American Hustle

All news, all the time. This is WINS.

You give us 22 minutes,

we'll give you the world.

Good evening. It's 42 degrees at 5:00 and here's what's happening.

Mayor Koch urges the talks to resume between the city and unions,

but he says the unions have to give in a bit.

The PBA negotiator says he wants real salary increases.

Nassau police ask an 18-year-old mother why she abandoned her child.

A federal judge rules an accused war criminal

must testify in his deportation hearing.

A House committee tells the president

it does not like proposed Mideast arms sales.

The news watch never stops! This is WINS.

WINS news time, 5:02.

Contract talks have ended temporarily

between the city and its labor union

with both sides making some angry charges.

The municipal labor unions broke off talks

demanding that the city withdraw

what they call their outrageous

and irresponsible contract proposals.

The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association

and the Uniformed Firefighters Association

are the two unions not participating

in the coalition bargaining with the city,

and the PBA chief negotiator says he wants

some solid gains for the men in blue.

A bankrupt New York City can't afford

to lose money, but city officials say it did,

between two and five million dollars

in the first two months of 1978 alone...

I do all kinds of business with him. He knows Carl Elway.

He knows exactly what he's getting into.

What are you doing, going behind my back?

Telling people I'm screwing up this operation?

I got you a suite at the fucking Plaza Hotel.

- The shittiest suite at the Plaza Hotel. - What?

The shittiest fucking suite and the food is wrong.

- Based on what? - And what is this?

- What is it? - The food's wrong? What is what?

- You went in my closet or something? - No.

Are you dressing him like you dress me?

No, what are you thinking? This isn't all about you.

What, did you try to dress me so I would look like him?

No, you're not dressed like him.

- But I do look... I look like him. - No.

- He's in, like, velvet. - Velvet?

You asked me to show you how this was done.

You want to fuck it up, be my guest.

- What is your problem? - Hey, look,

I never laid a hand on her, all right? Is that what this is about?

Well, technically, that's not true.

Look, we never had sex, okay? Just, what'd I do?

I went like... What'd I do?

- I put my hand like this. - You fucking get out.

Don't you fucking touch me.

That bothers me.

- Oh, it does? - Oh, yeah.

- That bothers you? - Yes.

You know, a lot of shit bothers me, too, but I was trying to help you.

If I wanted to bother you, if I really wanted to fucking bother you,

this is what I'd do.

If I was trying to bother you, that's what I would do.

You shouldn't have done that.

How's that? You bothered now?

All right, don't make a thing of it.

You shouldn't touch him, he doesn't like that.

- Oh, my God, fix his hair. - No, you really shouldn't.

Jesus Christ, don't make a thing of it.

- It takes some time, okay? - Big fucking deal.

It's not like just...

We got to get in the other room. Come on.

The mayor's in there.

Yes, I know that.

Should we go to the beauty parlor? Is that what we should do?

How's it look?

Fine.

Let's go.

Look, I do business face-to-face, person-to-person.

That's just who I am, call me old-fashioned, but...

Carl, I come all the way down here, the sheik's not even here?

Excuse me, excuse me.

I'll handle that for the mayor.

No, the... It's for the mayor.

It'd be a sign of disrespect to the sheik

if the mayor didn't take it. It's for you, Mayor.

What are you doing? Carl, what the fuck?

- What is this? - I'm gonna take care of it.

Everything's good. I got everything under control.

It's for me.

- I handle the money. - Hey, hey. What is this?

- What is this? What is this? - I don't know.

- I don't know. - I mean, who are you?

- I don't know you. - Just stop it, okay?

- He's got to take it himself. - I don't know what the fuck

that is, but it's weird, you understand?

Misunderstanding, misunderstanding.

Look, I came here to meet a sheik,

- that's all I know. - Okay, Mr. Mayor...

I'm very interested in that, but he's not here apparently.

Carl, you know what I mean? This is not right.

Look, I'm very interested in meeting the sheik.

You let me know when that can happen.

We will.

Thank you, have a good day.

Irving, you better come get him.

Go out there and get him right now.

- Help me get him back. - Get the...

Get him, go get him. He needs to take this fucking briefcase.

I didn't want to do this in the first place.

This is your show, you go get him.

No, you have no choice. You have to go get him.

Now, go get him so he takes the briefcase by himself.

That's the whole plan, Irving.

What were you doing pushing the fucking briefcase, dummy, huh?

The whole fucking thing was falling apart.

You know how much it fucking costs for this goddamn hotel

that you fucking asked for?

Now I got to go mop up your mess.

I'm gonna go fucking mop up your mess.

You understand what I'm saying, right?

You understand that he has... It wasn't working.

He was getting upset about the sheik and...

Did you ever have to find a way to survive,

and you knew your choices were bad?

I learned how to survive when I was a kid.

My father had a glass business.

I would rather be on the taking side

than the getting-taken side any day of the week,

especially after I saw how my father got taken.

I mean, seeing that scarred me for life.

I took it upon myself to drum up business.

I became a different kind of guy than my father.

I became a con artist for real.

From the feet up.

I was gonna survive no matter what.

I still had the glass business and a few dry cleaning stores also,

and I did some art dealing on the side.

Stolen or forged art.

Your host! Enjoy, enjoy.

- Enjoy. - Come on.

So, one January,

I go to my friend's pool party in Long Island.

Is that Duke Ellington on your bracelet?

Yeah, as a matter of fact, it is.

He died this year, you know?

I know.

I doubt anyone else here knows or cares about it.

Well, I care about it.

He saved my life many times.

Mine, too.

Which one?

Jeep's Blues.

Jeep's Blues.

Mmm-hmm. Jeep's Blues.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

You... You want to hear it?

Right now?

- Yeah. - Sure.

Who starts a song like that?

It's magic.

It's magic.

He wasn't necessarily in good shape,

and he had this comb-over that was rather elaborate.

He had this air about him,

and he had this confidence that drew me to him.

He was who he was.

He didn't care.

I mean, she was a very particular person.

Like me, she had come from a place where her options were limited.

It actually can feel kind of sexy sometimes.

There's a boldness in it.

But where would that boldness take me?

I didn't know.

But I was gonna find out.

Like me, she learned to survive and reinvent herself.

She knew she had to reinvent her life and her identity.

And like me, she envisioned a better, elegant future for herself.

Like me, she knew you had to have a vision.

She came to New York, she envisioned it,

and just like that...

she applied for a job at Cosmopolitan magazine.

Well, you're obviously herefor a reason, let's get to it.

All right. Our cover story right now is on cunnilingus.

What do you think about that?

I like it.

Do you have any clerical skills? Can you type?

She was unlike anybody I ever knew.

She was smart.

She saw through people in situations,

and she knew how to live with passion and style.

She understood Duke Ellington.

I was broke, fearless, with nothing to lose,

and my dream, more than anything,

was to become anyone else other than who I was.

He had a chain of dry cleaning stores.

Enter. Yeah, I got two in the Bronx, and three in Manhattan.

Hey, Byron, how you doing? This is Sydney.

- Right here, come through here. - Hi.