[SPEAKING INAUDIBLY]
[SINGING]
[PHONE RINGS]
WOMAN: I told you, I don't wanna hear about it...
[DIAL TONE BEEPS]
- What? - Yeah, that's right.
NARRATOR: There are an estimated 8 million people in the five boroughs of New York.
12 million in the greater metropolitan area.
There are almost 10 million telephone exchange lines.
Over 50 phone services.
3 million New Yorkers are cell phone users.
It used to be a mark of insanity to see people talk to themselves.
Now it's a mark of status. And speed dial is quickly replacing the drop of a coin.
Despite increased usage of cellular devices...
...an estimated 4.5 million residents and 2 million visitors...
...still utilize pay phones on a regular basis.
This is the telephone booth at 53rd and 8th...
...perhaps the last vestige of privacy on Manhattan's West Side.
It is the last booth of its type, still in regular operation.
Up to 300 calls daily originate here.
This location has been burglarized 41 times in the last six months.
Verizon has scheduled this structure to be torn down...
...and replaced with a kiosk as of 8 a.m. tomorrow.
Hardly two blocks away...
...meet the man who is to be the final occupant of that booth.
Donny. Donny. Donny, listen to me.
I said I'd get you magazine coverage, and I'm getting you in a magazine.
Look, you gotta trust me. No means yes to these people.
Get What's Up? magazine on the line.
Yeah, I heard you.
Donny, I got What's Up? magazine on the line.
They wanna know about you, so I'm hanging up.
This is Erica or Lars. I can't tell the difference.
- You got Stu. - We said no.
I didn't near you, so I'm giving you a second chance.
- We don't do magicians. - Magicians?
Donny G is an artist who happens to look like a supermodel.
- The New Guys is offering him the cover. - New Guys wants him?
And I haven't told my client, my favorite client...
...that I am making this call, all right? He wants New Guys.
I want you and I can make him come around...
...but you'll lose us if I don't hear from you by end of business.
Get New Guys. Tell him What's Up? Is offering a cover.
Okay. Big Q.
Adam, I know three people looking for dog walkers. That could be you.
"Sit. Stay. Don't worry, Fluffy, I'll clean your shit and wipe your ass."
- You got Stu. - What's up with my party, Stu?
I was just telling my assistant to get my favorite client...
...on the phone, and here you are. Nice.
Listen. Seriously, we gotta look at a new night for your release party.
There are two premieres, a fundraiser. All the happening places are booked.
If we move the date...
Voodoo on you-do, motherfucker, from Big Q to Big Stu!
- Big Q, be reasonable. - Motherfucker, I'm a gangster!
- I don't gotta be reasonable! - You're cutting out. Hello? Big Q?
Next time I'm gonna kill your cracker-ass if you keep talking about me like that!
Right?
N.Y.P.D. Blue, 11 o'clock.
Stuey, the hardest working PR guy. How's business?
How many times I have to tell you, Wyatt? I'm a publicist.
- Tickets. - Tickets.
STU: Four for Britney Spears, right?
You put the "Ho" in show business, Stuey.
It's Stu. What do you got for me?
They just checked Mrs. Sharp into Bellevue again.
- Page Six. Tell Britney I send my love. OFFICER: All right.
Enjoy the show.
Hold on a sec. Page Six, this is Lana.
[LANA SNEEZES]
Bless you. Lana, it's Stu Shepard. Bless you.
- Is it you or your boss calling? - It's me.
I'm looking for some mutual back-scratching.
You get my privileged N.Y.P.D. Blue info and I get you to save my ass.
Not now, Stu. I'm a sick woman.
This is going to make you feel better.
Tony-winning producer Jeffrey Sharp tossed his wife back into drug rehab.
Nice. What do you want for that little tidbit?
You better be nice to me while I'm on the way up and taking your calls.
The higher the monkey climbs, the more you see of his ass.
Have a heart, Lana.
Listen, today my half-wit assistant faxed you regarding my favorite client.
Great singer, about to turn great actress.
LANA: Another little Miss Tits and Ass? - Look, I'm on cell, no names.
That was strictly in-office information. You didn't print it, did you?
- I got it. - All right, tell me Richard didn't see it.
He didn't put it in the column?
Stu's on the phone, scared he's gonna lose his job.
His office sent you something by mistake. He wants it.
BOSS: You tell him T.F.B. Put that at the top of the column.
- Stu, it ran, sorry. - Yeah?
- Oh, God. Oh, no. - I'm really sorry.
Yes!
What's Up? magazine offered Donny G a photo in "What's Hot and Happening."
- Fuck them. Make them sweat. - He's on a conference call.
He could take a while. Yeah, can he call you back? Okay. All right, bye.
- Pretty smooth. - Thank you.
If you can absorb everything I teach you...
...focus and get a new wardrobe, you can make it big in public relations.
- I got a sense. - Cool. Cool. Cool.
- Up, T? - How you doing, man?
Mario's!
Hey! Hey! Hey! Not so fast, Stu!
How come you run every time you go past my place, huh?
- Because I'm busy, Mario. - Yeah?
Well, no more drinks or free meals, okay?
One lousy mention in the Post, you expect to eat for six months? No!
Mario, maybe I could throw the hippest party this month your way.
- Stu. - No, I couldn't. My clients would kill me.
- What hip party? - It's just Big Q, the hottest new rap star.
- There'll be local TV coverage ... ADAM: Nine and 11.
MTV, BET, VH1.
But I promised other clients, people who actually pay me.
- No, you owe me. - It's gotta be the night of the 18th.
Toss in a buffet for 80 people, record company will pick up the booze...
...and I will deliver you celebrities.
Anything you want, okay?
Expand the menu, wallpaper those bathrooms, for God's sake.
You only get one shot with celebrities.
Thank you. Thank you, Stu!
ADAM: That was fucking brilliant. STU: Listen.
Call Big Q. Tell him we got him the hippest place in town on his date.
- Call What's Up? ADAM: Yeah.
- We'll take their offer. - Okay.
Messenger a bottle of Jameson's to Lana at Page Six...
...with a note saying" Write this down. - Got it.
- Irish chicken soup. Love, Stu. - "Irish chicken soup. Love, Stu."
- All right, no harm being gracious. - Yeah.
Okay. Actually, better off, deliver it over yourself.
- Get to know the players. - I'll do that.
Thank you for teaching me.
- And, Adam, don't you have a suit? - Actually, no.
Here. Get yourself one.
- I'm gonna start paying you soon. - Yeah, I hope so.
- You got a bunch of messages. STU: I'm late for a meeting. Hold them.
- All right. - All right.
- See you, Stu! STU: See you, Adam!
- Excuse me. - I'm trying to make a call here.
This is for you. Half-pepperoni, half-mushroom, extra crisp.
You ever heard of delivering a pizza to a phone booth?
I don't think so.
Gentleman occupying phone booth, 53rd, between Broadway and 8th.
It's a mistake.
What am I supposed to do with the pie? it's all paid for.
There's a homeless guy around the block.
Give him the pizza and say "You can turn away, but you can't make it go away."
He'll think I'm trying to poison him. They always get that idea.
Get off the fucking pizza, all right?
That language is uncalled for.
Holy shit!
I'm sorry. Please return to sender.
Fuck off.
Here you go, $5. Eat the pizza yourself. You look like you could use a good meal.
[PHONE RINGS]
Hello.
Pam, could you believe some nut case just tried to deliver me a pizza?
Why are you always in the same phone booth, same time, every day?
- Well, it's quitting time, right? - Thank God, we were mobbed today.
So how's your day?
It's getting better by the minute, sweetheart.
Who's the most famous person you publicized today?
- You. - Really?
I told a few columnists Mel Gibson was looking for actresses for his film.
And I said the possibilities were Cameron Diaz, Julia Roberts...
...and my favorite client, you.
You didn't really do that.
First step toward being noticed is being mentioned.
I just got out of a conference at the City Hotel.
I was thinking you could come down.
There are a couple of people and a few martinis I'd like to introduce you to.
- Stu, I... - Listen, Pam. Pam. Pam.
It's about time we talked about your career. Come on.
I feel awful but I promised my scene partner that I would rehearse for class.
We're doing a scene from Jerry Maguire. I'm playing Renee Zellweger's part.
That's great. Look, I rescheduled a meeting to see you...
...but I guess I can reschedule it back.
- Are you mad? - Don't worry about it. I'm not mad.
Maybe tomorrow.
Yeah, later.
- Look, Stu... - What?
Big kiss.
You too.
[PHONE RINGS]
- Yeah. MAN [ON PHONE]: Isn't it funny?
You hear a phone ring, and it could be anybody...
...but a ringing phone has to be answered, doesn't it?
What?
I hope you realize how you've hurt my feelings.
- Who the fuck is this? - Don't think about leaving that phone.
- Wrong number, pal. - It was a perfectly delicious pizza.
You're certainly going to wish you had accepted it.
Naturally, this is part of the gag. The pizza bit. That was funny shit.
Well, its purpose was to keep your strength up for what's coming next.
- What's coming next is I'm hanging up. - Oh, no, you won't.
- You're going to learn to obey me. - Obey you?
- Who is this? - Someone who enjoys watching you.
Watching me?
Yes, I love the suit you're wearing today. Black on raspberry sorbet. Very Italian.
Where... '? Where are you?
There are hundreds of windows out there. Why don't you check them out?
Yeah?
STU: So, what am I doing now? - You're scratching your head.
Now you're brushing your hair back.
That's not very nice, Stu.
Did you call me Stu?
- Who's Stu? I don't know any Stu. - Why, do you prefer Stuart?
A lot of people in this neighborhood know me.
Stuart Shepard, 1326 West 51st Street, Third Floor, front.
- Go mind-fuck some other guy, pal. - I know Pamela McFadden too.
It's not in your best interest to disconnect me.
Someone could get hurt.
What's the matter, Stu?
If you're some fucked-up, failed actor I wouldn't handle...
...or some prick intern I fired, I will hunt you down and I will crush you.
You will never work in this town.
I can turn people into gods...
...and I can turn you into a total fucking loser if you weren't one already.
Do you hear me? Am I upsetting you? Hello.
Oh, you think I'm gonna, what? Pay you off or something?
- Tell me what you want. - Now you want to talk to me.
Did Adam at my office put you up to this?
No, I thought this up all by myself.
Keep thinking. I'm hanging up.
I'll say hi to your wife, Kelly, for you. Talk to you later.
[PHONE HANGS UP]
What the...?
AUTOMATED VOICE: The callback feature cannot be activated...
Motherfucker.
[PHONE RINGING]
- Tell me what you want. MAN: I want your complete attention.
- Are you an actor? - Yes. One of your pathetic failed ones.
- It's tough when you're not known. - Tell me about it.
You don't have to hunt me and crush me. I can't get work in this town as it is.
I've done some off-Broadway, some off-Manhattan plays, but that dried up.
Now I wait tables, clean toilets, anything to make the rent.
I'm a walking cliché.
I can help you. I can get you auditions.
Auditions? You're not an agent. You're a publicist.
Yeah, but I have contacts. I know agents. I can get you an audition.
- Really? - Yeah.
Well, there is someone I'd like you to call.
Name it.
Try the number you dialed when you first got into the booth.
- I don't know what you're talking about. - No?
Lucky you then, because I wrote it down.
I can see every number you pressed. Let's see if Pam is still at work.
- No. - Then I guess I'll have to do it.
- Look, don't! - Too late. It's already ringing.
- I'll put her on speaker so you can hear. - You're fucking kidding me.
[PHONE RINGING]
Stu, I never kid.
[PHONE RINGING]
- Hello. MAN: Well, hello, Pam.
- Hi, who's this? - It's a good friend of Stu's.
- And he hasn't got many. - You know Stu?
I know he lies.
- Who is this? - Don't worry about that.
Stu's listening in. He can hear what we're saying about him.
- Stu, is that true? Are you there? - Pam, hang up the goddamn phone!
She can't hear you, Stu.
Pam, I'm afraid Stu hasn't been totally honest with you.
- What do you mean? - Don't do this.
- Stu has been lying to you. - Pam, hang up.
Now, why would a man who has a cell phone...
...call you every day from a phone booth?
- Because he said it's quiet. - Pam, that's just stupid.
It's because his wife checks his cell phone bills.
- No record of his calls to you. - Jesus Christ.
- He said he wasn't married. - Oh, he's married.
Her name is Kelly. I've never seen her but she sounds lovely.
Why do you think he invites you to the City Hotel?
- Cheap rooms for cheap girls. - Asshole.
He's telling you all this so you'll sleep with him.
- He's lying, Pam. Don't listen. - I know that, okay?
I may be from Montana, but we have men there also.
I wasn't planning on sleeping with him.
I just don't know a lot of people here right now.
And he's cute and he said that he would help me.
- You never asked me if I was married. - He's never made anyone a star. Bye.
[PHONE HANGS UP]
Hello?
MAN: Back to you, Stu.
Gotta hit this trick before the next bitch takes my score.
- Go away. - Go away? Hang up the phone, nigga.
This motherfucker, you don't eyeball me. Bitch.
Why are you doing this? Did I ever harm you? Did I... '?
- Now, let's call Kelly. - She's not home.
Oh, but I'm sure she's at the shop on Columbus.
How the fuck do you know all this shit?
Speed dial her. Press "auto one." That's her button.
- What am I supposed to say? - Why don't you try the truth?
- You're cheating. - I'm not cheating on Kelly. I never have.
- Then what do you call it? - Look, you're a guy...
...sometimes you want to know it's a possibility.
It's like having a beautiful home...
...but you still dream of that quick vacation.
You know, some nice hotel room with a great view, maybe a pool.
It's just a fantasy. You never leave home.
- Do you hear what I'm saying? - Kelly is a home and Pam is a motel.
- I'm sure they'll both appreciate that. - Fuck you.
Hey, that kind of language is uncalled for.
You can't take up the whole booth. This here's my business.
This is not the only phone in New York.
It's the only one on 8th Avenue that's working.
- Bullshit! Go in a restaurant, but get lost. - Motherfucker, this is my phone. Get...
Goddamn it, man! You done made me hurt my dick hand.
I'm sure you're just as good with the other hand. Go away.
[MAN LAUGHS]
I'll be back, motherfucker. I will be back, bitch. Get out of my way!
I was worried for you. I thought she was gonna put an eye out with that hand.
Whoever you are, you're obviously a very intelligent man.
I know what stress does. It's all I can do from going crazy myself.
- You're calling me crazy? STU: You're going through a difficult time.
Look, please don't call my wife.
Let me give you my office number. We'll talk.
I know a reasonable photographer who will do some headshots.
Stu, do you really think that I'm an actor?
I'm not an actor. I have no use for you, Stu. None.
I would just like you to tell Kelly the truth about yourself.
So are you going to call Kelly and tell her about Pam?
- Or do I have to? - No!
Jesus, no. I'm doing it.
Feeling kind of nervous, Stu?
[PHONE RINGS]
- Hello. - Hold it to the receiver so I can hear.
- Stu? - Yeah.
- Where are you? - I'm in a phone booth.
Baby, I just got this call from this guy who said you'd be calling me...
...from a booth to tell me something important.
There's a lot of prank calling going on today, baby.
- Tell her you invite women... - Shut up.
...To have drinks at discreet hotels.
I'm not talking to you, baby.
Someone's got company.
- Who's that woman? HOOKER 1: Bitch got a cell phone!
- Some hooker is trying to use the phone. - He just called me a hooker.
- Are you sure there's nothing wrong? HOOKER 1: We are escorts. Escorts.
Tell her you want to sleep with other women.
STU: There is this person and he's saying things about me.
Things that might not be true.
And if he calls you... Get the fuck out of here before I call the cops!
Repeat, "Honey, I want to sleep with other women."
Look, Kelly, whatever he says, don't believe him.
- I haven't done anything. - Only because Pam had to rehearse.
Shut the fuck up!
Stu, I don't know what you're talking about, but you're scaring me.
I'm sorry, baby.
Can you just come over to the store so we can talk in person?
- I feel kind of weird. - Yeah. Look, I'll try. Don't worry.
HOOKER 2: Come on! HOOKER 1: Yeah, bitch!
- I love you too. - "I love you."
Get out of here before I have you deported to Jersey.
- You're a fucking ass! - And you're a dirty skank.
- What are you gonna do about it? HOOKER 1: Your mama is a skank, bitch!
You didn't tell your wife the truth, did you, Stu?
And you can tell she really loves you.
Must be nice to have a pretty girl care for you.
Why screw up her life? She never did you harm.
Everybody does harm.
STU: That's it. This mind-fuck is over.
Stu, if you hang up, I will kill you.
What are you going to do about it with your goddamn binoculars?
I never said I had binoculars.
I have a highly magnified telescopic image of you.
Now what kind of device has a telescopic sight mounted on it?
What? You mean like a rifle?
A .30-caliber bolt-action 700 with a carbon-one modification...
...and a state-of-the-art Hensholdt tactical scope.
- And it's staring straight at you. STU: Yeah, how's my fucking hair?
At this range, the exit wound ought to be about the size of a small tangerine.
Nice try, pal. Goto hell. [GUN COCKS]
Now, doesn't that just torque your jaws?
I love that.
You know, like in the movies just as the good guy...
...is about to kill the bad guy, he cocks his gun.
Now why didn't he have it cocked?
Because that sound is scary.
It's cool, isn't it?
Look, you shoot a gun here and there'll be pandemonium.
Do you hear me? There will be cops all over this block.
Do you think so? Let's see. One. Two.
That won't help you. Three.
[GUNSHOT WITH SILENCER]
Stu, look at everybody. Look at all of the people screaming, Stu.
Here come the cops.
Sniper on the roof. Gunfire, hit the deck.
Stu, you still with me?
Stand up and be a man.
So do you mean you would whack me for no particular reason?
No, I have plenty of reasons, and you keep giving me more.
[MAN SPEAKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
- Shall I take care of him? STU: No! No. Shit, no.
It would be so easy.
STU: Here.
Stu, you just gave that gentleman $10 to walk away.
You saved his life. You do have a sensitive side.
- How much to let me go? - Let's see how sensitive you really are.
I'm aiming at you right now.
Can you feel it, the heat of it?
Come now, Stu, you can feel it.
Concentrate.
Take a look at where I'm going.
You're doing so much better than the others.
You read about the German porn king shot 10 days ago...
...at 38th and 8th?
He thought he was an artist and wouldn't admit he was just a pedophile.
[GUNSHOT]
Believe me, he had plenty of chances to come clean.
You must have read about the corporate executive shot at 47th and 10th.
What you didn't read was that he cashed in all of his stocks...
...just before the bottom fell out, while all the little guys lost everything.
[GUNSHOT]
Now if he had been willing to make amends...
...share the money, things might have been different.
Please, tell me, where am I aiming now?
- Below the shoulder. - Which one?
The right shoulder.
HOOKER 3: Love to love you too, baby! - That's phenomenal, Stu.
You're doing so much better than the others.
What do you remember about those killings, Stu?
I don't know.
Well, you think of yourself as a smart guy, Stu. Try.
- They got shot. I don't know, all right? - Okay, I'll give you a hint.
Wallets, watches, everything was left on their bodies.
Because they weren't robberies. They were executions.
They didn't have to be.
What did I do to deserve this? Why me?
If you have to ask, then you're not ready to know yet.
HOOKER 1: Right here. Shit. Come on. LEON: Jesus. You, in the booth.
- Come on. - Now what?
You got any idea how much pain you're making in my life?
LEON: Hey, look at me. STU: Look, I hear you!
Look me in the eye. Hang up the phone and walk away.
- Don't do it. - I got my own problems.
I'm your problem. You know why?
My girls keep yapping at me, "Leon, he won't share the phone."
"Leon, he told us to fuck off."
"We're gonna make you nuts unless you make him get off the fucking phone."
- I'm trying to run a fucking business. - I sympathize, but I can't get off the call.
LEON: No, you don't understand me. I got the G-string union here.
They're breaking my balls.
I gotta live with their shit, but not yours.
So I'm saying this once, nice, all right? Hang up the phone. Walk away.
- He did say it nicely. HOOKER 1: He got a cell phone too.
- It ain't even like he need a phone! - I can't get off the call!
Shut the fuck up! Do you hear that shit? It's like nails on a chalkboard.
They ain't gonna fucking stop, till I get their way.
- I'm getting a fucking headache, pal. - All right. I'll pay you to go away.
I don't want your money. I want you to hang up the phone and get out.
STU: $120. it's all yours. - Everybody has their price, right, Stu?
You're gonna give me $120 to rent the booth the bums piss in?
- Yeah, I'm a nice guy. - Something ain't right with him.
Look at that sweat pouring off that son of a bitch.
- This one sick mother we started with. - It's probably catching too.
LEON: Yo, yo. - He's got AIDS.
LEON: How long you want the booth? STU: Indefinitely.
- Indefinitely? STU: Yes.
Do I look like a asshole? Let me tell you something.
- $500 gets you indefinitely. - Wait up! Hold the fuck up!
How come he's defying you, huh? What, you got bitch in you now?
- Did I say shut the fuck up? HOOKER 1: Now talk to him like that!
STU: Jesus Christ. Are you enjoying this?
- Do you need help? STU: Look, I'm handling it.
LEON: Come on! - I can help you, Stu.
I wasn't gonna kill you before, but you changed my fucking mind.
I would take off if I was you. He gonna kick your ass.
- He gonna kick your ass. LEON: Get the fuck out!
STU: Can you get out of here? Will you go away?
- He looks very angry. - Come on. I, look...
- Hang up. - Get rid of him.
- Hang up the phone! - We can work this out!
- Get rid of him! - Hang up the phone.
STU: I got a watch. It's a Solaris, $2000 retail.
Yeah? I got a gold Rolex, motherfucker.
You got five seconds to get off the phone.
[GUN COCKS]
- Batter up. - Four.
I can stop him.
LEON: Three.
- Just say the word, Stu. - Two. One.
No, no. Don't. Don't.
Fuck.
This will count as a hang up.
I can make him stop. Just say the word. Can you hear me?
STU: Yes. - What?
STU: Yes!
[GUNSHOT WITH SILENCER]
HOOKER 1: Whose street is this? HOOKER 3: That's right, baby.
Oh, my God.
Baby, you bleeding? You must've out yourself...
HOOKER 2: What's wrong? HOOKER 1: You out yourself.
HOOKER 2: What's wrong? HOOKER 1: Baby? Leon? Leon!
HOOKER 2: He was shot! HOOKER 1: My God!
- Motherfucker! HOOKER 1: He's shot!
Leon!
Somebody call an ambulance!
- Call 411! HOOKER 32911, dumb bitch!
HOOKER 2: He ain't breathing. Call the meat wagon!
HOOKER 1: Shut the fuck up! - You shot him.
- Why'd you fucking shoot him? - You said, "Yes."
"Yes, I can hear you," not, "Yes, kill him!"
You ought to be more careful with what you say.
Oh, my God.
- Motherfucker, why'?! - It wasn't me!
- Where's the gun? Do you see a gun? - Fuck you!
You pumped one into him, bitch! I saw it! He's got a Glock!
HOOKER 1: Get down! Get the fuck down! Daddy got a Glock!
What Glock? I don't have a fucking Glock! It's a telephone!
You shot my man, daddy! They gonna skin and fry your ass!
You shot my baby, daddy! Mr. Motherfucker! Mr. Motherfucker!
HOOKER 3: Come on! Come in here.
HOOKER 1: Better run, motherfucker!
The cops is coming and I hope they gun your ass down!
I'm not going anywhere, am I?
If you had dealt with the man decently, this might not have been necessary.
Look, I offered him money. I offered him my watch.
But not your respect, which is what he really wanted.
You were dismissive like you dismissed the nice pizza guy.
STU: Fuck.
You are guilty of inhumanity to your fellow man.
I'm not guilty of a goddamn thing.
Take responsibility for what you've done, Stu. Be a man.
I love this fucking spin. You shoot the guy, and I'm fucking responsible?
Well, looked that way from up here.
I don't know what I did to you but whatever it was, I'm glad.
I wish it had been worse. I wish you died!
- Yes, finally some honesty. - Just tell me who you are.
No one you'd ever notice. I don't run in your circles.
- And what is it you do? - I watch.
- You watch? - Yes, well, what else is there to do...
...when life turns on you and you've retreated into some small room?
You look out your window.
You see people come in and out of this phone booth. The same ones every day.
You make up names for them. You imagine their stories.
But eventually, you get tired of imagining and follow one of them.
And you hear all of his lies.
And you decide that his sins should be punished.
Some guy shouting into a cell phone full of self-importance isn't gonna notice me.
But I noticed that German porn king, and I noticed that corrupt executive.
And I noticed you, Stu.
- I'm flattered. - Operator 553. What is your emergency?
Will you please respond?
What was so interesting about a guy in a phone booth on 53rd and 8th?
The Stu Show. Better than TV.
Look, how'd I get so lucky to be picked up by a killer with a rifle'?!
You had it made. Kelly at home, Pam on the side.
I saw Pam once. I followed her to her restaurant. Lovely.
Life has given you more than your fair share, Stu.
But it appears you don't appreciate it.
Look, look, listen, appearances can be deceiving.
I may look confident, but I'm really, actually just crying out for help!
Help! You know?
I'm trying to help you, Stu, but you won't help yourself.
[GUNSHOT WITH SILENCER]
- Fuck. - What's the matter, Stu?
- You shot me! - It's time you learn, Stu.
- Deception can't go unrewarded. - Deception! What fucking deception?
"Are you in need of immediate police or medical response?"
Shit. You bugged the fucking booth.
That's how you knew. That's how you knew about Pam.
- You picked the wrong person to lie to. - Look, I didn't pick you.
It must have been your flashy suit that attracted me.
I get fucked on account of my clothes? That why you killed Leon?
I didn't kill Leon because of the way he dressed.
And those other two guys as well? Did they dress too nice?
You must feel really expensive when you walk out the door.
[SIRENS WAILING] STU: Here come the cops.
What are you gonna do? Run?
No, I'm not a coward like some people I know.
- You can get away if you run now. - You'll blame me for Leon.
STU: No, no, I'll confess I shot him with my fucking phone.
Well, then I urge you to keep one thing in mind, Stu.
Take a look at your chest. You saw how accurate I can be, how lethal.
STU: Kill me now, and you give yourself away.
Not with a silencer. It would take these guys...
...the rest of the day to figure out it wasn't one of their own men that did it.
You can be shot 41 times for pulling out your wallet.
JONAH: Throw down your weapon and come out with your hands raised.
- Ignore him. - Yeah, what if they open fire?
They won't. Look around you, Stu.
Do you see the tourists with the video cameras?
The ones hoping the oops will blow you away...
...so they can sell the tape to The Most Gory Police Shootouts?
Don't worry, they'll keep the police on their best behavior.
So long as you don't take hostile action, you should be safe.
Safe? You call this safe?
I got a whole fucking precinct here with guns pointed my way.
JONAH: With both hands raised, moving slowly, step out of the booth.
If we see any signs of a weapon we will respond.
You won't because there isn't any!
JONAH: Put down the phone and raise your hands!
Look, I can't. I'm on an important call.
Verify this information for me.
The guy in the booth shot that guy over there...
...and stuck around to make a phone call.
Yeah, that's what the hookers are saying.
All right, give me the horn.
Sir!
- I'm ordering you to fully comply. - I'm busy, all right. Come back later.
- Very good, Stu. - Step out of the booth...
...and raise your hands. I am giving you an order.
I give the orders here, Stu, don't I?
This guy is looking for us to kill him, captain.
Suicide by a cop? Well, that's not gonna happen.
Get that body out of here fast.
Somebody get the body. Tell the ambulance to get the body.
Thousands of people die every day, but you put one dead body...
...in the middle of a busy street and it makes people crazy.
Look at these guys. You can smell the fear.
- Ten cops. - This reminds me of Nam.
- Vietnam? - Yes, Vietnam.
I was too young to go, but I've seen pictures.
Well, pictures can't do it, Stu. You can't imagine the fear, the stench.
Napalm-charred bodies, children leaving grenades in your boots.
- Then you got blamed for the war. - I came home and people spit on me.
Yeah, this country owes you an apology.
Look, I just had this vision of you, of a kid, coming back from the war...
...inured to the killing, not able to get work, isolated.
I think that could be made into an affecting story...
mend, you know, one that everyone understands.
And I think cops are on the side of vets.
You are pathetic, Stu. Why don't you wake up?
Napalm-charred bodies? I'd have to be 50 to be in that war!
Stop fucking with my head, please!
- I'm gonna go talk to him. - Shouldn't we wait on the ESU negotiator?
They could take 20 minutes. I'm not gonna take a chance on this one.
- I'm gonna handle this. - All right.
Sir! I'm taking out my weapon.
Putting my weapon down on the car.
- The captain's going in. - I'm not armed.
- Yeah, neither am I. - My name is Ramey.
- Captain Ed Ramey. - All right.
RAMEY: What's yours? - I don't want to be friends.
I don't know. It looks like you could use a friend right now.
- Tell him you've already got a friend. - I already got a friend.
Is that who you're talking to on the phone?
Look, I just want to hear your side of it. That's all.
I ain't got no side of it, and I didn't shoot anybody.
You see a fucking gun anywhere? Look.
It's in your back pocket! I see it! He been ...
RAMEY: Sir, do you have the weapon in your pocket?
No. I got a cell phone and I got cigarettes. I got no fucking weapon.
Then what are you doing in a phone booth making calls?
- You want to see it? Here. RAMEY: Hey!
Don't reach for that! Hold your fire!
I don't need to see it. I know what's there.
I got plenty of witnesses over here who saw you use it.
They didn't see it because it didn't happen!
- Shut them up! - He's dead, but it didn't happen?
- Then who did it? - Mustn't tell him, Stu.
- I don't know. - You were the closest one to him.
- You must've saw it happen. Help me. STU: Na
- This guy is getting on my nerves. - Look, stay the fuck out of this.
Who do you keep talking to on the phone?
- Nobody. - Your friend, your parent, your lover?
- Who? - Careful, Stuart. Careful.
My psychiatrist.
- Excellent. I should've thought of that. - I see. What's this doctor's name?
It would be really helpful to us if we knew.
He says not to tell you, all right? It's privileged information.
Very good, Stuart. See, now you're having fun.
- Yeah, whatever you fucking say. RAMEY: I respect your right to privacy.
I've been through therapy myself. The department provided it for me.
I know it's not good form for a cop to be saying that, but sometimes...
...you know, circumstances, stress... I had issues. I lost my marriage over it.
Tell him not to come any closer.
Don't come any closer. Stop there. Go back a few steps.
- Go back to where you were! RAMEY: Okay. No problem.
STU: That's right. - So you got some intimacy issues.
I got those too. All I want to know is, what happened, man?
- Tell him to read you your rights. - I want you to read me my rights.
Stop asking questions.
You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one, an attorney will be provided for you.
All right? So now, can you at least give me your first name?
- Just your first name. - Don't tell him.
It's my right not to have any first name.
RAMEY: No gun, no name. STU: That's right.
- You're highly underprivileged. - Demand your lawyer.
And go get my lawyer too. All right?
I want an attorney brought down here to negotiate my surrender.
- Just brilliant, Stu. - I understand that, but...
...it's gonna be difficult to get a lawyer to come and risk his life.
- Once you hand over the gun... - How can I'?
You won't let me put my hand in my pocket?
We'll take it out for you. All you have to do...
...is step out with your hands raised. Nothing will happen to you.
- It's not gonna work. - Stu, Stu.
- What? - Ask him a question.
Ask him if his wife got tired of sleeping with him.
- I... Fuck. I can't do that. - Oh, sure you can, Stu.
Ask him if he couldn't get it up, if he couldn't satisfy her.
- Are you gonna step out of the booth? - I can't. No.
- You're not stepping out of the booth? - Ask him.
- Is that a no? - Ask him!
- Both your lives depend on it. RAMEY: Sir?
Captain, you couldn't satisfy your wife sexually?
- Excuse me? - Ask him if he abuses himself now?
- Does he masturbate on lonely nights? - Fuck. For God's sake!
Say it!
Say it or I will blow him away!
[GUN COCKS]
- So do you whack off now? - Hey!
[CALLER LAUGHS]
I'm gonna see about that lawyer for you, okay?
- Yes. - Just relax.
- Stu, I think you hurt his feelings. - I wanna know who's on that phone.
I want a techie here. I need to talk to somebody about that phone.
Do you think we went too far, Stuart? Should we give ourselves up?
Maybe I'd like someone to negotiate my surrender.
- I'm sure we can work that out. - I won't just spill my guts to anyone.
Could you get me national news? I mean, you've got connections, right?
- Sure. - Could you get Larry King down here?
Why the fuck would Larry King come here?
Because you're friends. Who else could you get, huh?
Could you get Tom Brokaw? How about Dan Rather? Diane Sawyer?
- Look, I, I, I don't know. They're busy. - I, I, I busy.
How about Mike Wallace? Ted Koppel? Peter Jennings? Katie Couric?
Al Roker? Anybody? No! Nobody.
Face it, Stu, you're smalltime. And you've got a credibility problem.
STU: Don't fucking worry about my credibility! All right?
What about yours?
Look, it's our friends from channels two and five. Your local news, Stuart.
You couldn't do this for your clients if your life depended on it.
But me, I've made you famous.
Stick your head out so they can get a better angle on you.
- They're here to cover me dying. - How ungrateful.
Those cameras will make the police very careful.
- So come on, smile a little for them. RAMEY: Can you tap into that phone?
- Should be no problem. - Except..
...we'll need a warrant if he's on the line with his shrink.
Fuck that. I'm not gonna jeopardize this on a technicality.
Look, tracing, that's not a violation, right?
- As long as we don't listen in. RAMEY: This is what I want you to do.
I want you to find who he's talking to and their current location.
All right? We get that?
I want somebody to find out what's going on.
Look across the street and see what everybody in New York is looking at.
You're the man, Stuart. You're the center of attention.
Wait till this goes national: ABC, CBS, CNN, UPN ...
You're gonna hit the whole alphabet, Stu.
I'll be forgotten about in a week.
No one ever remembers the names of the victims.
It's the killers that get the cover of Time magazine. Right?
Think about it. You'd be famous. Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy...
...fucking Jeffrey Dahmer. Name a victim. You can't.
Anyway, I don't deserve to be the center of attention.
- It ought to be you they're covering. - That attention would embarrass me.
- I know exactly the spin to put on this. - How terror inspires your creativity?
Listen, this could be a media frenzy, all right? You'd get Barbara Walters...
...I mean, Larry King if you still wanted him.
That approach seems predicated upon me surrendering without killing you.
Listen, we can make you sympathetic, sit with a writer, bang out a book.
You know, movie of the week. Get America on your side.
All right, you killed Leon because he was gonna kill me.
You killed Leon to protect me. All right?
In a city where nobody looks out for anybody, you took a stand.
I'm your best witness.
So you want me to trust you to get me out of this?
Yes, I do. I want you to trust me. Trust me.
Stu, you must think I'm crazy.
- Oh, shit. Here comes Bremen. - I'll take care of him.
Hey. Should've waited for me to initiate contact with the suspect.
I established a rapport. Let you know if I need help.
Are you grandstanding for TV cameras?
Or do you want to leave this to a professional?
Until a professional gets here, I'll handle it.
You're a funny guy. All right, you get somebody else killed, it's on your head.
Got it?
This is what I want to do, okay? This is the City Hotel here.
I want three guys in the lobby here. And five sharpshooters up here.
See if you can get me two in the subway.
[PHONE RINGING]
What the fuck?
- Not going to answer it? - I can't. I can't reach for the phone.
- The cops will think it's a gun. - I'll bet it's Kelly.
She's probably heard what you did. She's sick with worry.
I'm not gonna make her feel any better, am I'?
Well, you could ask her to forgive you, Stuart.
You could confess your sins and beg for absolution, come clean.
You're in this position because you're not telling the truth.
I'm in this position because you got a gun!
No. Stuart, that is the sin of spin. Avoidance and deception.
[PHONE RINGING]
You're being given a chance here to make things right. Now, talk to her.
- Look, I can't. Please. - I am telling you to answer that phone!
- Excuse me! Excuse me! - You can't cross in front of here!
Answer it!
STU: Look, I can't. Please. - Don't make me hurt you!
- Talk to your wife! - It's not her calling.
- How can you be so sure? - It's you. it's you, you miserable fuck!
Damn, you got me! You continue to impress.
You could shoot me, but you want them to do it!
- Yes, well, that's an option. - Yeah.
- Captain. RAMEY: Yeah?
JONAH: She says the perp's her husband. Here's her ID.
- I couldn't believe when I saw this. - Who do you think he's talking to?
I don't know. I spoke to him earlier today and I told him...
...that there was a man who called me. - A man?
Did this upset him, that you were talking to other men?
Yes, he did seem a little upset, but it's, no... it's not like that.
- I didn't even know who this guy was. - Who's his psychiatrist?
- He doesn't have one. - That you know of.
I've been with him three years, married one. I'd know if he was in therapy.
I wish to God he had been. I saw somebody after my divorce.
It kept me from picking up a gun, doing something I would regret.
- Look, Stu didn't kill anyone. - Ma'am, under the circumstances...
...you need to consider whether your husband is who you thought he was.
Because according to these witnesses over here, he has a gun...
...he has used that gun and let's pray to God that he doesn't use it again.
OFFICER: Captain?
If you can think of any dispute he's having currently, please, tell me.
We're clearing City Hotel. I can stage an assault unit within feet of the booth.
We've also got sharpshooters securing rooftop positions.
- Let me know when you're in position. - Absolutely.
What about that wire tap?
We're working on it. You gotta hold tight a while, all right?
- Yeah, no problem. No problem. - Okay.
RAMEY: Mrs. Shepard. Mrs. Shepard.
- Does he like being called Stuart or Stu? - Stu. Call him Stu.
Stu. Okay.
Come with me, please.
Stu.
I have your wife with me.
That's how you knew she wasn't calling. You deceived me.
KELLY: Stu! - She's not my wife.
Are you okay?
- Can you just talk to me? - Yes, talk to her, Stu.
Look, she's not my wife!
She's some fucked-up, failed actress I wouldn't handle. She's stalking me!
You aren't making this up? You are his wife, right?
KELLY: Yes, here's a photograph of us together.
I don't know what he's talking about.
Stu. Listen to your wife.
- She only wants what's best for you. - She's not my wife!
Stu, nobody wants to hurt you.
- We just want to know what happened. - Yeah, very good.
Go home, you fucking lunatic! You hear me? Go home!
KELLY: Please don't make things worse. Just come out.
Just do what they tell you to do.
Your wife is a crazy actress stalker and you don't know her.
- That's an interesting match. - Get her out of here!
- Enough. I don't want to agitate this. - You out of your fucking mind?
- Come on, get the woman out of here! KELLY: I don't know what's going on.
He's bleeding... We... We're fine. This morning everything was fine.
You just stay here. Just stay here, okay?
KELLY: Okay. - I think she did some good.
- You got a number of that lawyer? - No, we don't have a lawyer.
He asked for his lawyer to come negotiate his surrender.
- Well, we never needed one. - Well, you need a good one now.
Look, you'll do me best by staying near here. Okay?
I'm gonna get your husband out alive.
- I'm not going to let you fuck this up! - Get Mrs. Shepard out of here.
You know, get her some coffee or something.
You're gonna lose this guy. You need some kind of redemption.
- What are you seeing a shrink for? RAMEY: Get the fuck out of my face!
- Don't fucking touch me! - I'm not stepping down!
You okay?
Yeah, I'm fine.
You'd think she didn't know she was being watched.
- What? - But beautiful women always know.
- You talking about Kelly? - That false indifference, superior air...
...it's just a tease. They want eyes on them.
Why does she put on her makeup, do her hair, dress so nicely?
Not for her husband that she hardly ever sees.
No, it's for somebody else to notice. I notice.
What are you doing? Stay away from her. Leave her alone.
I'm giving her what she wants.
I bet you've never looked at Kelly the way I am right now.
[GUN COCKS] [CALLER LAUGHS]
- Don't you dare fucking hurt her. - Don't I dare?
I'm not the one who has hurt her, Stuart.
What they can't know is what we do to them in our minds. Right?
- You sick fuck! - The perfect violation.
- Leave her out of this. - How many times...
...have you had sex with Pam in that hotel bedroom in your head?
Would you really miss Kelly if she was gone?
That's it. Not another word. I'm not talking to you.
Your choices put other people in jeopardy.
When are you gonna learn that?
This is funny. Stuart, look uptown.
These geniuses are still at the juncture box trying to tap in.
Only I have installed an encryption device at both ends of the line.
There's no chance of a trap trace...
...so now they've gotta try some fancy LoJack instrument. It's really sad.
I hope you weren't pinning your hopes on those morons.
Truth is, I'm on a wireless A.D.S. with a cloned number.
It'll take a half an hour to find out I call forwarded through Philadelphia.
And let me tell you, this will all be over before they can get a dial tone.
We can't get a trace or break into the line. It's like a ball of rubber bands.
I knew there was something weird about this. You keep working on it.
Stu. Stuart, come on, you're behaving like a child.
Still gonna give me the silent treatment?
Hello. Stuart, don't do this, please. Come on.
My sainted mother used to do this. She used to dish this out.
Stuart, please don't do this.
Stuart, you're bringing back my unhappy childhood.
Stuart, talk to me! Please, talk to me! I can't take it! Stu, please...
I'm kidding. I had a very happy childhood.
[GUN COCKS]
Hey, there's our girl again. I wasn't planning on killing her...
...but plans change.
Just tell me what the fuck you want from me.
Hello. There you are. I thought I was talking to myself again.
Anything you want. I'll do it. Just tell me.
Tell Kelly about the real Stu, about your little motel.
- And then you'll let us go? - Why not?
STU: Kelly! - That's a start.
- Baby! RAMEY: Hold her back!
- Hey! - Talk to me!
RAMEY: Grab her! Keep her back! KELLY: Yes?
I'm listening.
STU: Kelly, I called some woman.
- Every day. - Every day.
I was attracted to this other woman. And I called her and ...
- I wanted to fuck her. - And I wanted to sleep with her.
No. I wanted to fuck her.
- Say it. Say it! - And I wanted to fuck her.
- I'm sorry. - Whatever you did, I don't care.
Please, just come out of the booth. Okay?
That's all I did. That's all I did. I'm sorry.
All right, I've done what you asked. That's it. I've had enough of this.
I haven't.
- You said you'd let us go. - I changed my mind.
You miserable fuck. You can't do this. You can't do this to me.
Look, I took all your shit. I did everything you fucking asked.
You lied to me. I'm done with this.
I've fucking had enough. You can go fuck yourself! Later.
- He hung up. - Maybe they already got a trace.
ESU, ESU?
[PHONE RINGING]
- I'm giving myself up! BRAMAN: He's coming out!
BRAMAN: Heads up! - I want to see you toss away your weapon!
Throw the weapon outside the booth! Stay where you are!
- First, the weapon! - Don't hurt him! Please, don't hurt him!
STU: There's no gun! RAMEY: Stay right where you are!
I want you to turn around. Interlock your fingers behind your head. Okay?
[PHONE RINGING]
- Please give them the gun! - Kelly, no!
Get back! Kelly!
- Freeze! - Get back! Get back!
- Get back! - Okay! Okay!
[PHONE RINGING]
I gotta answer it.
Freeze! Don't move.
Hold your fire!
Hold your fire.
[PHONE RINGING]
- Hold. Hold. - Please.
- Go ahead. Answer it. - What the fuck are you doing?
He's coming out!
Answer the phone.
[PHONE RINGING]
STU: You fucking coward. MAN: Hi, Stu.
Now, you've had your little tantrum and you said some things in anger...
...that I am willing to forget.
Get her back in the car! I want her in the car.
If he's not the shooter, then who the fuck is?
Captain, what the fuck is up with the phone calls?
- So can we start over? - You lied.
You can't know the pain of betrayal until you've been betrayed.
Sniper in one of these buildings. I want you to talk to ESU.
I want you to get one of these guys, this building.
Start looking up there from window to window till you find the perp. Okay?
I want you to do it quickly, and I want you to do it quietly. All right?
Where's the ESU sergeant?
STU: You said we could go.
- You said you'd let us go. - Relax, Stuart.
Nobody gets it right the first time.
You've done better than others. You will get a chance to end this.
- I'm just not finished yet. - Yeah, well, I am.
- There's nothing keeping me. - Besides the fear of death?
I dive out and you've got one shot. I'm gonna be dancing.
- You think you can get me? - I could go for some target practice.
STU: One shot, they look for you. Second shot, you give yourself away.
Go on, Stuart, hang up!
Trust your fate to friendly men in flak jackets with automatic weapons.
I'm sure you can patch up that little misunderstanding about the dead body.
- Cops can't prove I killed anyone. - You had motive.
STU: No weapon. - Plenty of loudmouth witnesses.
No gun and I walk.
- Are you sure? - Yes!
Yeah? You murder a guy and you forget where you stashed your gun?
Why don't you lift the plastic ceiling panel and feel around?
Peekaboo!
What's up next to the florescent bulb? Check it out, Stu.
Cops see me reach for something, they'll blow me away.
There's only one way to find out.
Look, the slugs in that dead guy, they came from your rifle.
They're not gonna match a handgun. I've seen enough cop shows.
Hollow points fragment on impact, Stuart. There's nothing to match.
STU: There's no gun up there. - Don't take my word for it.
See for yourself. There are rounds left in it.
- I totally couldn't give a shit. - Come on. Don't disappoint me.
Use your imagination. You'd shoot me if you got the chance, wouldn't you?
With a big fucking smile on my face.
There 's the spirit.
Now, what if I told you I was just above the theater, four floors up?
See the pink curtains?
There you go, Stuart. Yes.
Yoo-hoo!
[CALLER LAUGHING]
Why would you do that?
Because it's fun. The odds are even now, Stuart.
Isn't that what you wanted?
You know where I am, and you have a gun.
If you have it in you, you can take me down.
Fuck!
- They'd kill me before I got a shot. - Oh, you're probably right.
I'm not really there anyway.
You would've just spoiled some nice lady's curtains.
Looks like someone watches the news.
- Who? - The motel.
- Oh, God. - I think she could use a new headshot.
- Don't! - Then take down the gun.
- Look, this has nothing to do with her! - She has everything to do with this.
You're here and she's here because you called her.
Now, take it down! Don't make me hurt Pam, Stuart.
- Take down the gun! JONAH: Hey, everybody, get ready.
RAMEY: Hold on, hold on. Let's just see what he does, all right?
Let's see what he's doing.
There's nothing there.
Nothing but your fingerprints on the finest cop killer money can buy.
- Come on, Stu. Let's see it. - Fuck, no! it's staying there.
Fine, then someone will have to take your place.
Come on, Stu, you're in a perfect position.
- How do you figure? - You get to choose between them.
Pamela or Kelly? Should I choose? One of them can take your place.
Don't do this!
You've got to be more in touch with your feelings. You only love Kelly!
- It's true! - But you lie to her.
It's complicated.
Then I'll uncomplicate it, Stuart, by removing temptation. I say Pam.
No! Look, this isn't Pam's fault. This is all my fault!
She's innocent!
Ticktock, ticktock. Time's running out. Okay, Kelly, then.
- You decide. - No, please!
Come on, Stu. Don't you get the game yet?
You're a selfish guy. Pick one and save yourself.
Blond or brunette? Time's running out.
You or them? Kelly or Pam? Kelly or Pam?
Come on, Stu!
Stop this.
- I can't take this any more. - What are you doing? Get up!
- I was looking for my ring. Look... - Get up, Stuart!
Stand up and be a man. You're embarrassing yourself.
Captain! I got it. Listen.
The rifleman reports subject pulled a small, dark object out of his pocket.
All right. You're looking at a suicide on national fucking TV.
You gonna let me take this over?
RAMEY: Tell everybody to hold on, to hold their fire.
Everybody hold. Stay ready, but hold.
- Stuart, you're beginning to annoy me. - You can't do this.
[PHONE RINGING]
Stu. No more spinning, no more excuses.
What're you doing? Look, listen. Listen, please listen to me.
No more delays, Stuart.
Look... I'm on my knees begging you not to kill me.
I will if you keep up this pathetic spectacle.
KELLY: Excuse me! He's on the phone, talking.
STU: From up in your high window, you could kill anyone.
- Yes, I know that, Stuart. - All right, and...
You could pick off any of the cops, with your rifle.
Shut up and stand up!
Look, why threaten Kelly?
You liked how she sounded on the phone at the store.
Please don't hurt her. Don't fucking hurt my wife.
This doesn't have to end with me shooting you. You leave no choice.
- Now, get up! - All right.
Okay, how does this end? Tell me how this ends.
The stage is almost set.
People are gonna be eating dinner watching you die.
We got a sniper situation here.
What about that phone call to your store?
I got a phone call this afternoon. I think it was a prank call.
He told me Stu would be calling me from a phone booth.
How long will it take to get a record of her calls?
If he's using that secure line, we won't know more than now.
Say he didn't. Let's assume he's a human, makes mistakes like all of us.
I need to get that number. I've been waiting for that number.
It was a guy. He sounded like mid-30's.
Mrs. Shepard? It would be safer if you got back in the oar, okay?
- Please get back in the car. JONAH: Thank you.
I want you to divert incoming ESU units to Broadway and hold them there.
- Want me to clear the streets? - Yeah.
No, no, no. I don't want the sniper to be aware of any of our movements.
He's already got position on us.
Let's not let him know we know too much, okay?
- Hey, Jonah. JONAH: Yeah.
Don't look up.
Get me sharpshooters looking at those windows.
- You got it, captain. - I'm gonna buy us some time here.
All right.
Stu! it's okay if I come out and talk to you for a second?
- I don't know. - This guy is so lonely.
- All he wants to do is talk. - You're walking through a bad dream...
...and you can't wake up. - Now he's really testing my patience.
You wanna wake up, Stu?
STU: I wanna, but I got issues I can't talk about.
- That your psychiatrist on the phone? - Yeah, yeah. I'm paying him overtime.
That was pretty brave what you did.
I mean, admitting all that stuff to your wife.
- It was liberating, right? - Should've been.
Maybe if I could be more honest with my wife then...
...I don't know, something would've turned out different.
Oh, please.
- Trust is the key. You trust me, Stu? - Get this man a seat on Oprah.
I wanna, but I got the issues I can't talk about.
Yes, lethal issues. Tell him to stay back.
STU: Look, don't come any closer.
Hey, I don't wanna cause or make anything harder for you.
Pam, Ramey, Kelly, people on the street, you've got lives in your hands.
I told you it's a private conversation. What the fuck do you want?
I wanna let you know that it's safe outside the booth.
- It's not. - It's always, "Get out of the booth!"
I like it in the fucking booth! All right? it's my world.
This is my booth, and I'm not coming out. All right?
- Never. - We're not gonna force you out...
...because there could be some miscalculation...
...and then I would never find out why this happened.
Stu, I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I'm gonna be standing by...
...and my men are gonna shoot some guy...
...and when we find out what's in his hand, once we turn over his body...
...and we see what he was threatening people with...
We realize that it was just a little black Bible.
- Or a cell phone. - Don't push me, Stu.
I'm not gonna let that happen here.
I wanted to make a phone call. One lousy call...
That's enough, Stu.
RAMEY: You got some bad news on that call?
The worst.
I bet you want to jump off the edge.
- I've been falling ever since. - I'm gonna push him over the edge.
Just say the word. [GUN COCKS]
it's time to land.
- When you hit bottom, you die. - I'm your safety net.
Oh, please, say the word.
If I tell you what you wanna know, you'll die too.
Exactly.
- I'm going. - Good.
But, Stu, we put a call out to your lawyer.
Your wife, she gave us the number.
And I got my best men working on bringing him down. Okay?
That's it. The captain gets a bullet.
Get out of here! Hear what I said, asshole?
- Get out of here, go on, now! Go! - Enough of this sideshow, Stu.
- Your sins have caught up to you. - So this is all some religious thing?
That explains it. Bible-crazed killer picks on fashion-obsessed PR guy.
- Tell me what you want, then. - What everyone wants...
...for the bad guy to get what he deserves.
Go for the gun.
- Kill myself? - Yes.
It would be a rare, unselfish act.
BRAMAN: We got hostile action. - Nothing is hostile until I say it is.
STU: Look, I can't find it. - Kelly, Pam, bam! Bam!
All right! Look, I found it. I got it.
- Then let's see it. Let everyone see it. - The cops'll kill me.
Yes. You're talking prime-time material now.
- All this shit just to watch me die? - No.
To get you to do what's right. If you wanna save yourself confess.
- I already told Kelly everything. - Everything?
No. No more excuses and half-truths, Stuart.
You look out into those cameras and you bare your soul.
TV seems to help bring out the worst in people.
You should be fine.
- How're those techs doing? Anything? - No, not yet. Not yet.
We haven't found your lawyer yet, Stu. But we're getting close. Okay?
Stuart, I'm offering you a chance to redeem yourself.
Come on, humble yourself in front of your loved ones...
...and millions of strangers and me. It's do-or-die time.
STU: You couldn't find anyone worse than me?
Not a murderer or a child molester but a publicist...
...who has fantasies about pretty little actresses.
Who spends money on Italian suits and dry cleaning...
...so people think he's important. Who doesn't waste time being nice...
...to people who are of no use to him. These are crimes?
Stuart, I know your crimes. Tell them.
I've never done anything for anybody...
...who couldn't do something for me. I string along...
...a kid with promises that I'll pay him money.
I keep him around because he looks up to me.
Adam, if you're watching, don't be a publicist. You're too good for it.
I lie in person and on the phone. I lie to my friends.
I lie to newspapers and magazines who sell my lies to more and more people.
I'm just a part of a big cycle of lies. I should be fucking president.
I wear all this Italian shit because underneath, I still feel like the Bronx.
I think I need these clothes, and this watch.
My $2000 watch is a fake, and so am I.
I neglected the things I should've valued most.
I valued this shit.
I take off my wedding ring to call Pam. Kelly, that's Pam.
JONAH: Somebody got a 20 on this Pam? STU: Don't blame her.
I never told her if I was married, and if I did...
...she would've told me to go home.
Kelly, looking at you now, I'm ashamed of myself.
I mean, I work so hard on this image, on Stu Shepard, the asshole...
...who refers to himself in third person, that I only proved I should be alone.
I've been dressing up as something I'm not for so long...
...I'm so afraid you won't like what's underneath.
But here I am. I'm just flesh and blood and weakness.
I love you so fucking much.
[STU SOBBING]
I take off this ring because it only reminds me of how I've failed you.
And, I don't wanna give you up.
I wanna make things better, but it may not be my choice any more.
You deserve better.
- You're not gonna let me go. - No.
You never were. I know a thing about lies.
I know a thing or two about liars as well.
Then why the confession?
I didn't do it for you.
TECH: Right there. OFFICER: Yeah, got that.
Captain, captain. The call to his wife originated at 2:17...
...at a hard line from the old Barkley Hotel.
- You got a room? - 604.
Second window from the corner. ESU units holding.
Bring them in from 52nd Street.
Cover the windows, doors, fire escape, every goddamn point of exit.
- ESU, ESU, come in from the 52nd... - Stu!
- Your lawyer's coming down now! JONAH: Doors, fire escapes ...
Now!
At least you'll die with a clean conscience.
No, you're the one that's gonna die! Listen, you can hear them now.
They're coming to get you. Know why?
- Because I sent them! - You can't stop lying, can you?
I can't stop lying? They're coming up the stairs.
They're coming to get you. Look around.
That room's getting smaller every second.
Inch by inch! You know what?
It's not gonna be any bigger than this fucking goddamn booth!
- They're in position, in position. - Get them to move!
- There's nobody there. - There's nobody there?
They're coming through that fucking door to put you out of your misery.
You got a couple seconds left. What're you gonna do?
If this is true, I have to take someone with me, don't I?
Since Kelly is the most important thing in your life, I'll take her.
Then take me! Take me. This is about me!
I'm the fucking one you want! Take me!
This is about me! Come on!
Take me! it's me you want!
[STU'S VOICE ECHOES]
[GUNSHOT]
[KELLY SCREAMING]
This is Captain Ramey. Somebody talk to me.
OFFICER: We're too late. The psycho heard us coming...
...and slashed his throat with a knife.
RAMEY: What's his condition? - Critical. He's lost a lot of blood.
Get him down here. I don't want nobody dying on me.
All right.
- Kelly, where's Kelly? JONAH: Your wife's fine, all right?
All right, try not to sit up.
- What hit me? - Rubber bullet.
Figured if somebody's gonna shoot you, it might as well be us.
Thanks.
- Did you get him? - You did.
- I didn't do anything. - Give yourself some credit.
Got yourself out alive. Doesn't always happen that way.
KELLY: Stu? Stu? STU: Kelly.
KELLY: Are you okay? STU: it's okay. I'm okay.
KELLY: God. I was so afraid.
I thought I wasn't ever gonna see you again.
Me too.
We've got things to talk about.
I only want to talk about what you want to tell me.
I want to tell you everything. Everything.
Get that gurney over here. Get over here.
JONAH: We lost him.
RAMEY: Hey.
STU: I want to stand up. KELLY: I got him.
MEDIC: Sure you can hold on? STU: I gotta see him.
RAMEY: You don't want to see this. - Yes, I do.
MEDIC: Take it easy. - Yes, I do.
- Allow me. Allow me. - Go ahead.
RAMEY: You recognize him?
Yeah. He was down here trying to deliver me a pizza...
...10 minutes before I got the call.
I told him to fuck off.
RAMEY: That's enough these days.
MEDIC: Just give it a minute.
We'll be driving, and you'll be flying.
STU: Whatever you say.
What a piece of shit.
MAN: Nice shoes.
Italian.
You hung up, Stu.
I didn't get a chance to say goodbye.
I feel bad about the pizza guy.
But I couldn't miss seeing you and Kelly reunited.
You don't have to thank me. Nobody ever does.
I just hope your newfound honesty lasts.
Because it if doesn't, you'll be hearing from me.
MAN: Isn't it funny?
You hear a phone ring, and it could be anybody.
But a ringing phone has to be answered, doesn't it?
Doesn't it?
[PHONE RINGING]
MAN 2: Hello?