pull off.
Helicopter is in the air.
Everything is ready,
and Greata doesn't show up.
Yeah. No, it's okay.
We'll come get you.
Lisa, where's your fucking
client, boo?
-I'm leaving her a voicemail.
-She's not on the phone?
She is at a Vietnamese
restaurant in Burbank.
Okay, okay. Can we...
I think she just felt
that production revolved
around her.
No consideration for cast,
no consideration for crew,
no consideration for Pace.
Everyone out here is scared
of you.
I'm not scared of you.
I'm sexually attracted to you.
[Christopher] We're fucking
done! I'm done!
-Hi, sweetie. Yeah, okay.
-Fuck you! Fuck you!
Fuck her! I love you. I'm sorry.
It's not about you.
Fuck you! I'm done.
I love you too, Pace.
We contracted Greata
for nine months.
She was killed on the 60th day,
and of the 60 days,
she only showed up on set 37.
You can let her know,
or you let Tedd know,
that if she does not
come tomorrow,
I will fucking kill her,
'cause I don't appreciate
the volatility.
She's not here now,
she won't be here permanently.
That's it.
Greata was murdered that night
by THK.
The video of her murder,
like the others,
was posted
moments after it was taken.
And the next day,
the FBI officially classified
THK as a serial killer.
And that's when I got involved.
[eerie music]
[Greata screaming]
There's a level of infamy
that a serial killer makes it to
when they become
known forever.
Pop culture icons.
White women can't get enough.
BTK, Night Stalker, Zodiac.
Now we've got
The Hollywood Killer.
The first thing I did
when I got on this case
was to subpoena the footage.
Upon reviewing it, I learned
that the cameras were rolling
the entire time.
Something which I kept
to myself,
as I knew this would be
my greatest resource
of evidence.
And it was.
If anything ever happened to me,
if I ever died,
look at fucking Melvin.
It's definitely Melvin.
It's never a good sign
when the murdered person
calls you out by name,
but that's what happened
to our fifth suspect.
Melvin Asher.
[eerie music]
The overwhelming theory
on Melvin
is that he wasn't happy
with the actresses
and killed them one by one
until he got
the one he thought
could win him an Oscar.
His relationship with Greata
certainly didn't help his case.
Greata, if you fuck this movie
up for me,
I'll kill you.
The three things I look for
in every serial killer's mind
are lack of remorse,
the need to control,
and narcissistic
personality disorder.
[Thomas] Can you tell me
a little bit
about your relationship
with Melvin?
Yeah, I, uh, [chuckles]
I was the lead
of The Tarantula Prince.
That's his first movie.
It's kind of what broke him out.
You're welcome.
[dramatic classical music]
[swashbuckler laughs]
-[sword swishes]
-To your death!
[swashbucklers grunting]
Yeah!
On paper, Melvin's probably
your prototype for a killer.
He's got the size,
he's got the anger,
he's got the snapping,
all the psychosis that goes
into being able
to murder someone.
Hey, have you seen
this man's intensity?
Wait till you interview him.
That guy doesn't say anything
on accident.
I think his entire life story
is rehearsed in a mirror, man.
[grunting]
Today is the day I win an Oscar.
I will win an Oscar today.
I am not a contender.
I am the fucking adventurer.
I will win this fucking Oscar.
I am not a loser. I am a winner.
I am not a bridesmaid.
I'm the fucking bride.
Let's go.
[Thomas]
Do you think there's any chance
that Melvin Asher
was the killer?
[inhales sharply] Yeah, sure.
Uh, it's, uh, possible.
If I was to write the story
of Melvin as murderer,
I would tell it like this.
A man who has already achieved
great wealth and success
and fame
from the movies he's done
and yet is not satisfied.
He wants prestige.
He wants something more.
He wants to be taken seriously.
And he finds himself
on a movie where he believes
he can do just that.
And yet there are women
that he perceives to be
in his way.
Now, what does a man
who knows
he cannot achieve happiness
unless he wins an award
for this film,
what is this man willing
to do?
Would he kill for it?
In this story,
I believe he does.
You know, signing on to
Dissident was a dream for me.
Hey, Melvin.
What do you think bad acting
looks like?
-Like bad acting?
-There it is.
I see it. It's, it's like this.
I see it right now.
-Stop it.
-All right. All right, let's go.
Working with Pace is something
I wish every performer
could do.
Okay, he pulls the artist
from the actor.
And after doing
the Quick and Quicker films
for the last decade,
it's what I needed.
But knowing this footage
is out there,
I can understand how people
could have this perception
of me.
I hope they know that I truly,
truly cared about this film.
And then at my core, I'm...
You know, I'm just a good guy.
What the fuck, man?
Ivan, what are we
fucking doing?!
I know people have
their opinions on him,
but I love Melvin.
He's my godfather.
He took that role
very seriously.
He postponed production
on a major motion picture
so he wouldn't miss
the opening night
of my school play.
He taught me how to drive
when I was, like, 13.
And he was the first person
to say, "Do it,"
when I wanted to make movies.
That being said,
he had issues with the girls.
He fought with Ava.
It's really hard to act
with somebody who's so dumb,
but it's okay.
[Christopher]
This is a Melvin thing?
-Because of his stupidity?
-"So dumb"?
[Christopher] We had an entire
meeting about how stupid he is.
"So dumb"?
I mean, he has
45 million dollars, so...
Yeah, you know communication
is only 30% verbal, right?
So what you said doesn't matter.
I don't know that you know what
you're talking about at all.
I'm, guys, I'm so tired.
I really am hungry
and I gotta go.
[Christopher] Don't run away
from the fight.
-Just engage with him.
-Oh, no, no, no--
He's an asshole. He's the worst.
An asshole? I was trying
to help. I was trying to help.
-Subtext, okay? Great, awesome.
-Oh, yeah.
Oh, okay. So you're just--
You're so smart, sweetie.
Yeah, just look pretty.
You're very handsome.
That's good for you.
-Thank you. I appreciate that.
-Can we go?
He never thought Barbera
was right for the role.
-Get rid of her.
-No, I--
You know how much money
that's gonna cost?
You know,
all the things involved.
I don't know if I have it in me.
John, it'll cost you less money.
I'll waive my fee.
And Greata?
Well, he despised Greata.
This has been the pinnacle
of my career,
working with each and every one
of you.
I appreciate and I love
every single one of you
on this set, okay?
And I just wanna,
I just wanna thank you.
I love you all.
Uh, except for Greata.
I hope she fucking dies.
All right, that's it.
-Let's go.
-You're done?
Working with Greata was
the worst experience of my life.
-She even know here lines?
-You know your line?
[obnoxious chewing]
-Of course I know my lines.
-Can you say for me, please?
-Pearl?
-There you go.
Greata did not deserve
to be in this movie.
She had no respect for the craft
or her fellow actors.
She didn't even remember
her fucking line!
Okay, okay, okay.
You know what I want?
Where's her juice?
Where's her fucking--
No, no, this is what we need.
You've done the action films,
right? Okay?
I want you to apply
some pressure.
Sleeper hold.
Don't let her pass out!
Bro, you gotta fucking
microdose her!
Just a little bit.
-Give her her alcohol.
-That's the microdose!
[Melvin] I wanted to be
exceptional in this film.
And she was inhibiting me
from reaching my potential
with this character.
And I have to be honest.
It affected me.
Greata, do you know how many
scenes in cars I've had to do
to do this scene
in this fucking car?
First you threaten me,
and then you fucking yell at me!
I don't know
who you think you are,
but you're messing
with the wrong person.
You really don't wanna
fucking threaten me.
Melvin hates Greata
more than I hate Tedd.
My entire fucking life
I worked to be here!
In this car? Right now?
God, that must be depressing.
[Martin] It was never-ending,
all day,
every day.
Greata, Greata, Greata.
[sighs]
She's doing fucking coke.
She's showing up late.
It's un-fucking-believable, man!
[Martin] Hey, calm down.
No, no, she's fucking up
Pace's words, right?
She's fucking up Ivan's vision,
and she's fucking up my Oscar!
It's fucking, God...
If it's meant to be,
you'll get the Oscar.
-I am gonna get the Oscar.
-That's what I'm talking about.
She's fucking it up, man!
Pisses me off.
If all that wasn't enough,
Pace got Melvin to confess
to the murders.
You can do it.
"I strangled those three women."
-I strangled those three women.
-"And it felt good."
-And it felt good.
-"And it felt right."
-And it felt right.
-"Because it was right.
-Especially fucking Greata."
-[inhales sharply]
Oh, yeah, that one! That one!
[roars]
-Yes! Yes.
-[roars]
-That one felt good.
-[roars]
[Smitty] When he admitted
that he did the murder,
we didn't know whether
it was maybe performance,
you know, he's going after
that Oscar or not,
but, man, we all looked around
and said, "Holy shit."
[Thomas] What do you have
to say about the confession?
Method acting.
Melvin never wanted Ava,
Barbera, or Greata
in Dissident.
There was only one actress he
thought was right for the part.
And after every murder,
he would pitch her to Tedd.
Sort of singles
until we find a new actress.
-By the way, I talked to Tedd.
-Huh?
-Audrey's available.
-Who?
Audrey Evans.
Who is Audrey Evans?
You feel inspired?
No, I don't feel inspired.
I'm fucking freezing.
You can't take inspiration
from the cold?
I fucking hate you.
I, I fucking hate you.
I fantasize
about you fucking dying.
I hope you get fucking syphilis.
You probably already have it
because you're sleeping
with Ava.
I fucking hate you.
Everyone fucking hates you!
-Okay, okay, okay.
-And I hope you fucking die!
Now let's meet our fourth
and final girl,
Audrey Evans.
Audrey Evans, I, I'm a big fan.
She's really
an excellent actress.
She does all her own stunts.
There's really very little
that she has not accomplished.
I do think that her ending up
in Dissident makes sense.
She's there in a way
to avenge
her co-star from Blue Orchid,
Greata,
who had a tragic fate
on Dissident.
And I think, I think
she kicks ass in the film.
I think she does a great job.
I was so excited
to do this movie.
But...
The time has come.
For what?
It's time.
[laughing] I'm sorry.
Are we going?
This film was a nightmare.
I've never had a worse time
doing something.
They don't give you a script.
They don't tell you
what's happening.
You don't even know who else
is in the scene.
They just go.
They press record.
Actually, I don't even know
if they ever did press record
because it's just
constantly rolling.
You just go.
And people are just saying shit.
And you just have to go with it.
Why are you going along
with what he says?
Sister, I'm at the bottom
of the call sheet.
"Sister"?
What am I the fucking sister?
It's not my place!
I thought you were
my fucking friend.
-You are a joke.
-I am your friend.
-You fucking pussy!
-Ah! I'm your friend!
-You're a fucking loser!
-I'm your friend!
-You're a fucking--
-No! No! Ah!
-Not in the water!
-I fucking hate you!
I thought you were my friend,
you piece of shit!
Why are you just going along
with whatever the fuck he says?
[indistinct]
I have no control here.
What you have to understand
is that Audrey
comes into this film,
I don't know, 500 days into it
or something.
She's the fourth actress.
Three actresses have died.
She's got a lot
on her shoulders.
I mean, this is someone
who is following in footsteps
that are basically tainted.
And finally, most fundamental,
have you ever been inside
a Turkish prison?
-Why are you yelling?
-Why am I yelling?
Because I'm fucking passionate!
Why aren't you yelling?
After her first week on set,
Audrey called me and she said,
"I'm going to take over
this fucking movie."
Some people get on a bad set
and they see it as a problem.
I see it as an opportunity.
An opportunity to take over
the whole fucking production.
Choose a fucking side.
[Christopher] Cut!
Holy shit. [screams] Oh, my God.
Oh, calm down.
It's not even loaded.
Sorry.
I started off
as Audrey's assistant,
um, which, as we all know,
and you guys have seen,
um, was brutal.
Sandra, get the fuck out. Go on!
[Sandra] Oh, God. Oh, sorry.
I was one
of Audrey's biggest fans.
Oh, it's so hot.
Your mother called
and your agent called.
Who would you like me
to call back first?
-My agent.
-Okay.
I got that. Oh, let me see.
I mean, I grew up looking up
to her.
She's one of those people
that does her own stunts.
She's like the modern day
female version of Tom Cruise.
She's pretty incredible
and amazing.
Um, except she's just
a terrible person.
[crying]
I'm just really overwhelmed!
How is he supposed to do his job
if you're standing here crying?
-Yeah, you think about that.
-Waa! Waa! Waa! Waa!
Oh, my God,
just go to my trailer!
Fuck me! Sorry, she's just...
I remember Audrey's first day.
Pace said he wanted to test her,
but I think he wanted
to make her quit.
[Christopher] I need
less acting from the fire!
-[coughing]
-Down! Take it down!
[Martin] Look, we burned
through 11 Ferraris that day
to get a 10-second scene.
To Audrey, this was
all insane, but to all of us,
this was just another
typical day on Dissident.
[Audrey] You met me at
a strange time in my life.
We were so fortunate
to have Audrey.
She made this movie
and was just a pleasure
to share scenes with.
I know Audrey hated
Pace's methods,
but that's what it takes.
He does whatever he needs to get
the best out of you.
The real question
before we begin is,
do either of you know
what a paradox is?
-No.
-God, no.
And that's what he did
for Audrey.
He challenged her.
Both of you are movie stars
and yet are completely
without talent.
-This is a paradox.
-What?
It's not
that she's deeply untalented.
I won't say that.
I, I don't think Audrey
is, is untalented.
The, the issue is, you know,
what is your talent,
uh, being used for?
And like a cancer,
uh, Audrey's talent
is to turn the facets of life
of the film
in on themselves
and to destroy
from, from within.
Um, so a talented girl,
uh, uh, a terrible actress.
[Dustin] Whether you like him
or not, Pace is the boss.
And Audrey always wants to be
the boss.
She's a control freak.
She needs to take over
everything and manipulate it.
I'm about to
fucking direct this myself
if you don't fucking figure
your shit out!
I have, like, 0% body fat,
I'm fucking freezing,
and this has been going on
way too long!
Ah, shit!
-Don't fucking touch me!
-I don't know.
God, fuck!
I need you
to get this pine cone down!
Oh, my God! Where are you going?
To get the pine cone down!
[Audrey] I called Tedd,
crying,
begged him to get me out
of this shit show.
And I'll never forget
what he said.
He said, "The only way you're
getting out of this film
is in a body bag."
You just make up your mind,
I will do whatever you want.
Just choose one thing
and I will fucking...
[Christopher]
You'll do whatever I want?
I will, I will do
whatever you want.
[Christopher] That's fantastic.
Quit! Quit.
Quit. Leave the set.
I can't fire you 'cause I, I
already fired, uh, Barb,
tried to, then they killed her.
Greata, tried,
then they killed her.
Well, hopefully,
they'll fucking kill me.
[Christopher] I... God, you're
preaching to the fucking choir!
But if you want to avoid that,
why don't you just walk off
the set?
You know what I mean?
Wouldn't that be easier?
You just let go.
Imagine someone has their hands
around your throat, okay?
Just tell me what you want--
[Christopher] And they're--
I want you to quit.
I just want you to die.
You're struggling.
You're fighting back.
Just let go.
Let darkness take you.
Return to the void.
Just let go. There it is.
There it is. She's letting go.
We see that? Let go. Okay.
Keep letting go.
Beautiful. Can we roll?
-We rolling? Okay. Let go.
-[Ivan] Yeah, we're rolling.
[Christopher] This is beautiful.
All right. And action.
[heavy breathing]
No, you're holding on.
Let go. Let go!
No, don't make a snow angel.
There it is!
She let go.
Pace can say he hated Audrey
all he wants,
but he did all of this
very intentionally to get
the performance out of her
that he wanted.
And it worked.
[shallow breathing]
If you're lucky enough to get
out of here with your life,
you better thank whatever God
you pray to.
[sinister laughing]
[Christopher] You don't work
with people like Audrey.
You subvert them.
You survive them.
You participate
in little wars against them.
Small coups. You undermine them.
And you hope to God
that they die
of some sort of coronary event
before they ever complete
whatever task
they have set out on.
[grumbles]
Which brings us
to Audrey's attempted murder.
As you have seen,
even someone as gifted
as gifted as
The Hollywood Killer
was not able to complete
a scene with her.
Or was he?
[unsettling music]
[gasps] [screams]
Despite...
having all
of the circumstances
that allowed him to complete
these previous murders
successfully abdicates.
Have you seen the video?
He lets her go.
[choking] Help!
[choking]
[bellowing]
[panting] [grunts] Help!
Production on Dissident
wrapped
two days
after the attempted murder,
and as of the recording
of this interview,
The Hollywood Killer
has stopped,
leading many people
to believe that the killings
were motivated
by the killer's desire
to shut down Dissident.
With that in mind,
I want to look back
at all of the suspects.
Christopher Pace swore
that he would do anything
to protect his film,
even burn it to the ground.
Lawrence Hughes was devastated
with Ava leaving him
and vowed to destroy the film.
Tedd Mankiewicz,
with a billion-dollar divorce
looming,
his reputation on the line,
and an ego-shattering affair
between Dustin and Barbera,
some say Dissident hurt Tedd
more than anyone else.
No one wanted the film to end
more than Dustin.
His downward spiral
of heartbreak, addiction,
and death took him to the edge
and pushed him right off.
Melvin Asher, on his quest
for perfection, as an actor,
Melvin made it clear
that he would destroy anyone
who stood in his way.
When I started,
I thought I was trying
to find something like
the Zodiac Killer.
But the longer this went on,
the more I realized this may be
more of
a Orient Express situation.
All the suspects
were isolated,
fed disinformation,
then weaponized with rage.
Hollywood Killer's
cinematic fingerprint
is different
in each of the murders.
We are watching
different killers
working from the same script.
But the question is,
who wrote it?
After 20 years
of profiling serial killers,
there's one thing
I can tell you.
There's no way one suspect
could have killed
all three victims.
And there's no way
these people work together.
So after considering
all possibilities,
only one person
stood to benefit
from all three deaths.
The man who owns 20%
of the film,
who kept the cameras rolling
the whole time,
and used the murders
of these three actresses
to launch the most impactful
marketing campaign
in cinema history.
They say there's nothing
more deceptive
than an obvious fact.
And the fact is
the mastermind of all of this
was there the whole time,
hiding in plain sight.
I've been working on this
documentary for a long time.
And I think when it comes out
and people see this,
they're going to think
that you did this on purpose.
You know what?
This world is all about
the court of public opinion.
And I'm not interested in it.
I'm just interested
in creating art.
Hopefully, my work will be
judged by the art that I leave,
that I create.
There's no denying that.
Dissident is a masterpiece
and the biggest movie
of all time.
And it changed
the film industry forever.
I know.
I think that's my legacy.
[Thomas] So I guess
the question I wanna know,
and I guess the question
everybody wants to know, is,
did you know
this was gonna happen?
Every great cinematic villain
has that moment
when they reveal their plan.
They do it because they know,
no matter what they say,
you can't stop it.
But Demy's plan was
to change Hollywood forever.
And he did that.
Give someone a mirror
and they will see themselves.
Give them art
and you will see their soul.
And now his masterpiece
is complete.
[Christopher] We burned
through $90 million of film.
[Mervin] If you ruin
this movie,
I'll have you killed.
[John] What does it take
to be an actor?
[Ava] Do you think
I'm gonna die?
[Anne] I got
that murder energy.
Does yelling make a scene good?
[Audrey] The only way
you're getting out of here
is in a body bag.
[Man] There are no
second takes in life.
[Demy] It's unfortunate
the way it is all laid out.
[indistinct]
I don't want to die.
[Lawrence] I miss her more
than any human being
that's ever lived.
[Christopher] They hear
that level of passion.
They hear that level
of commitment.
And they want to be
involved in it.
[Demy] Why do you watch this?
[Dustin] What I'm here for
is for that image.
[Christopher] Now we're going
to have to improvise.
[Anne] You find out about
three women
starring in this
one movie all die.
[John] You don't get news
like that every day.
[Christopher] Making a film
requires
the greatest sacrifice.
[Dustin] He might be the best
director that we've ever seen.
[Demy] And it's often
reputation.
That's the intent
of all my work.
[Christopher] I can just do
things that I normally...
Do you know how many actresses
have died trying
to make this film?
[Thomas] It's the greatest
story ever told.
And Hollywood didn't write it.
[uplifting music]