Spinning Gold (2023) Movie Script

1
[footsteps tap,
hand thumps microphone]
[cymbal sounds]
[rustles]
[drumstick click together]
[rustles]
[feedback hums]
[acoustic guitar being tuned]
[electric guitar plays]
[various instruments warm up]
[warm-up continues]
[man] One, two,
one, two, three, four.
[band plays together]
[Neil] Did you know there's
actually only one groove
-on a record?
-[clap, stomp, clap]
It's true.
Yeah. It looks like all these
individual circles,
-but no, it's just one.
-[stomp, clap, stomp]
One single line,
1,500 feet of it, to be exact,
a third of a mile carving
its way round and round
in circles until...
[clap, stomp, clap]
it finally just ends.
To make a record it
takes 100 tons of pressure
applied under 1,000 degrees
of heat,
all to create
this perfect vinyl platter.
[clap, clap, stomp]
Now, what music
goes on the record,
well, that's where I come in.
I... am a record man.
He taught me how
To watch
Fight and pray
Hey!
-Whoo!
-Fight and pray
Sing it!
And in rejoicing
Every day
Every day
That, right there,
ah, that is why I'm here,
Mr. Hawkins.
You got call-in requests
breaking records,
lightning in a bottle,
yet no one east of here
has ever heard it.
You heard it,
as did six other labels,
-all making offers right now.
-Five other labels, Mr. Hawkins,
and you've only spoken
to the head of one of them.
Now, give me this song
and I promise you,
we will own radio.
I mean,
a gospel-pop crossover?
No one's ever done
that before!
This is why I'm here.
This is what I do,
and I promise you
right here in this church
before God,
there is just no one better.
No, no. You called me
Mr. Hawkins, not Reverend.
I'm not pretending there's not
a line.
I am just respecting when
to cross it.
Oh happy day
Now, do we want to talk
in height or weight?
Because that right there
is about four inches.
[Hawkins]
Mm.
Yes?
[stomp, clap]
Oh happy day
-[stomp, clap]
-[Neil] Yes? Yes?
Oh happy day
Oh, come on!
Yes?
-Yes, yes.
-Yes!
We will do an awful lot
of God's work.
Oh, happy day.
[Hawkins] Happy day.
Whoo!
Oh happy day
Singing oh happy day
Oh happy day
Oh happy happy day
Oh happy day
Oh happy happy day
Oh happy day
[laughs]
Whoo
Oh happy day
Oh happy day
[Neil] Who told you that?
Buck? Cecil?
You talk
to Hawkins himself?
"Oh, Happy Day" sold
over seven million records.
It even won us a Grammy.
Hmm.
Alright. The choir
wasn't actually there
when I got arrived.
I didn't get up the stage
and perform the song,
but you know what?
I could have.
Hell of a lot more fun
to tell it that way, though.
[sighs] You realize that that's
gonna be the problem
with all these stories, right?
Listen. I'm not... I'm not sayig
that people are gonna be lying.
It's just... Okay.
Well, some of them might be.
It's just that memories,
memories are complicated,
you know.
We remember
what we wanna remember.
And we forget
what we need to forget.
[flame roars]
[crackles]
To be at the heart of something
as impossibly successful
as what we had...
Gladys Knight,
the Isley Brothers,
Bill Withers, Parliament,
the Village People, Kiss,
and Donna...
it's... How do you expect me to
tell you
how all that really happened?
Couple guys broke as we were
to making
over $100 million a year.
I mean, first, you'd have
to understand our crew,
because there was just no one
else ever like them.
Cecil was my best friend.
He was also a record executive
who loved the artists
and the music
even more than the business,
and the artists themselves...
Oh, my God.
They sure loved him... [chuckle]
and trusted him,
more than they ever trusted me.
Larry was a music fan
long before he ever became
an executive.
It was why he was so effective
staying out on the road
with the bands.
He was also my cousin,
and all great business
is family.
Buck had been a short-order
cook before he married Nancy.
Our PR man,
he was the connection guy
who could convince
just about anyone
to do just about anything.
[Neil laughs]
And Nancy.
God. Every DJ
and radio program director
just loved Nance.
She was our secret weapon,
getting our music on the air
and into your lives.
She was also my wife's sister.
Beth was, um...
Well, she was the first person
who ever believed
my dreams could be
more than just dreams.
She was the first one
to ever truly believe in me.
And Joyce... [chuckles]
You know, I may have met her
as Kiss's manager, but...
well, we'll get to Joyce.
Just... give me a little time.
Look. I know that we've been
blamed for a lot of bad things
that happened,
and I'm not saying
it's not sex, drugs, and rock
and roll, because it was.
It's just, it was sex before
it was deadly, you know?
And finding out who wasn't
doing drugs would be
a hell of a lot harder story
for you to tell.
But if what you're after
is the truth
of not just what happened
but how it happened,
then, you know, you're
just gonna have to believe
all of it, because every
single bit of it
was true.
Even the parts that weren't.
Everybody everywhere
Los Angeles,
February 18, 1974.
There's a hell of a lot
that comes before that night,
but the story you want
to hear,
well, this is
where it all really begins.
Having moved out to California
only two months before,
we were throwing
the biggest party Los Angeles
had ever thrown,
to launch Casablanca Records,
the biggest
independent record label
anyone had ever launched.
[man]
Absolutely I am. hit me.
[Neil] And we only had one
band to do it with,
and they were... well,
they were, uh, different.
I think this was a mistake.
We should not let them go
on tonight.
-Bill, it's gonna be great.
-Yeah? For who? Him or us?
[man] Are you really gonna
put those guys up there
wearing those stupid costumes
and that stupid makeup?
It's who they are, Joe.
Nobody knows who they are yet.
You know, I got friends
at Warner Brothers,
and people are talking.
And they're not talking
the way you want to hear.
You know what they're
not talking about, Joey? Huh?
Shit that doesn't scare them.
-Nelly, we're ready.
-Yeah. Or excite them!
Or make 'em want to dance
or laugh or fuck or cry
or fucking matter at all.
Thank you, because the fact
that people are talking,
that's music to my ears.
And you really spent all
the three million dollars
Warners gave you as
an advance?
Actually,
I spent four million.
Show time, Neil.
Ooh, sounds like they're
playing my song.
Yeah, well, just remember,
the house always wins,
even against you.
-You wanna bet?
-I bet they suck.
[Neil]
Uh-huh.
Mwah.
[crowd applauds]
Hello. So, I had a thought...
[chuckles]
on my way
over here tonight.
I thought to myself,
"What the hell am I doing
in Humphrey Bogart's
actual suit?"
[Neil, some audience members
chuckle]
Poor kid
from the Brooklyn projects,
son of a postman.
Oh, stand up, Pops. Pops.
-There he is.
-Thank you. Thank you.
-Oh, sure. Take a bow. Why not?
-Learned everything from me.
Bad stuff from his mother.
[Neil laughs]
Hell of a long trip
from Brooklyn, huh?
[Father]
Not so far, kid.
Dreams...
only come true for those who
believe in them.
So, tonight,
to celebrate the launch
of the biggest independent
record label in history,
we thought we'd share
some of our dreams with you.
So, you may have heard them
on the radio,
but after what you're
about to experience tonight,
you're never gonna forget
these guys.
So, put your two lips together
for the hottest band
in the world, KISS!

[Joyce] Yeah, yeah, yeah,
that way.
-[Paul] Hello, Los Angeles!
-Ah!
-[Paul] How we feeling tonight?
-[Joyce] Yeah, good. More.
[someone coughs]
Well the night's begun
And you want some fun
Do you think
you're gonna find it?
Think you're gonna find it
You got to treat yourself
like number one
Do you need to be reminded?
Need to be reminded?
It doesn't matter
what you do or say
Just forget the things
that you've been told
[feedback screeches]
We can't do it
any other way
Everybody's got
to rock and roll
Whoa, whoa
Shout it, shout it
Shout it out loud
Yeah!
Shout it, shout it
Shout it out loud
[music fades]
[Neil] You know, Kiss
may have been
unlike anything anyone
had ever seen,
but I could see them.
[soft piano music plays,
static crackles]
I could see it all.




[KISS song fades in]
[someone coughs]
Performance was great.
I just, um...
you know,
forgot about the smoke.
And the fire alarm.
And the sprinklers.
Shout it, shout it
Shout it out loud
Oh, shit!
[feedback screeches]
Shout it, shout it
[Joyce] Guys, don't stop
playing.
Shout it out loud
[feedback screeches]
-[roars]
-Shout it, shout it
Shout it out loud

[man]
You fucking kidding me?
[man]
Alright. Guys. Guys. Guys.
I knew they were gonna suck.
Kiss my ass.
It's not your fault, guys.
They don't understand art.
Just be careful around
the water.
-I fucking warned you!
-Don't touch anything.
-Neil!
-Don't touch...
Don't electrocute...
-Paul, please.
-[Joyce] Paul. Paul, come on.
[Neil] Just like that...
the night it all began...
we were finished.
[lighter clicking]

[Nancy] You okay?

You made it rain
inside, Daddy.
Do another trick.
I'm working on it, honey.
I'll get Jill home
to Beth and the boys.
Just tell her
I'll be home soon.
But you promised
we'd dance, Daddy!
You bet I did.
Prettiest girl
in all the world.






I had worked my whole life
leading up to that night,
but KISS was dead the moment
they took that stage.
The town just hated them.

About the time
I got home to Beth,
even she had heard
what a disaster it had been.
From the day I married her,
she always knew
the truth I was hiding.
She just...
didn't always admit it.
[Beth] Hey, you okay?
Your sister tell you
what happened tonight?
Yeah.
[Neil] Even with everything
that had happened
along the way,
we'd still always been
better together.



They, uh, say the biggest sin
of a record man
is believing in something
because you have to,
not because you do. [chuckles]
But I had believed in Kiss,
and I knew
what Casablanca could be.
Get yourself together
But after the party, the town
was already celebrating
-the death of Casablanca.
-[phones ring]
[crashes]
Hello, Casablanca.
[Neil] Not that that was gonna
stop us.
[Nancy] Mark Parenteau, WABX!
Kiss just got added
to regular rotation
in Detroit.
Nance, you paid off Mark
to do that, didn't you?
Of course I did.
Mwah! Love this woman.
Mo Ostin at Warners
needs you to call him back.
-Of course he does.
-He called six times.
[laughs] Of course he did.
Hey, Cec!
[Cecil] Hey. Bill called.
Gene and Paul
are demanding a meeting.
[Neil] Oh. Just tell them
to get ready for the tour.
-You got KISS a tour?
-No, but you're gonna do it.
Just find 'em a headliner
that's not gonna be intimidated
by them as an opening act.
New artist from Giorgio.
He'll be expecting a yes.
-Scotty! You listen to this yet?
-[Cecil] Ah, yeah,
but they're Giorgio, you know?
They're different.
-How different?
-After last night,
too different.
[Neil] Last night went exactly
as we expected,
and that includes
the sprinklers.
-[Scotty] All set.
-[Cecil] Like hell it did.

I love to love you baby
[Neil] Her voice just...
cut right through me.
You layin' so close to me
There's no place
I'd rather you be
Then with me here
Ooh I
Love to love you baby
[woman]
Play that again.
I love to love you baby
I love to love you baby
Do it to me again and again
Yeah. Get me Giorgio.
["Love To Love You Baby"
continues to play]
[Scotty] He's ready for you,
Mr. Moroder.
Sorry I missed it, your party.
I spoke to Cess-ull.
-Cee-sull.
-You have no money.
Ha-ha. Well,
there's always money, Giorgio,
if you know where to find it.
Listen. Those new songs of yours
were different.
The eighth
and the sixteenth notes,
that open hi-hat
on the down-beat.
[imitates cymbals]
That's new. It makes you move.
[Giorgio]
Mm-hmm.
Where did you find that voice?
An American girl.
She does the musicals in Munich.
LaDonna Gaines.
Gaines. Gaines.
Her first husband's name was
Sommer.
[snaps] Everything is hotter
in summer.
An Italian from Germany
writing in English.
You know what?
Maybe we pretend she's German.
I never could figure out
his accent.
What? Neil, you can't afford
to buy my music.
I may not have been
at your party,
but I could read. Even English.
The party was to announce
that we're open for business,
and now, we're on the cover
of everything.
Because they say
you're finished.
That's 'cause they don't know
what starting looks like,
Giorgio. Now, I don't want
your music for our label, okay?
I want it for yours.
Oasis through Casablanca.
You let them write about that.
Giorgio, why don't we take
a look at some artwork?
[Cecil] Good old flash paper
trick, huh?
[Buck] Oh! Nelly, Warners wants
to bleed us to death.
I snuck a tape recorder into
their little sales meeting.
They wanna kill KISS
to kill us.
[phones ringing]
[Scotty]
Hello, Casablanca.
Neil, I think
you're overreacting.
Oh, really? So you're telling me
that Bruce here
did not tell your teams
not to push our records?
Bruce, the boys have concerns
about how we're
handling Casablanca.
[Buck] Actually, Brucie,
the boys here are concerned
that you might be a spineless
little cocksucker.
-Oh, yeah. That's also true.
-Well, we don't have
any actual proof
about the cock-sucking.
But we all know, and no one
here's gonna judge you, Bruce.
-Fuck you, and fuck you!
-You see that, Mo?
He's trying to fuck me.
I don't blame him.
[Bruce] Nobody gives a shit
about KISS.
-Were you not at the party?
-This ain't got a damn thing
to do about the party, and you
know it.
Oh, you're right about that.
It's about the fact that they
can't cut a radio hit.
Their bullshit stage tricks
make them a fucking joke,
not an act. That's why
their record's not selling.
[Neil] I wanna play you
a little something
from our newest record.
You're an asshole, Bruce.
Mo, just take a listen.
It's got a hell of a hook.
[Bruce on recording]
We don't promote KISS
or any Casablanca records.
We don't push 'em,
they can't sell 'em,
and that's how we end 'em.
-Fuckin' bleed 'em to death.
-[machine clicks off]
-You fucking recorded me?
-[Buck] Don't touch me.
-My wife got me that table.
-He fucking touched me, man.
[Bruce] What the fuck?
This is fucking Warner Brothers,
not some fucking
New York back alley
you just crawled out of,
assholes!
You messed with our business,
Bruce, and nobody,
fucking nobody,
messes with our business,
-not even you, Mo.
-What the hell
do you really want?
Huh? You didn't come
all the way over here
just to beat up Bruce.
-I did.
-No.
We want out.
-From our distribution?
-Fucking everything, all of it.
[laughs] You're broke.
The whole town knows it.
What are you gonna do?
Go door to door
across the country,
selling your records yourselves?
You'll never survive without us.
No. We'll never survive
with you.
You're gonna remember
this fucking meeting.
No, and... and not
with a fucking smile.
So, bill me for your table
and have a nice fucking day.
Hey. You do know
no one's ever done this before?
Because no one's
ever tried before.
[Neil] Launching
our own distribution, we weren't
just going up against Warners.
We were waging an all-out war
against all the majors at once.
But if we were gonna survive,
we absolutely needed a hit,
which meant we absolutely
needed something new.
LaDonna Adrian Gaines
may have been born in Boston,
but her dreams had landed her
in Germany,
which is where her story with us
really begins.
-You're late.
-I'm as early as I could be.
He's releasing the song
in America,
and I mean right away.
What? We haven't even recorded
the real song yet.
-It's just a demo.
-When I'm done with the mix,
no one will care.
[scoffs] I'll care.
Uh, you gave him control
over how I look?
He creates an image, a story.
It's what he does.
Well, don't you think he should
at least meet the real me
before he decides there needs
to be a fake one created?
LaDonna, your daughter
is asleep in the hallway
instead of a bedroom
all her own, dreaming
a sweeter dream than you
could ever provide her alone.
You will never get
another chance like this.
Sign it.
They... they legally changed
my name?
He changed his, too.
[Neil]
He was right. I had.
[chuckles] And not just once.
I was actually
born Neil Bogatz,
growing up
in the Glenwood projects
of Brooklyn, New York.
Alright, Neil.
What else do you want?
[coin jingles]
All of it.
By the time
I was eight years old,
I already knew
that the life that I wanted
was far, far away from here.

[punches land]
-[Al grunts]
-[glass shatters]
Please. I swear!
[man]
You hear that, kid?
Your pops says
he swears this time!
[laughs]
[Al groans]

You dropped your egg cream.
We'll get you a refill.
[grunts]

Are we poor, Pop?
What?
What you worried about? Huh?
Hey, money's easy.
You can always find money.
A person's got to know
what to do with it.
That's what counts.
Do you know what to do with it?
Because it's not here.
[chuckles]
Do me a favor, boychik.
Look at all these people, huh?
Now, you got a choice. You can
live in a four-color world
or one in black and white
like all these schmucks
too terrified
to dream of a world
outside
of our four shitty blocks.
Eh, not me.
I know what to do with it.
I'm gonna get us
the hell out of here.
Hey. I promise you.
Just... need a little more tim.
That's all.
[machines whir]
Neil, you got
all the machines going.
It saves my time,
Mrs. Finkelstein.
If I leave these with you,
you'll put them in
when you're done?
I'll give you five cents.
Ten cents.
Saves your time.
You better fold them.
-[man] Let's go!
-[Neil] Within a month,
I had 40 kids
working the neighborhood.
[kid] Here's how it's gonna go.
I'm gonna assign...
[Neil] Within two, I was
bringing in more than my dad.
You know how it feels
making more money
than your father?
Exactly how you think it does.
By 1961, I had changed
my name again to Neil Scott.
I tried acting, playing
the piano, even the sax,
and while I always wanted
to be a singer,
it was as a dancer that
I finally found the beat.

My fiance,
Erminie McNulty, everybody.
[crowd applauds]
I am Neil Scott, your singer,
your dance instructor,
and anything else
you need me to be tonight.
[crowd chatters]
But, uh, that's not
why I'm telling you this part.

Dance.
Is that a statement
or a question
without the inflection
at the end?
Dance with me.
We don't dance with the staff.
Our parents own the hotel.
Well, okay.
Well, then I work for you.
From within
a dim light cast
Two silhouettes on the shade
Oh what a lovely couple
They made
Put his arms
around your waist
Held you tight
Kisses I could almost taste
In the night
Wondered why I'm not the guy
Where did you learn to dance
like this?
I couldn't hide
My father.
The tears in my eyes
Silhouettes silhouettes
silhouettes silhouettes
So, you met your lawyer yet?
Your doctor?
Whoever your parents
have already set up for you?
Silhouettes silhouettes
They'll never be able
to compete.
[chuckles] With you?
With you.

All this really the life
that you want?
When you're all alone
and nobody's watching...
Lost control
and rang your bell
...lights are out...
I was sore
...just about to fall asleep..
Let me in or else I'll beat
Down your door
...what do you dream?
When two strangers
who had been
Dreams are for children.
...silhouettes
on the shade
You don't really believe that.
You're on the wrong block
Someone just told you you did.
Bah bah bah bah bah bah
bah bah bah bah bah bah
Bah bah bah bah bah bah
bah bah bah bah bah bah bah
What do you dream of, Neil?
Tonight... I'm gonna dream
about how it feels
dancing with you right now.
Loved you
like I never loved
You my sweet
Vowed that you and I
would be
Two silhouettes on the shade
All of our days
Two silhouettes on the shade
Silhouettes silhouettes
silhouettes silhouettes
Silhouettes silhouettes
ah oh
Two silhouettes
With Beth, I finally felt
everything was possible.
All we had to decide
was which dream came next.
[rock music plays]
Yeah. No. The second verse
still needs be pop-ier,
right up into the break.
Licorice
And then boom! That,
that is when they will swoon.
-Who's gonna swoon?
-The girls, Mr. Darnell,
the ones actually buying
the records.
The girls buy records
after the first take, Neil.
-Trust me.
-Let's just do it again.
-I know I'm right about this.
-How?
Because I can hear it!
Can't you? Come on!
[phone rings outside]
So, Murray-The-K
does a monthly competition.
He pits one new single
against another.
The one that comes out on top,
he spins it
'til the grooves wear out.
Well, okay.
So, when do we start?
Next month.
This month, it's against Elvis.
-Neil.
-What? Bill, I know the contest.
The... the call-in votes
can only be local, right?
-We can beat him!
-No, you can't.
Yes, we can!
It's against Elvis!
Presley, Neil.
[phone rings outside]
[man on radio] The votes are in!
The game is won,
and the hot new kid
from Brooklyn
just beat Elvis Presley!
-We beat Elvis.
-We beat Elvis!
Oh, my God! Neil!
My baby's kisses
taste like candy
Every time
that her lips touch mine
I don't want to stop
Oh we can dream
About our someday
When I see my sugar
Down at the candy shop
She's the cherry on top
My life was bittersweet
Before her
She's the cherry on top
She floats my ice cream
When she smiles
She's the cherry on top
I'm crazy for her lips
Bright red like licorice
[band continues to play,
crowd cheers]
Okay. So, where do we dream
from here?
[DJ] This is Murray-The-K,
WINS,
where Neil Scott is the name
you're gonna wanna remember!
Uno, dos, one, two
Yeah...
As Neil Scott, I'd recorded
two more songs
for Portrait Records,
but we'd made "Cherry On Top"
a hit.
It never made me one.
One-hit wonder.
Well, you know that story.
Anyway, after a short stint
as soft porn actor
Wayne Stewart,
which there's really no need
to get into now,
I'd become Wayne Roberts,
freelancing
for Fortune Employment,
you know,
getting other people jobs,
when MGM Records called
looking for someone
to run record promotions.
And well, fuck me
if I didn't know just the guy.
["Wooly Bully" plays]
His name?
[Beth]
You changed our names?
After Humphrey Bogart?
Here's lookin' at us, kid.
Us? Does that mean
I get a say in this?
Yeah, of course.
You get a say in everything.
We'll take a vote.
Did you really change our names?
Well, you got to write down
your vote. You know,
who do you...
who do you wanna be?
[chuckles] I want to be me.
Okay. Well, you got to...
You gonna vote or not?
You got to do the vote.
You got to do the vote.
-Ready?
-Mm-hmm.
Come on. Come on.
Ooh. Bogatz. Bogart. Bogart!
-I win! I get two votes!
-Why?
I get two votes,
because I voted on that, too!
Come on. Come on.
It's finally
the record business again,
for real this time.
For real this time?
Yeah. For real.
And what do we change
after our names, huh?
Huh?
Everything.
-Listen.
-Neil.
-You put this on the side.
-Neil, how many...
Put it down here. You put it up
here. You got a big,
-big, yellow sign...
-I put what I want in my window,
-Neil!
-saying, "Come look
-at my merchandise!"
-How many times
do I gotta tell you?
I put what I want in my window!
-Come on. It's a great song.
-Neil, you just keep trying,
-okay, buddy?
-It's a great song. Okay.
One week. One week.
I take it down after one week.
-Then we put a new one up.
-What are you gonna do for me?
You're asking him
to advertise your records.
No. I'm asking him to put
a couple posters up
in the window.
It's not the same thing.
It's exactly the same thing,
except you're asking him
-to do it for free.
-Well, you know, MGM won't pay
for local advertising.
Who says you have to call it
advertising?
MGM won't pay for anything.
["Wooly Bully"
continues to play]
Who says
it has to come from them, huh?
Wooly bully
Wooly bully
Wooly bully, wooly bully
-No.
-I already voted.
Wooly bully
Watch it now, watch it
And this is what comes next.
You got it, you got it
Yeah
Yeah
You're moving up
in the world, Neil.
["Wooly Bully"
continues to play]
[Neil] I wasn't running
promotions for a year
before I was running it all.
No. I...
["Wooly Bully"
continues to play]
[laughs] I'm running
MGM Records,
and I didn't even finish
high school.
Matty told Hatty
And there's not a single person
who ever did finish high school
that could possibly be better
at running MGM Records.
Get you someone really
To pull the wool with you
I'll teach you.
Wooly bully
Wooly bully
Wooly bully
I know what comes next.
Wooly bully
Watch it now, watch it
Here it come
You got it, you got it
This is what I dreamt of.
The night you asked me
when we first met?
This was my dream.

Yummy yummy yummy
I got love in my tummy
[Neil] Buddah Records,
1650 Broadway in the Brill.
[dings]
Other than what we'd create
later at Casablanca,
no more infamous address
in the music business
ever existed.
Ooh love to hold you
Ooh love to kiss you
We'd built the kind
of independent record company
that no one
had ever seen before.
The artists worked with us,
not for us.
They were family,
and that made
all the difference.
Neil.
He'll see us.
[Buck]
Still holding. Buck.
[banging]
[bangs]
Hey, man.
What the fuck you doing?
What the fuck
it look like, black?
Trying to open the... [rattles]
fucking window.
You're the ones making
a lot of noise downstairs,
that Buddah Records. Yeah.
[Neil] Big music
needs big speakers, Ron.
Big music needs big dollars,
Neil. Black dollars.
Green dollars, my man.
It's the only color that
matters.
Maybe to you.
So, Cec tells me
you recorded something new.
-I want it.
-You ain't even heard it yet.
Well, you're
the fucking Isley Brothers.
So, if Motown is too busy
to make you a priority,
then Berry Gordy
can go to the record stores
and buy your fucking music
like everybody else.
Plus, you know that we
move product better than anyone.
We know y'all be paying
motherfuckin' DJs
to play the records
you tell them to.
We don't get pimped out.
You dig?
Because we are
the motherfuckin' Isleys.
God damn right.
But you got to be out your mind.
You going head to head
with Berry Gordy himself.
Well, it is called
show business.
So, why don't you play me
the song that we're releasing
off of your own new label?
-Our own new label?
-[Neil] Mm-hmm.
That's what you're offering us?
[Neil]
Well, that's your thing, right?
It's a black thing.
A black label.
Careful, motherfucker.
You talk a good talk,
but there's a line.
I'm sorry. I thought
you didn't believe in lines.
You played him
the motherfucking record,
didn't you? Because he wouldn't
even be acting like this
-if he ain't heard the shit.
-[Neil laughs]
-I sang it for him.
-Don't be lying to me, man.
It's a hot fucking song, Ron.
The man had to hear it.
Do me a favor. Why don't you
scoot on over, Ronnie?
Who the fuck you calling...
This motherfucker
-just called me Ronnie.
-You don't know him like that.
Don't be callin' the man Ronnie.
Um, just a term
of endearment, alright?
Do I look like
a motherfucking Ronnie to you?
[shouting] Do I look
like a motherfucking Ronnie
to you?
As a matter of fact,
yeah, you look
exactly like a fuckin' Ronnie.
[chuckles]
[chuckles]
You're a crazy motherfucker.
You got some balls, man.
Let me show you a few ideas
I've been hearing in your music.
[Ronald] Oh, now, you got ideas
to my fucking music.
Yeah.
Show me what you got, Neil.
[machine clicks, music plays]
That dirty guitar?
No, no.
You got to turn that shit up.
That nasty brass. Oh.
You tell me that each punch
isn't meant to cut Berry Gordy
right through the fucking gut.
You're a dangerous man,
ain't you?
No, man. I'm just the guy
who knows that you are,
and you fucking should be.
But knockout punches,
they gotta come clean,
be relentless,
and never stop until the body
hits the fucking floor!
[machine clicks,
music plays louder]

Now, that's a hit.
[music continues to play]
Motherfucker.

-Hey.
-What's up?
[all speak indistinctly
while music plays loudly]

What's going on, brother?
Whoo!
[Neil]
Ron Isley!
[men talk indistinctly
while music plays loudly]
[music continues to play]
It's your thing
Do what you want to do
I can't tell you
who to sock it to
Said it's your thing girl
Do what you want to do
Said I can't tell you
Who to sock it to
Oh
[Neil]
Ron wasn't completely wrong
about us and the DJs.
Now, you may have heard of this
as something called payola,
but to us...
Mm. It was just another day
at the office.
You need love now
just as bad as I do
Oh makes no difference now
Who you give your thing to
Oh it's your thing
Frankie Crocker was
one of the most influential DJs
in the business,
which is saying a lot,
since he was
one of the only black DJs
white audiences ever accepted.
Said it's your thing girl
Oh
Said it's your thing girl
Oh baby
The thing no one ever really got
about payola
is that we never paid anyone
to play records
they didn't wanna play.
-Whoo!
-Ron, you got
-my damn table pregnant.
-[laughs]
[Neil] But did we spread
a little love to get our records
a little more attention?
What do you think?
The records were spinning
as fast as we were.
The hits just kept coming.
There was nothing
that could stop us.
They bought the company?
These fucking guys?
Viewlex. They make
film projector lenses.
Which means they know
absolutely fucking nothing
about the music business.
One toke over the line
sweet Jesus
One toke over the line
Singing about Jesus again.
Really?
I think
you're missing the subtext.
[Cecil] You wanna sell this
as gospel?
It says "sweet Mary".
What the hell do you think
they're singing about?
I know exactly what they're
singing about,
-and so do you.
-Sweet Mary.
[Nancy]
Cash and airplanes again?
[Neil] Ooh! Hello, boys!
[man] Where do you think you're
going with all that cash?
-Uh, to make more of it, Darren.
-I'm Darren. He's Damon.
-[Neil] Oh, shit.
-[Buck] Sorry. Did I do that?
I'm just excited
about Jesus and Mary.
It's... it's a druggie song!
Did he just call it
a druggie song?
You cannot buy this record!
I made over a million dollars
for your bosses last month.
How much did you make them?
That my mama said
[gong crashes]
If I should choose
to make a part of me
Would surely strike me dead
And now I'm
one toke over the line
[Neil] Buddah Records became
one of the most successful
independent labels
there ever was.
Every single bet we'd made,
we'd been right.
But every gambler knows
you don't cash your ticket
until your horse
actually crosses the line.
-[Al] Hey, hey.
-There he is.
Why we meeting here?
You want a tip or something?
[Neil laughs]
Look at that.
You see the one
called, uh, Ghost Train?
Yeah. Don't know him.
She's mine, Pop.
I just bought her.
No.
Yeah. You know,
people bet on her.
That means
they're betting on me.
Wow. Well,
you're always in a rush.
Now, you got a horse
to prove it.
Why don't you
come in with me, hmm?
We can be partners.
Partners on a horse?
Yeah, sure.
No. I... I don't know
about feeding and training
and all that bullshit
at my age.
Nah. You go ahead.
I, uh, I got my own things
going on.
-It's going great.
-You sure? 'Cause when you
-called, it was...
-No, I mean, I got...
-a cash flow situation.
-Oh.
Temporary. You know,
it's nothing.
The bookies I got, they're
saying it's, like five.
Closer to ten, you know,
but it's...
They're talking
out of their asses.
I... I'll clear it up.
It's nothing.
I'll get it back to you,
all of it.
-I just need a little time.
-I know, Pop.
Hey, I'm not worried.
Why would you?
Swinging for the trees,
right, boychik?
You got the...
you got the horse
and your singers
and... and the big time life.
Look at you.
What you got to worry about?
[bell rings,
crowd cheers distantly]
Hey, I got to go to work,
so, um...
Sonny, some nuts on the house,
this guy.
-Yeah. It...
-[Neil] Don't spend it all.
[announcers speaks indistinctly
on loudspeakers]
[buzzes, crowd roars]



Cookie told me
about Cecil's raise.
Must be a hell of a thing,
changing someone's whole life
-like that.
-Mm.
Your mother says
you must have helped
your father again.
He bought all new clothes.
Everybody's counting
on you, Neil,
but you still keep going up
against those guys at Viewlex,
but you do work for them.
What do you see?
I'm being serious.
No, no. This, this is
our daughter's view
of the world.
She sees the ceiling,
not the sky.
Most people grow up
in the same four blocks
that they were born into
because they can't even dare
-to dream what's beyond them.
-You're quoting your father now.
That's dangerous.
No. No. What's dangerous is...
is the day we stop dreaming
these walls away.
And if what's beyond them
still isn't enough for you?

Ooh child,
things are gonna get easier
Ooh child
things'll get brighter
Ooh child
things are gonna get easier
[Neil]
Beth wasn't wrong.
Beth.
She just didn't realize
how right she was.
Someday
Truth is, neither did I.
And we'll get it undone
I just never saw her coming.
Much lighter
Someday yeah
we'll walk in the rays
[Joyce] Neil, no one told me
you were here yet.
Uh, this is my partner, Bill.
Oh, uh, why don't we
talk business first?
Well, this is business first.
I'm Joyce Biawitz.
Direction Plus. Nice name.
Yeah. I'm the plus,
and Bill directs.
Oh and Joyce does pretty much
everything else.
She writes, produces.
[Joyce] Commercials, mostly,
but only up until now.
That's not what we invited you
down here to talk about.
[Neil] Right.
Your... variety show.
No, it's not a variety show.
No. It will be unlike anything
anyone's ever tried before.
Really?
I'm sorry. What am I missing?
Everything.
We're ready for you,
Mr. Aucoin.
Uh, yeah. One sec.
So, we're here in a...
You're gonna shoot your show
in a recording studio?
-That's right.
-Somebody's finally gonna
make a music show that actually
sounds like music.
She practice that line for me?
Yes.
I'm gonna, uh... I'm going
to go check on the crew.
-Here. Give this to them.
-Yep.
So, now that he's gone,
you're gonna close me?
I'm not here to close you.
I'm here to convince you.
You didn't become who you are
without seeing
what most people don't.
[Neil]
Hmm.
People love their music.
It's not just
what they listen to.
It's who they are.
It's personal.
We don't wanna
just play music on TV.
We wanna show
where it really comes from,
why the hell
it matters so much to us.
Even if just for a song.
Well, shit. You're gonna do
all that in a show?
I am sure as hell gonna try.
[both laugh]
And who the hell are you?
-I need to, um...
-Mm-hmm.
I need to get back to this,
but I really do hope
you will consider it.
It would mean a lot.
To you?
To everyone who watches.
[Neil]
Every great artist has someone
who believes in them,
but every once in a while,
it's the believer
who's the most gifted artist
of all.
I had never met anyone like her.
You just wait and see
how things are gonna be
You know how you know
when you're about to do
something really reckless?
When you can't think
about doing anything else.

[knocks]
[muffled]
Come and work for me.
[muffled]
What?
[muffled]
Come work for me!
I'm not gonna work for you!
I work for me, with Bill.
[Neil] Okay.
Well, then come work with me.
[speaks indistinctly]
I'm... I'm...
[door opens]
Listen. Here's the deal.
I can't stop thinking about you.
Well, try harder.
You don't even know me, Neil.
I'm just some broke chick
from Queens.
Well, that's just about
the last thing you are.
[chuckles]

It's small. I know.
I grew up in smaller.
Yeah, but you got out.
Yeah. I still am getting out.
And when I looked at you
Give me one of your artists
for my show.
I am offering you
more than that.
And I'm not buying.
What I'm selling is the show.
I don't know who he is
But I think that you do
I've done my research, Neil.
You clearly like to gamble.
I like to win.
What happens when you don't?
Then I just keep gambling
until I do.
Something in my heart
[Joyce]
You have a family, Neil.
Yeah. I know it's complicated.
But hey, my life
outside that door is my problem.
It's not yours.
Just passing by
We both know that's not true.
Who is he
and what is he to you?
Ah now when I add up
-You're married.
-[Neil] Yeah.
It doesn't change
the way I'm feeling right now.
It's just...
Different.
[Neil] Is there anything
I should know, um,
about something going on
between you and Bill?
Bill's gay.
He plays straight to protect me.
What is he to you?
From people like me.
From people exactly like you.
Well you tell me
men don't have much intuition
[Neil] It's like you remind me
of someone.
Who?
Before you wreck your home
Me.
Who is he
and what is he to you?
You don't wanna bet
on the show? Fine.
Well, you tell me
men don't have
Place a bet on me.
Much intuition
But before you wreck
Your old home
Be certain of the new
Dadgummit girl
Who is he?
Kiss.
And what is he to you?
The demo.
That demo tape over there.
Kiss, it's a good name.
Who is he?
You really wanna talk business
right now?
You really expect me
to climb up there?
If you want to sleep with me,
you are.
[Neil] I know what you're
thinking, but I'd never met
anyone like her.
And I know I said that
about Beth, too,
but it...
it's only because it's true.
Dadgummit girl
Who is he
and what is he to you?
I was honestly in love
with both of them.
Well you tell me
men don't have
Much intuition
My God
Falling in love with Joyce,
for the first time in my life,
I finally felt like me.
Ain't no sunshine
when she's gone
It's not warm
when she's away
Ain't no sunshine
when she's gone
She's always gone too long
Any time she goes away
I wonder this time
where she's gone
Wonder if she's gone to stay
Kid works at in airplane factory
installing toilet seats,
and yet he could dig deep enough
to write this.
Ain't no sunshine
when she's gone
She's always gone too long
Any time she goes away
What are you thinking?
That we can make him matter.
Ain't no sunshine
when she's gone
Only darkness every day
Mr. Bill Withers.
Shit, Neil.
I see why you're bringing
the hit, huh?
Thank you, Mr. Crocker.
Ain't no sunshine
when she's gone
She's always gone too long
You know, I can remember
watching my dad as a kid,
thinking, "Here's a guy
who's taking risks
with all our lives,
just never ones big enough
to actually change our lives."
And I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know
I ought to leave
those young things alone
Ain't no sunshine
when she's gone
I am gonna win...
bigger than anyone
has ever done before.
Or else I'm gonna fail.
It's ending up
lost somewhere in the middle
that I just...
I can't live with.
Any time she goes away
Bill Withers was born
in the small coal-mining town
of Slab Fork, West Virginia,
with a stutter. [chuckles]
Did not stop him from becoming
the Bill Withers
that we all remember.
Signing him
before, uh, Motown could,
changed everything for Buddah.
Shit.
Changed everything for me.
[crowd cheers]

Lean on me
When you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm going to need
[Joey] There he is.
With money in your pocket,
you're fucking wise,
you're fucking handsome,
and you sing better, too.
Old Jewish proverb?
It's a new one for me.
Be careful, kid.
Oh, not in this life, Joey.
That you won't let show
You just call on me brother
When you need a hand
We all need
somebody to lean on
Big fuckin' problem.
Oh, shit.
Manny, what the hell? Really?
Your boy's on trial,
motherfucker!
Hey, you're really gonna
cross this line
over us signing Bill Withers?
Withers, Hawkins,
fucking Isley Brothers!
And you got the nerve
to come to our convention
and try to steal our music?
[Buck]
Manny, is this a black thing?
Buck. I'm-a kill you last, Buck,
so you got time
to think about it.
Andre.
Manny, just put the gun away,
man! Come on!
-Easy, easy. Easy, easy!
-Sorry, Cec!
You backed
the wrong colored horse.
I got my orders.
Orders?
Somebody actually put out
a fucking hit on us?
Manny, who did this?
Was it Gordy?
[Manny]
Let's just say you crossed
one too many fucking lines.
[Cecil]
Manny!
You are gonna need to make
a phone call.
True story.
Ask Big Joey.
[Buck]
You just called the Italian mob
to tell the black mob
not to kill us?
-You had a better idea?
-[Buck laughs]
Nance, you know
you can't tell Beth about this.
Not about any of it.
I know, Nelly.
If you need a friend
Call me
Thank you.
Y'all need Jesus.
Call me
If you need a friend
Call me
Oh just call me
Call me
You okay?
How was Miami?
Uh, it's complicated.
Not sure which question
you just answered.
Coffee's in the kitchen.
Uh, Beth!
You can't go after Gordy
yourself, man.
The man fight dirty.
He gonna come after your life.
Now, you know 110 percent
I got your back.
[Neil]
Mm-hmm.
But we don't have to fight
this war.
There's no need.
We good.
[Neil]
Are you fucking kidding me?
You're talking
about not starting a war,
the man who just showed
his black chest
to fucking white America?
[laughs]
It's almost like
they don't realize
that the black voice
is coming from a black man.
Say, could you imagine
dreaming of something
your whole life,
finally getting on that stage,
thousands of screaming fans...
singing every single lyric
to every single song,
loving the music
but hating
the color of my skin?
What kind of dream is that, man?
I don't know, man.
[Ronald]
I know where I come from.
Shit. I can't forget it.
I'm just trying to figure out..
how to change where we're going.
Shit. We still talking
about music?
You're always talking
about music.
That's the weapon.
Oh, man.
[glasses clink]
[people chatter, coins jingle]
-You got lucky, kid.
-[Neil chuckles]
I could've been
on the other line
when your friend
from Miami called.
-Played the odds.
-Yeah, well, Motown was gonna
sign the Withers kid,
and you knew it.
-It's just business.
-Not with Berry Gordy.
-Yeah.
-Look. A gambler's a gambler.
And you're a gambler, kid,
but you're risking everything
with those fuckin' suits
who're just waiting
for any excuse
to bring you down.
If you're gonna bet this big,
bet on yourself,
or keep away
from the fucking table
before too many people get hurt.
Alright. Alright.
[static crackles]
Big Joey was right.
We'd taken Buddah Records
as far as we could go.
[static crackles]
If we were ever gonna
really matter, we were gonna
have to raise the stakes,
higher than ever before.

[exhales]



Whoo!
-What have you told her?
-That you've gone insane.
-[Neil laughs]
-We're really gonna steal
-Gladys Knight from Motown, too?
-Hey, you're the one
that told me she's pissed off
that Berry Gordy is giving
all their best stuff to Diana
and Marvin and the Temptations.
-Yeah, she is. She is.
-Alright.
So let's swing
for the fences, Cec.
One last big hit.
What do you mean,
one last big hit?
Well, you know,
I've always kind of dreamed
of owning my own record company.
-Didn't you?
-[Cecil scoff]
Neil.
"Midnight Plane to Houston"?
My people from Georgia.
They would never take
a plane to Houston.
I'm-a have to change that.
-I'll... I'll let him know.
-[Cecil clears throat]
Mrs. Gladys Knight,
this is Mr. Neil...
Neil Bogart.
I have definitely heard of you.
-Well, only good things, I hope.
-[both chuckle]
I heard you got
something special.
Listen, Neil. If Berry finds
out about this, he...
Hey, if Motown
was treating you properly,
you wouldn't be here.
No. Y wouldn't be here.
Hmm. Do you mind?
Go ahead.
[clears throat] Let's see.
"Midnight Plane to Houston."
Alright. Here we go.
[plays piano]
LA
Okay.
Proved too much
for the man

So he's leaving the life
[Neil]
Mm-hmm.
He's come to know
Mm
Oh, you love your tracks lush,
don't you? [laughs]
-All the time.
-[both laugh]
Ah. Well, we'll add
a full horn section,
keyboards, a Wurlitzer.
Has anyone ever told you no?
Always been a bigger fan
of yes.
[both laugh]
I can't believe I'm singing
with Gladys Knight.
Let's keep going. Yeah?
-[Gladys] Yeah.
-World
Ooh, I like that.
Wait, wait, wait.
My world
His world
Our world
mine and his alone
-I've got to go
-His world
-I've got to go
-Her world
-I've got to go
-World
His and hers alone
-I've got to go
-Our world
-That works!
-I've got to go
Let's sing the chorus.
What do you think?
Yeah, but I have to change
that line.
-It has to say Georgia because..
-Georgia.
Houston is not working for me.
Who wants to go to Houston?
Let's go to Georgia.
-Give me some peaches.
-Here we go.
How you feeling tonight?
[crowd cheers]

Mm, LA
Proved too much for the man
[Neil] Hey, guys.
She's making me play you.
Hey, do that A.
So he's leaving a life, mm
He's come to know
Ooh mm
He said he's going
Say he's going back
Going back to find
Ooh what's left of his world
On that midnight train
to Georgia
Ooh, I love that.
As long as it says "Georgia,"
I'm good.
-Oh, my God.
-[Gladys] This is good.
That's beautiful.
That's just the best.
He's leaving
Leaving
On that midnight train
to Georgia
Leaving on a midnight train
Ooh Lord
Say he's going back
I've got to go,
I've got to go
A simpler place and time
Oh yes he is
What does a train sound like?
[plays two notes]
-Whoo, whoo!
-Okay. The Pips can do that
-in harmony.
-[Neil] Oh, yeah.
Whoo-whoo!
I'd rather live in his world
Live in his world
Than live without him
in mine
Her world is his
His and hers alone
[door closes]

You resigned from Buddah?
If we're ever gonna do
something that truly matters,
it's gonna have to be our own.
In California?
Cecil just called.
-Everyone's going?
-[Neil] Okay. Not everyone.
Larry's never leaving New York,
but Cecil, yeah, Buck, Nancy.
And Beth?
And Beth.
Don't look away.
Hey.
Don't turn away.

How long
have you been planning this?
Since I was eight.
Okay. So this comes next.

[Beth] You're not even gonna
look back?
Ooh, I have already seen it.
I know he's leaving, yeah
On that midnight train
to Georgia
Leaving
on the midnight train
Hey, ooh, yah
Said he's going back to find
Going back to find
Ooh a simpler place and time
Oh yes he is
And I'm gonna be with him
I know you will
On that midnight train
to Georgia
Leaving on a midnight train
-Oh yeah yeah
-Whoo-whoo
I'd rather live
in his world
Live in his world
Than be without him in mine
Her world is his
His and hers alone
Come on!
-Ah!
-A pool?
It's a pool!
["Midnight Train To Georgia"
continues to play]
[kids laugh]
[kids shout]
["Midnight Train To Georgia"
continues to play]
[Beth] You couldn't find
a bigger house?
Just close your eyes and jump.
And dream all these walls away?
Hey, can't you see?
There are no walls here.
-Come on, Mom!
-Ah!
["Midnight Train To Georgia"
continues to play]
And we all lived
happily ever after, right?
[static crackles]
Well... it's complicated.
I'd been betting
on what I believed in
my whole life.
[Al]
I promise you.
[Beth] So, where do we
dream from here?
[voices overlapping]
KISS!
[static crackles]
[Neil] And every bet we'd
made back at Buddah
had paid off,
but Casablanca, KISS,
and now Donna...
Mm. So far,
we'd lost every hand.

No, no, it's dance music, right?
There is no other voice
like her.
It's worse than we thought.
What?
Donna's not selling anywhere?
No one knows
what to make of her.
R and B doesn't want her.
Pop doesn't get her.
-She's just...
-Different.
The song's dead, man.
You were wrong
about the Gaines girl.
It's Summer, okay?
It's Donna Summer.
Well, you were wrong about her,
too, man.
-[Buck yelps]
-Hello.
[Neil] By 1975, we'd done
everything we could think of
to introduce Donna to the world.
Right in my heart.
[Neil]
The world just... didn't care.
You said that he loved the song,
that he was so sure that it
would change everything.
The song is over, LaDonna.
I was wrong.

Just because the audience
doesn't hear it
does not mean it isn't there.
Sometimes, it just takes time.
But we were out of that, too.
-Neil, don't do this.
-Hey, you called me, Bill.
To talk about it, not so that
you could do
whatever you're gonna do.
This came from Steven Tyler
himself.
Called and said if we don't cut
the pyro and get a smaller
sound and lighting rig, we
gotta pack it up and go home.
-Well, he is the headliner, so.
-Bill, you have to trust us.
Well, I thought
we were the us.
We're their managers, Joyce,
you and me.
Neil, I'm begging you,
please don't gamble on this.
We should have parked closer.
[Neil] And sometimes...
they hear it
even when they don't know it.

Hey, Mr. Aerosmith!
What kind of rock and roll pussy
are you?
You show us
everything you've got
You keep on dancing
and the room gets hot
You drive us wild
We'll drive you crazy
-Ah!
-[crowd roars]
You say you want to go
for a spin
The party's just begun
We'll let you in
You drive us wild
We'll drive you crazy
[Paul]
Come on!
You keep on shouting,
you keep on shouting
[crowd roars]
Come on!
I want to rock and roll
All night
And party every day
I want to rock and roll
All night
And party every day
I want to rock and roll
all night
And party every day
I want to rock and roll
all night
And party every day
[crowd roars]
They love them
when they see them.
So why the hell can't we
get them to buy their records?
You drive us wild
We'll drive you crazy
You keep on shouting
I just...
You keep on shouting
I need... I need more time.
I want to rock and roll
All night
And party every day
I want to rock and roll
all night
And party every day

[crowd cheers in distance]
You lost us an Aerosmith tour.
The tour was already lost, Gene.
Aerosmith doesn't want you
anywhere near them, alright?
No headliner does.
Your... [chuckles]
Your show
scares the hell out of everyone.
So you want us
to scale everything down,
-cut the pyro and the lights?
-[Neil] No. No. No. No.
If you're gonna be a headliner,
we're gonna need to make
everything all that much bigger,
alright?
That means more explosions
and so much, so much louder.
I have this guy, alright?
He's got these risers that...
You really think that more fire
and some forklifts
are gonna be
what finally breaks us through?
No.
No. It is gonna be
the music,
and it was always gonna be
the music, but we might
just make enough noise
to... to get enough people
to actually listen to it,
to pay attention.
Why did you sign us?
Our demo was good, not great.
Even I can admit that.
You had to know
how hard this was gonna be.
Why take the risk?
Because your real name
is Chaim Witz,
and you moved here from Israel
when you were eight years old,
speaking nothing but Yiddish.
Because Paul's real name
is Stanley Eisen.
Because two kids from Queens
had dreams about being
the next gods of rock.
[crowd cheers distantly]
And little Neil Bogatz
from the Brooklyn projects
thinks he can make
everybody's dreams come true...
if he's just given
a little more time.
You know, your demo
really was that great, Gene.
Yeah. Raw and honest
rock and roll,
even without all the costumes.
But I tell you
what your real brilliance is,
and I don't even think
you know this.
It's that you write
every single one of your songs
with the same four
God damn chords.
That means that any...
any 14-year-old kid
can go out there
and buy a guitar,
and within 20 minutes,
they can be you!
And that matters, Gene.
That is who you are.
Now, why did you sign
with me, huh?
Brand-new label
with you as our only act.
You had to know you were taking
as much of a risk as we were.
Because you
never should have gotten
out of the Brooklyn projects.
And yet, here you are.
Here we are.
Two imposters.
Only if we're wrong.


[crowd roars distantly]


[Joyce sighs]

I get that you like to gamble,
but what if Joey was right?
In the end, what if the house
does always win?
[crowd cheers distantly]
Well, then we raise the stakes
so high
that we become the house.

[kisses]
[people chatter, bells ring,
coins jingle]
Two hundred grand more.
You're still upside down
the last hundred.
Why don't you make it
a personal loan, then?
Don't do this.
You go upside down this big,
it don't matter
how much I fucking love you.
Hey, you ever gambled
yourself, Joey?
That thumping in your chest
right before that dealer
turns over your next card?
Anything is possible
right before that moment.
Neil, I'm telling you,
I'm not gonna be here for you
this time if you don't pay off.
Are you gonna give me
the money or not?
No.
-Two hundred?
-Two hundred.

I know it's bad.
I just wish you would be honest
and tell me how bad.
It's... it's... it's fine.
No. It's not fine
We're not fine.
None of this is fine, Neil.
We were fine when we were
on the floor of our home
in New Jersey, when I was
teaching you even how to read
those books.
And now, we are broke,
and you are giving
the guys bonuses!
Hey. No. Did you sister tell you
that Buck was the only one
that took it?
Maybe he was the only one
smart enough to.
-[Beth sighs]
-Hey. Hey.
Come on.
Just dance with me.
[Neil chuckles]
Oh.
You stopped dreaming again.
You did.
[Beth]
You know what I dream of?
It's that you're actually here
with us, Neil,
and not in New York or Las Vegas
or wherever else
you disappear to
when you're too afraid
I'll see the truth.
[Neil]
What do you think the truth is?
Beth, I love you. Come on.
I'm always with you.
I'm always with you.
You, the kids,
you're all I think about.
You have to know she's going
to end up just as hurt as me.
I convinced myself for so long
that it was okay
when I knew that you were
sharing your bed, Neil,
but you are sharing your heart.
Tell me I'm wrong.

It's complicated.
No.
It's not.
It's really simple.

You've got a real type
of thing going down
Getting down
There's a whole lot of rhythm
going round
[George] You want
a little bit more or you good?
What?
Yeah, yeah. You good?
I'm great.
Oh, there he is. There he is.
-Is that what you gave me?
-That's it right there. Uh-uh.
Hey, what up, Neil?
Look at the space in here...
I can't even feel
my lungs anymore.
[George] Now it's a party.
George, George, George, George,
if we're gonna sign you,
you cannot be
your own opening act, alright?
You are Parliament and
Funkadelic. It's confusing.
[George]
Only on some planets, man.
See, that's why I need
a motherfucking spaceship,
so we can leave this Earth.
When the mothership gets built,
the connection
between Earth and the galaxy
is gonna be made,
and everything will be clear.
I'm trying to tell you,
it'll make sense. You'll see.
How quickly can you cut us
this new record?
How quick can you build me
a motherfucking spaceship?
How much?
A million
motherfucking dollars.
Would those be Earth dollars?
[Buck] I can't even feel
my bones anymore. [laughs]
He's giving me space... [laugh]
[George] I know
what you need to do, Neil.
-It's party time.
-[Neil] Yeah?
It's time to fly. I'm gonna need
you to hop on this ride with me.
[Neil]
If Buck can handle it, so can I.
You in or you out?
[Neil] I didn't start
the heavier drugs
because of what was going on
between Beth and Joyce.
Didn't start them
because of what was going wrong
with KISS and Donna
and Casablanca.
I just...
I did them because I like...
I liked how it made me feel.
[George] Why don't you take
a ride with me, Neil?
Alright. Let's go, Neil.
It's on you.
Okay.
-[George] You ready to go?
-[Buck] Do it.
[George] You ready to build us
a spaceship, Neil?
Fuck it.
[George] You look like you
like it. I think he likes it.

Let's build you
a motherfucking spaceship.
[crowd cheers]
[George]
That's what I'm talkin' about.
Liftoff. Let's go.
We need the funk
We got to have that funk
Oh we want the funk
Give up the funk
Oh we need the funk
We got to have that funk
Oh we want the funk
Please, mother
Give up the funk
Oh we need the funk
Please mother ah
We got to have that funk
Oh we want the funk
Please mother
Give up the funk
[crowd roars]


Well, alright.
[crowd roars]
Partying on the mothership.
I am the mothership connection.
If you hear any noise
It's just me and the boys
Hit me
Hit it, fellas.
Swing down
sweet chariot
Stop and let me ride
Swing down sweet chariot
Stop and let me ride
Swing down sweet chariot
Stop and let me ride
Swing down sweet chariot
Stop and let me ride
[Neil] That million dollars
actually went a long way,
and not just for the mothership.
George bought two new tour buses
and new cars for everyone
in the band.
Everyone, 28 of them.
[George] We had Rolls Royces,
Mercedes Benz,
Jaguars, six Sevilles.
Everybody got a car,
except for me, motherfucker.
I needed a spaceship,
because I don't drive.
Let me ride
Swing down
sweet chariot
They pioneered
almost every genre
that came after them.
They just spent more money
than they ever made,
and the money just...
kept bleeding.

That's really beautiful.
I love that.
Thanks.
They've been making fun of me.
They don't think
it sounds like KISS.
[Neil] Oh, no. Hey.
Hey. Not those.
Those are the empty shells,
right?
-Hide them somewhere the back.
-[Paul] Wait, wait. Empty?
-Yeah.
-Those are empty?
Yeah. They might just make you
look as big as you sound.
You know, now you're beginning
to sound just like him.
[Paul] Bill, is he...
is he serious?
Guys, uh, give us five.
-It's a bullshit trick.
-Bill.
Okay? It's a mirage.
And it sure as hell
isn't rock and roll, and...
and...
and I wish any of that
mattered right now,
but it just doesn't.
Nobody's buying our records.
No one's coming to see us play.
And if an empty speaker cabinet
tricks people into thinking
that we sound better
because we sound louder...
If this is what it finally takes
so that everybody else
feels the way we do...
what I think is,
we do what we have to
to survive.
[Neil] It's just another part
of the show,
like the costumes,
the... the make-up.
[Gene] No.
It's not.
It's a lie.
About the music.
We've never lied
about the music.
[Paul] Hey, uh,
why don't you, uh...
why don't you sing that song?
The one that you said
you liked it.
You said you liked it, right?
Sing it. Sing it for him.
He thinks he's got
our next single.

Beth I hear you calling
But I can't come home
right now
Me and the boys are playing
And we just can't find
The sound
Just a few more hours
And I'll be right home
to you
I think I hear them calling
Oh Beth what can I do?
Beth what can I do?
[Paul]
What's... what's the matter?
It's not... not the radio hit
you were hoping for?
Paul!
I will drop you right off
on that fucking street corner
in Queens.
[Paul] You can't.
We're all you got.
The song was not supposed
to be Beth, okay?
Peter wrote it for his wife.
He'll change it back.
-We'll change it, Neil.
-[Paul] Mm...
-Mm... no, we won't.
-No. No.
"Beth" just has a better...
I don't know.
It's just got
a better ring to it.
-Don't you think?
-Okay.
I think I finally got the
lights the way you want 'em.
What'd I miss?
[chuckles]
You know...
you guys are just a couple
of fucking children
playing dress-up.
[Paul]
Aw, where you going? Come on.
He bet everything on you!
No, no, no, no.
He bet everything on him!
We just happen to be
the cards he was dealt!
You say you feel so empty
That our house
just ain't a home
I'm always somewhere else
And you're always
there alone
Just a few more hours
And I'll be right home
to you
I think I hear them calling
Oh Beth what can I do?
Beth what can I do?
Beth I know you're lonely
I know I'll be alright
'Cause me and the boys
will be playing
All night



[static crackles]
[Neil sniffs, groans]
-[Al] Hey.
-[Neil clears throat] Hey.
You look like shit.
[laughs] You get in okay?
Limo was waiting?
Yeah, yeah. Like movie stars.
Your mother loved it.
Okay. How much you need
this time?
You got to talk to me
like that? I'm your father.
-[Neil chuckles]
-You think that's why we
flew in? I wanted to see
how my son's doing,
if he's okay.
What do you need, Pop?
It's for your mother, okay?
For the foster home.
She's going nuts.
I don't know.
Like, ten or something.
You make it harder than getting
money from loan sharks.
[laughs]
It's just fucking money.
What is it you always say?
Uh, you just got to know
where to find it.
[Al]
Like at the card tables?
I heard things, Neil.
What are you doing, huh?
Oh, you know,
just still trying to escape
-those four God damn blocks!
-What the fuck's
-the matter with you?
-Hey! Fuck!
Huh? I raised you to be smart!
How you gonna be smart
shoving that shit up your nose?
Come on! I'm talking to you!
How you gonna know
when you're hot,
when to bet big, when to fold?
You can't even decide who you
want in your fucking bed!
I have everything under control.
[Al]
Doesn't look that way.
You've lost the music, kiddo.
-[sniffs]
-Hey. You understand?
Is there anything else you need?

Hey, you don't think
you could have made it
using your real name?
Bogart is my real name.

Sure.



Tell me what I'm supposed to do.
Just keep dancing, Neil.
Always was the one thing
you were best at.
I did always love
the way you moved.
No. Just... I'm...
I'm asking you.
Just tell me
what I'm supposed to do.
Go and say goodbye to your kids.
That's what you're
supposed to do.

You're breaking my heart.
Hurts like hell, doesn't it?


She won't even put them
on the phone.
My kids.

My kids.

I don't know how to stand up.
I'm just... I'm sitting here,
and I don't...
I don't know how to get up.

Hey, you can almost see
Brooklyn from here.

[phone rings]
This is bullshit.
There isn't a thing that you
have ever asked for
that I haven't given you,
and you know
exactly how expensive it is
to keep you on tour
and in the studio!
Let's seriously talk about
releasing "Beth," okay...
No. No, no, no! We're not
releasing that shit. No.
...cross us over
into mainstream radio.
-It's not who we are.
-Nobody knows who you are,
which is why you're not making
any fucking money!
Isn't that your job? Huh?
To get them to know? And yours?
Or is that not the kinda pillow
talk you two like to talk?
-[Bill] Jesus, Paul.
-What?
I'm just saying what everyone's
fucking thinking, man.
-[Joyce] No. Let him say it.
-It's just the truth.
You're our manager,
and you are fucking
the president
of our record company.
You're right. That is the truth,
which you didn't seem to mind
when you asked me
to give him your demo.
You didn't mind either, Bill,
when you begged me
to convince Neil to sign us
even though Warner Brothers
begged him not to.
Or when you asked me
to get us on tour, Paul,
and keep us on tour.
You were all just fine asking me
to roll over on my pillow
and talk to the president
of your record company then.
Yes.
I am your manager,
and you know just how lucky
you are that I am,
because if I wasn't, you'd
still be trying to figure out
how to wear your mom's makeup,
'cause I taught you
how to do that, too.
Who I love is my business.
Your business is to make
the damn music.
-That's your job!
-No, no, no.
-Start doing it.
-No.
It doesn't matter how we got
here. This is real.
This is happening. This is
happening right fucking now.
-Tell them, Bill.
-You really want us to be
the hottest band in the world?
He better start paying us
like we already are.
There he is.
There he is, folks,
Chaim Witz,
the demon
of rock and roll. Oh!
You want some
real money, Gene?
[in baby voice]
You want some real money?
[in normal voice]
Well, then you go out there
and you write
us a fucking song
that will actually
make us some!
-[Bill] No, no, no.
-Wow!
-No, no, no, no, no.
-Fuck you.
You don't make it about them.
Not this time.
-[Joyce] Bill.
-Uh-uh. I am sorry.
We are renegotiating right
now, or we're leaving.
Bill.
Okay. Okay.
How much?
A million dollars an album.
And another million
in tour support.
[chuckles] You want
two million dollars an album
for a band that can't sell
a... a fucking single?
I want two million dollars an
album for KISS.
Bill.
Okay. Fucking fine. Deal.
We finished?
[Paul]
It's just business.
It's nothing personal.
Of course it is,
and you fucking know it.
It's okay.
[exhales]

[sniffs]


[Ed McMahon] And now, ladies
and gentlemen,
here's Johnny!
[Johnny Carson on recording]
Here he is, Lenny Bruce!
Maybe you should slow down
a little.
Maybe you should speed up
a lot.
[Lenny Bruce speaks
indistinctly]
[machine clicks,
recording stops]
Hey! I love Lenny Bruce.
Did you know that he was 40
when he died?
You think it was worth it,
dying so young
but then having
all that success?
No. I think dying old
and having all that success
would be worth it.
You promised our distributors
a sure thing
so they'll keep letting us ride
on everything else.
Well, it's Johnny Carson.
It is a sure thing.
Besides, a bet is only a bet
if it matters.
[kisses]

[man on recording]
It's a wedding night,
and you're both virgins.
It's disgusting.
Abe, Abe...
You don't mean that.
No, because it's me, Abe,
because you've always trusted..
-Talk to me.
-They're not waiting for Carson.
-What?
-They're returning
all the unsold KISS albums
and Donna and Parliament.
-Everything.
-That's
-too many fucking records, man.
-No shit, Buck.
-What do we do?
-We take 'em back,
but you tell
every single fucking one of them
if they do,
they don't get Carson!
Neil. Neil!
What?
What if we're wrong
about Carson?
I mean,
we're shipping gold. More.
Over 750,000 copies already.
And with the money
we're spending
on... on commercials
and... and print ads...
-It's Johnny fucking Carson!
-And nobody understands
why the hell
we're even doing it!
Then ship more!
Spend more! Do you job
and make them understand!
This is gonna be
the biggest fucking album
of the year, okay, folks?
You've lost your mind.
Did you not hear
what they said on the phone?
And they're on our fucking side!
-Nobody is on our fucking side.
-Because nobody understands
what the fuck
you're doing anymore!
Not even me!
We were wrong
about KISS, Neil,
and we were wrong about Donna.
Even George
and his fucking spaceship.
We were just wrong!
And here we are, still betting
money we don't even have
on them!
I can't even pay my...
If we're wrong about Carson...
We are not fucking wrong, Cec,
not about any of them.
We just haven't figured out
a way to finally be right!
-What the hell's happening?
I dared question the postman's
son from Brooklyn,
and he didn't like
what he heard.
Oh, is that right, Cec?
Is that the same postman's son
been carrying your ass
from nowhere to somewhere
your whole fucking career?
-Excuse me?
-Tell me this.
Did you believe
we would make it this far?
Now, be honest.
Do you believe that we could
actually go further?
So, you do your fucking job,
and I will go get
the fucking money!
Uh...
He didn't mean that.
Cec. Shit.
[Ed McMahon on recording]
And now, ladies and gentlemen,
-here's Johnny!
-[crowd roars on recording]
[Neil] The Carson album's
still considered
one of the biggest disasters
ever conceived
in the record business.
The joke was that we'd shipped
gold but returned platinum.
Just... wasn't a joke.
We'd given away
so many promo copies
that when the stores started
returning them to get
their money back, we were
on the line for every last one,
and it was killing us,
killing us, because I was wrong.
Biggest sin of a record man...
believing in something
because you have to...
not because you do.

I fucking begged you
to pay back that money, Neil.
You kept sayin',
"Waiting for Carson."
And I convinced them to wait,
because this is me and you,
but they're done waiting.
I'm sorry.
It's okay, Joe. Just tell them
not the arm
I sign contracts with.
[grunts]
I remembered my dad,
remembered my promise
to never become
anything like him.
I just... can't remember
the exact moment when I did.
[Neil coughs]
Egg cream? [grunts]
[Neil coughs]
Just get us
the fucking money, Neil.
I fucking hate LA.
[Neil groans]
[crackles]
-[Cecil] Jesus.
-[Joyce] Neil!
[Cecil] Jesus.
It's not that he was a postman.
It's just...
I knew that he knew
that's all he was ever gonna be.
[siren wails in distance]
-Here.
-I'm scared.
-Come on. Shh.
-I'm scared.
Shh. Just our little secret,
brother.
[sobs]
Can we get something
to clean him up?
[men speak indistinctly]
-You want a cigarette?
-You're alright.
-[Joyce] It's okay.
-[Neil sobs]
Okay. Come on.
[man] Get him up. Walk it off.
Walk it off.
Oh, fuck.
-Come on.
-Fuck.


[phone rings]
If we can't sell enough KISS
records on our own,
then folks,
we are gonna need an army.
-It's merchandise, Nelly.
-It's a movement, Nance.
I love KISS, but how the fuck
are we gonna get people
to buy shit about the album
and we can't even get them
to buy the fucking album?
Because KISS has always been
about the experience,
Buck, and that is where
we have failed.
If you're not in
the KISS Army, oh,
then you are not
in the KISS Army!
You don't get
the limited edition posters,
the signed T-shirts,
the comic books!
-So we have comic books now?
-Yes, created specifically
for the KISS Army,
and the only way to get
into the KISS Army...
-Is to buy their albums.
-[Neil] Thank you.
Now, we have one very important
question to answer:
What color do we paint
the building?
Hundred bucks to whoever gets
the... the best color.
Okay. Can we just, um...
Can we just get a minute?
Thank you. Thank you so much.
What about black?
Can you imagine
the whole fucking block
was painted fucking black?
[laughs]
-No, I can't.
-Oh.
Neil, you are my brother,
and if you want me to go
off this cliff with you,
I'll even be the first to jump,
but you have got to help me
understand why.
-We are broke.
-Yes. Yes. That is exactly
what all of these fuckers
are saying.
So, by tomorrow,
I want an entire crew...
no, two crews outside,
painting the entire block,
and I want you to pay them extra
to do it slowly.
The longer
they're out there working, oh,
the longer people are just
gonna drive by and see 'em.
-See 'em doing what?
-Painting the building.
[Neil] We're gonna place one
final bet.
On who?
On us.
It started with a makeover
of the building,
but to the town, we were
building our own makeover.
I mean, every day,
we'd announce a new promotion,
but in real life, we were
just swapping titles around
like the paint colors
of the building.
We called everyone we owed,
hyped every plan we had,
making most of it up
as we went along.
-We made them root for us...
-Mo.
[Neil] ...not against us.
Where the fuck
is all the money coming from?
[Neil] Nowhere. There was none.
We... we just made everyone
believe there was.
We bet everything we had
on everyone
we already believed in.
She's a stone-cold stunner
We'd gone as far as we could go
as fast as we could go.
It's just we were now
seven million dollars in debt.
Well... until that night.
She's a stone-cold stunner
With a body too
So watch out
Huh!
She's a stone-cold stunner
["Love To Love You Baby"
plays]
[woman 1]
Hey, come here.
[woman 2]
Do you wanna dance with me?
[moans in song]
I love to love you baby
I love to love you baby
[song fades out]
[woman 1]
Hey, play that song again.
[woman 3]
Play that again.
[man]
Yeah. Play that again.
["Love To Love You Baby"
plays]
[moans in song]

[moaning]
When you're laying
so close to me
There's no place
I'd rather you be
Than with me, here
[moaning in song]
I love to love you baby
I love to love you baby
Lay your head down
real close to me
Ease my mind
and set me free
Set me free
[moaning in song]
Oh love to love you babe
Oh love to love you babe
Oh love to love you babe
[song fades out]
-[man] Put it back on.
-[man 2] Play it again.
[woman 1] Somebody
put the music back.
[man] Don't stop now.
The song is too short to have
sex to.
[woman 1] Do you wanna dance
with me?
[woman 3] Play it again.
We're dancing.
-Hey! Play it again!
["Love To Love You Baby"
plays]
[Neil] The answer had been
there all along.
I just never imagined she'd be
hiding 7,000 miles away.
Oh love to love you babe
[moaning in song]
Not that she was happy
to see me.
LaDonna, please wait.
Giorgio said
you'd be coming through.
So, I hope that you enjoyed
the show.
Have a nice flight back.
My real name's not Bogart.
I changed it, actually,
a couple times.
Was, uh, Neil Scott
when I was a singer,
Neil Stewart when I worked
for a modeling agency,
uh, Wayne Roberts
when I did a soft porn film.
You made pornography?
Well, to afford
my wife's engagement ring.
Okay.
So, you did a dirty film
so that you could ask
your wife to marry you?
The point of the... Yes.
The point of the story
is that we can be
whoever we want to be.
Hmm. Well, that may be the point
of your story, but not mine.
It's the point
of everyone's story, LaDonna,
especially yours.
Why didn't people like the song?
-I liked it.
-No. I mean, why didn't...
No. I... I know
what you meant. I...
And the answer
is that they didn't get it,
because I failed to get them to.
So, then why are you here?
Giorgio told me
that he wanted me to cut
the same song again.
-I don't understand.
-You don't have to, okay?
You just have to trust
that I do.
I don't even know you.
But I know you,
LaDonna... Adrian... Gaines.
Grew up singing in a choir.
Raised by your mom in Boston.
You heard your voice
raising all the way up
to the top
of those stained glass windows,
and you let yourself believe
that you could be more
than just that girl in a church.
And now, here you are,
performing
halfway across the world,
getting further and further away
from that stained glass.
And every night...
you close your eyes,
dreaming that maybe someone
will come along...
and give you one last chance.
Now, you tell me I'm wrong,
and I'm on the next plane.
Why me?
Because I have never heard
a voice like yours.
I will make you a star.
I love to love you baby
I love to love you baby
You... you know what?
I wanna do this again.
I just...
Go back from the top.
[Giorgio] It's impossible!
Repeat the same eight measures
over and over again?
It's just one lyric, Neil!
Yeah, which is going sound
like something new
each time she sings it,
when she sings it right.
This music is about the music,
not the fucking vocal!
Her fucking vocal
is the music, Giorgio!
Her voice is the thing that's
gonna make people wanna dance,
and nobody wants to dance for
three minutes, alright?
People wanna to dance forever!
And when they're making love,
they wanna love forever!
Nobody could make a fucking
half-hour song, Neil!
Not even you!
[Buck] Neil could make
a half-hour song.
[voices speak indistinctly]
-Hey, you okay?
-I don't know. You just got
Giorgio to leave his own studio.
You tell me.
Let's, uh, just try it
one more time.
[machine clicks, music plays]
I love to love you baby
I love to love you baby
I
[machine clicks, music stops]
What? What's wrong?
You're just singing...
You're just singing the lyrics.
I'm a singer. That's what I do.
No. I just... Give me one secon.
One.
[machine clicks, music plays]

I... I don't understand
what you want from me.
To escape, Donna. That is
what everyone wants, alright?
In the discos,
on the dance floors,
they want
to fucking escape, alright?
And you, you will be
the one to take them there.
You have to be their fantasy!
Do you know
what my mother will think?
Yeah. I do.
Mm love to love you baby
I love to love you baby
-More.
-I love to love you baby
When you're laying
so close to me
-Feel it.
-There's no place
I'd rather you be
than with me
-[moans]
-That's it.
-Love to love you baby
-Even sexier.
-I love to love you baby
-Louder!
-Harder!
-I love to love you baby
When you're laying
so close to me
There's no place
I'd rather you be
Than with me
[moans]
I love to love you baby
I love to love you baby
[Neil] Just you.
-No one else is here.
-I love to love you baby
Oh I love to love you baby
-[Donna moans]
-[Neil] You and the music.
I love to love you baby
Oh love to love you baby
It's just you.
Oh I love to
love you, baby
Oh love to love you baby
Use your whole body, Donna.
When you're laying
so close to me
There's no place
I'd rather you be
[moans]
Arch your back.

[moans]

[moans]
It's impossible, Neil.
It's absolutely impossible.
When... when am I supposed
to play the commercials?
Frankie Crocker,
you cranky fucker.
Fuck the commercials!
Fuck the commercials, man.
It's a test. It's science.
Let's test it out on the... Whas
your name again?
-Shari.
-Shari. That's my mother's name.
[Neil] Come on. Come on. This is
something new, Frankie, right?
She's explosive.
She's... she's dangerous,
and you, my friend, can be
the one to introduce her
-to the world.
-We already introduced
this fucking single,
and it didn't move shit.
No, we did not introduce her
to the world.
That was
a different fucking record.
That was not this record.
This is different.
This is... this is new.
I mean, we were right
about this girl.
-She's amazing.
-You listen to the man, Frank.
And what does that mean?
I'm right about a lot of shit
I don't put on the radio.
This may be Casablanca's
last fucking chance, Frankie.
Neil, it's 17 minutes long,
alright? I can't...
How do I explain that?
Handcuffs.
Frankie.... I brought mine.
Now, you ain't had those
last night.
-I didn't need them last night.
-Hey, how about you take
a bathroom break, Frankie?
We'll take over from here.
-Come on.
-Whoo!
I gotta be
out of my fucking mind.
-You're in your mind.
-You're about to be
-out your pants.
-[laughs]
You motherfuckers
gonna owe me one.
Looks like you got two,
motherfucker.
["Love To Love You Baby" plays]

[Neil]
Sixteen minutes and 50 seconds.
With the record
glued to the turntable,
it played all night long
with Frankie still locked
in the bathroom. [chuckles]
Lawyers were calling
even before we landed
back in LA,
swearing they'd never play
a Casablanca record again,
except... something happened,
something that never had before.
[Cecil] Not just in New York.
Stations all across the country
are calling. Everybody's trying
to find a way to play her.
-Tell them I'll buy them all.
-Buy what all?
-The whole half-hour block.
-On every station.
-Every city.
-The ad campaign:
Tune in at midnight
for a half-hour of love,
brought to you by Casablanca.
-Call Giorgio.
-And then?
Call everybody else!
Love to love you baby
Do it to me again and again
We released our version of
"Love To Love You" in 1976,
and when we did,
it was like nothing else
there ever was.
Branded too graphic
by some critics,
it was even banned
by some stations,
which only helps us
to sell more records.
Oh love to love you baby
Time magazine reported
22 simulated orgasms
in the song, and the more people
talked about it,
the more they wanted more.
I mean, we were riding
the biggest single we ever had
with the biggest artist
we ever had,
and we were literally making her
up as we went along.
Oh love to love you babe
Is this make-believe, Mama?
No, sweetheart. This is real.
["Bad Girls" plays]
I need makeup in here.
We brought in everything...
designers, hair, make-up.
In the end, we went with wigs,
in every picture
you've ever seen.
We invented every detail.
But the truth
was that the First Lady Of Love,
the superstar
we were selling her as,
was as far
from who Donna really was
as she could be.
I want to know this woman.
["Bad Girls"
continues to play]
You raised my vocal
in the song.
Your vocal is the song.
Bad girls
Talking about the sad girls
Sad girls
Talking about bad girls
Yeah
See them out on the street
at night
Picking up
all kinds of strangers
If the price is right
And you can score
if your pocket's tight
Plus you want a good time
You ask yourself
Who they are
Like everybody else
They come from near and far
She's gonna be great. I know it.
[kisses]
I love you.
[Cecil]
You got it, Donna. Nailed it.
LaDonna?
[crowd cheers outside]
So, what happens next?
[Neil chuckles]
You do.
[crowd cheers outside]


Dim all the lights
sweet darling
'Cause tonight
it's all the way
Turn up the old Victrola
Gonna dance the night away
Love just don't come easy
No it seldom does
When you find
the perfect love
Let it fill you up

Dim all the lights
sweet darling
'Cause tonight
it's all the way
Hey baby
Turn up the old Victrola
Gonna dance the night away
Donna was
every one of our dreams
wrapped up
in a once-in-a-lifetime voice
that didn't just rise up
to those stained glass windows.
She smashed right through them.
Now, when people
who remember Casablanca
actually remember Casablanca,
this is what they remember,
Donna on top of the world,
as if this was the moment
that began it all.
Up
Hey baby
Dim all the lights
sweet honey
Having spent my entire life
inventing my life,
I'd now invented hers.
That voice, the way Donna
would just flow inside you,
that came from something
far more inventive than me,
but the First Lady Of Love?
The Queen of Disco?
That was as much of a fairy tale
as I was.
Let's replace Gladys with Donna.
[Neil] And suddenly,
for the first time,
it wasn't just breaking one hit,
because once Donna broke,
the hits
just never stopped coming.
I knew what else
we'd did wrong, too.
[crowd cheers]
Recording a live album
of greatest hits
from a band
who doesn't even have one?
-That's new, Neil, even for us.
-Hey, they've always had hits.
We just failed to record them
in the way
they needed to be heard.
By recording KISS live,
we finally captured
the experience of KISS live...
which is what we'd really been
chasing from the very beginning.
Turned out, we'd been right
about them, too.
["Dim All the Lights"
continues to play]
We sold
over nine million records.
Every bet we'd made,
we were right about all of them.
We just... needed enough time
for all of you
to catch up to us.
[laughs]
[woman] What is this?
What are you doing?
["Dim All the Lights"
continues to play]
Oh, my God. Al.
Welcome home, Ma.
Nelly, I already have a house.
-Yeah, well, this one's bigger.
-Love you!
[Al] Are you nuts?
What are you doing here?
-[Neil laughs]
-Al, look.
[Al]
We don't need this. Come on.
["Dim All the Lights"
continues to play]
What?

No. No. That is too much.
[Neil] I can only do all this
because you taught me.
Who taught you?
I taught you nothing.
-Taught you how to lose.
-No, you taught me how to win.
You taught me
to swing for the trees,
to bet big to win big.
You remember?
You taught me how to dream!
Maybe a little bit.
No. Maybe a lot.
["Dim All the Lights"
continues to play]
And you know, maybe you were
just a little unlucky.
Right? Well, I got your luck.
Ah. Nah.
You made your own luck.
You're a genius.
You're a fucking Jewish genius.
Ah, come on.
Hey.
You're a good son, bubbeleh.
[kisses]
Four-color world, Pop.

[car door opens]
I'm in heaven.
[Neil] Jesus Christ.
You know what? If you can't
keep the beat,
let's just fucking spell, okay?
That's right. We created
the Village People, too.
"YMCA" became
one of the all-time
biggest selling singles,
more than ten million copies,
though other than the cop,
none of the others even sang,
not on the records,
not at the concerts, not ever.
[Joyce]
Again. Let's go again.
You don't trust me? Look it up!
We went from living
on the brink of bankruptcy
to earning five million dollars
in one month,
six the next.
Beth I hear you calling
I finally even let Kiss
release "Beth"
on the Destroyer album.
It would hurt
every single time I heard it,
but it was the smash
we'd been chasing
since it all began.
Now, this is a love story.
You're the best fake boyfriend
I ever had.
Just a few more hours
And I'll be right home
to you
I think I hear them calling
Oh Beth what can I do?
Beth what can I do?
Beth I know you're lonely
And I hope
you'll be alright
'Cause me and the boys
will be playing
All night
[Neil] As for Donna,
even with all her success,
I don't really believe
LaDonna Adrian Gaines
ever really became Donna Summer.
We just made you all think
that she had.
So, truth is, none of us
were still who we'd been
when it all began.
Casablanca had become
something else.
I had become something else.
Okay, Neil.
What's this all about?
We sold half the company
to Polygram.
Forty-nine percent.
We still keep control.
We've lived an awful lotta
years pretending to be rich.
You wanna see
what it feels like
when we finally actually are?
Nelly!
Jesus Christ.
Um, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I never use the Lord's name
in vain, but...
[Neil] Fifty million dollars
for just half the company,
made out to Neil Bogart,
a name and a life
I'd made up along the way.
Even paid Mo back every penny.
Not because I had to,
but because I could.




My dad had been right.
Most were all still there
on the same four blocks
of their lives.
["Cherry on Top" plays on radio]
[instrumental music resumes]

For those of you who don't know,
I left Casablanca finally
on February 8, 1980.
It was a Friday. [chuckles]
It was five days
after my 37th birthday.
Now, disco had officially died
the year before when a local DJ
set a bunch of records on fire
to the roar of a crowd
as if that was
a fucking concert. [laughs]
Yeah. It was a good bet
most of those were ours.
Now, all of you remember,
I'm sure,
Donna and KISS and George,
Village People, Gladys,
the Isleys, Bill Withers,
all the others.
But I bet each of you $100...
that not one of you
has ever even heard of my name.
And that's okay. It's not like
I had the talent that they did,
because I didn't, you know,
or that I... or that I mattered
like they did,
because, uh... I... I couldn'.
But I sure as hell
made you dance.
I sold over
200 million records,
and all that music
that I helped made possible...
became the soundtrack
of your lives.
And we... we were in the
business of making dreams come
true.s
Didn't we do that?
And if we did,
didn't... didn't that matter?
Didn't I?
Even if... even if only a song?

I died...
May eighth, just two years
later, from cancer.
I was only 39 years old.

I... I wouldn't change
a fucking thing.
I just wish I had more time.

I need you
By me
Beside me
To guide me
To hold me
To scold me
'Cause when I'm bad
I'm so so bad
So let's dance
The last dance
Let's dance
The last dance
Let's dance
The last dance
Tonight
Last dance
Last chance for love
Yes it's my last chance
For romance tonight
Oh I need you
By me
Beside me
To guide me
Oh to hold me
To scold me
'Cause when I'm bad
I'm so so bad
So let's dance
The last dance
Let's dance
The last dance
Let's dance
The last dance
Tonight
Oh oh oh
Yeah
Hey hey
Mm
Whoa I need you
By me
Beside me
To guide me
To hold me
To scold me
Because when I'm bad
I'm so so bad
So come on baby
Dance that dance
Come on baby
Dance that dance
Come on baby
Let's dance tonight






It was the greatest time
Of my life
Yeah the greatest time
Of my entire life
Always made sure
I took a road
Less traveled
'til the curtain closed
Living for my story
to be told
[crowd cheers]
'Cause we all have a story
to be told
It was the greatest time
of our lives
It was the way we felt the
love on hot summer nights
We never thought
about getting old
And every day
was rock and roll
Living for our stories
to be told
[crowd cheers]
So we dreamed so big
They were destined
to explode
We knew one day
that we'd be spinning gold
We bet it all
to never fall
We'd rather die than fold
We just want our story
to be told
It was the greatest time
of our lives
When it was over
all we know
Is that we got it right
With every heartbeat
and every note
Let's dim the lights
and start the show
Ready for our stories
to be told
Call on me brother
when you need a hand
So we dreamed so big they
were destined to explode
We all need
somebody to lean on
We knew one day
that we'd be spinning gold
-We bet it all to never fall
-Ooh child
Things are gonna get easier
[songs overlap]
I've got to go,
I've got to go
No matter how high or fast
we went
We never looked back
or lived life no regrets
Wanted to leave this world
a better place
Whenever I left
and give you something
That you'd never forget
Oh let's dance
The last dance
Let's dance
The last dance
Let's dance
The last dance
Tonight
Dreams so big they were
destined to explode
We knew one day
that we'd be spinning gold
We bet it all to never fall
We'd rather die than fold
We just want our story
to be told
And so we dreamed so big they
were destined to explode
Well, alright. Star child.
That we'd be spinning gold
[songs overlap]
...Taste like candy
I'd rather live
in his world
Than live without him
in mine
Want to rock and roll
all night
-We knew one day that
-And party every day
We'd be spinning gold
I want to rock and roll
All night
And party every day
Oh we were destined
to explode
'Cause we knew
that we'd be spinning gold
And we said
we'd rather die than fold
We want our stories
to be told
-Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah
-Just a few more hours
And I'll be right home
to you
Nah nah nah nah
nah nah nah
Let's dance the last dance
-Tonight
-We just want our story
To be told
[crowd roars]
[Neil gasping]
[woman]
You had a lot of resilience.
You have been up and down,
and you've made a lot of money.
And you've been
flat on your bum.
-It's nicer being up.
-[woman laughs] Yes.
If that was the question.
[laughs]
[woman] Why your resiliency?
Where does it come from?
Where's that drive come from?
Probably, it originally comes
from Brooklyn.
-[woman] Brooklyn.
-You know, all people
that are born in Brooklyn seem
to be able to bounce back,
because you have to
if you come from there.
You have to have the desire
to succeed and be a gambler,
and I both have the desire
and am a gambler.
[woman] So, you were poor?
-Yes.
-[woman] Mm-hmm
I came from Brooklyn,
and I used to sing on
the street corners and stuff.
Do you think... I mean, what
does it take to be a greaser?
-I mean...
-You got what it takes.
You probably got what it takes.
[woman] What do you think is
the biggest misunderstanding
about Neil Bogart?

There are quite a few
misunderstandings
-about Neil Bogart.
-[woman laughs]
[crowd cheers]
If you feel like rocking
the Hollywood Bowl,
it feels like being rocked.

[man] How'd you get
so down and out, Neil?
[Neil] I came out to California
after having a company
called Buddah Records
in New York City,
which was very successful,
and I went into partnership
with Warners Brothers Records.
Inside of eight months,
the partnership
had just about dissolved,
and I lost the quickest
three million dollars
anybody ever put up
for anybody else.
[woman] What does it feel like
to lose
a couple of million dollars?
Well, the strange thing is,
I really didn't have it,
you know?
-[woman] Of course.
-[both laugh]
I don't think if I had it,
I could have taken the risk.
You know,
it was a kind of situation
where I just kept going and
really didn't stop to think
of how I was going
to pay it back.
And fortunately, success
was around the corner,
and I was able to pay it back
and come from behind.
[host] You did it by giving,
first of all,
one of the largest parties
ever given in this town,
-didn't you?
-Yes, it was.
He laughs about it.
And you couldn't leave
a tip, right?
[Neil] At the end, I couldn't.
The party was fabulous.
The reception was fabulous.
The welcome to California
was exciting,
and from there,
everything went downhill.
About eight months later,
I realized that um,
it wasn't going to happen.
I had just finished
probably the most expensive
album ever done
in the record industry,
which was
Here's Johnny: Magic Moments
From The Tonight Show,
-and we opened...
-[host] Oh, you did that.
Yeah. That was our record.
[laughs]
You all bought that,
didn't you?
[host] Yeah.
We over-advertised,
and we over-promoted.
And we did everything
you could possibly do wrong.
And I went to Acapulco,
and while I was there,
scuba diving,
I thought that, "You owe
three million dollars.
You don't have any money
left in the bank."
-[host] Yeah.
-"You might have payroll
for about two
or three weeks left."
And I was down there,
and I took the mouthpiece out
and said, "It could be over."
I mean, that could be it.
You don't have to come back
to the problems.
You don't have to come back
to face the failure.
And, um... the last record
I released at Buddah Records
was a thing
by Gladys Knight and the Pips,
that when LA seemed
too much for the man,
he couldn't make it,
so he's leaving
the life he's come to know.
He's leaving on a midnight
train to Georgia.
And I just realized
that wasn't me.
I had to win, or I had to fail.
I couldn't cop out,
and I put
the mouthpiece back in.
I swam and found Joyce.
I said, "Come on back.
We're going upstairs.
We're gonna go back,
and we're gonna do it.
We're going to win,
or we're gonna fail."
And in the back of my head,
I always had the thought
that I can always go
back to Brooklyn and open
-a candy store.
-[man] Yeah,
except there are a lot of those
there, aren't there?
Yeah, but you know,
growing up there, I mean,
that was always
a kind of comforting thing
that I could always go
back to that,
and that was a great life.
Hi.
[woman]
What does a tiger say?
[Neil] That was the Bogarts,
the fabulous Bogarts!
Well, I want to thank you all.
Jill, Timothy, Bradley,
come on. Come on.
Say goodbye to the audience.
We'll see you again!
-Bye!
-Bye, everybody!
-[kids] Bye!
-Bye!
Do you have one more word you'd
like to say to everybody?
[Bradley] Goodbye. Cheerio.
What was that?
[speaks indistinctly]
...from the fabulous Bogarts!
See you next week!
[kid]
Yeah!