The Deuce

You want to do a literary adaptation?

Little Red Riding Hood.

I might be able to get behind it.

You make relationships with these women

and it opens a door to something bigger.

Another action plan.

Somebody in public morals got morals?

It's not morals. It's money.

So, this is it, huh?

There's 16 parlors now.

Things could get ugly.

You should warn Paul.

Let him make an informed decision

about his future endeavors.

Christ! The fucking parlor down the street's going up in flames.

Ain't one of ours.

- OK, let's lose the smile. - What?

I got good teeth.

Yeah, but we gotta give 'em options.

Darlene, don't I got good teeth?

My mama says they're my best attribute.

Yeah, well, your mama's not who we're after here.

At least I hope not. Give me serious.

- What's so damn funny? - Keep still, please.

Up the menace.

Scary.

I mean, sexy.

- Scary-sexy. - That's good enough.

Why don't we move over to the bed, and lose the trousers, please.

Say what?

The directors are gonna be curious.

She didn't tell me that. She ain't tell me that!

- She said head shots. - ( fake laugh )

I spent all morning picking out these damn trousers.

They cost me $59.99.

You're doing this to get into porn, right?

You want to do pornos?

This tells the directors what they want to know.

Do you want to explain to the fashion model here

what pornography is?

Huh? Look, Mr. Brown,

we got like 15 minutes.

You got something to hide, I say let's just go home.

'Cause whatever she did or didn't tell you,

the folks eyeing these shots don't give a fuck about your nice teeth.

Unless they really are your best attribute.

- Fuck it. - ( unzips )

Fuck this bullshit.

Photographer: Thank you very much, sir.

Adjust the blanket, please.

I'd hate to see that thing angry.

Best be quick.

Paul: Arabescato from Carrara, Makrana from India.

They used this to build the Taj Mahal.

Shit, they both look the same to me.

Yeah.

Kenneth likes the Makrana.

It's also cheaper, but barely.

I like the stateliness of this one.

So these are for the back bar?

Bathrooms.

- ( laughs ) - What? What?

Am I out of control here?

Contractor: More fuckin' trouble.

A little bit?

- Another problem, boss. - What's up?

We got behind that plaster wall,

and there's no wiring. Nothing.

- Nothing? - Not a circuit,

because they ran the wires up the goddamn chimney spout.

Two minutes, Stan, I'll be over.

Remind me why I'm fuckin' doin' this.

C'mon,

it's gonna be great.

It's gonna be the Taj Mahal of the Village joints.

Heh. Yeah, if it doesn't break me first.

It's great.

You startin' to worry about your investment?

No! No.

I'm just here to... check-see if there's any trouble, you know,

the other joint or... here at the work site.

- Gotten anything? - Hunh-unh.

Maybe there's nothin' to worry about.

Yeah, maybe.

It's been a few weeks since that parlor fire.

Maybe them other guys have backed off.

I don't know.

You still got people watching your places at night?

Yeah. It's costing me, but yeah.

Rudy says another week or two.

If nothin' happens, then maybe we can stop worrying.

But if Hodas and them greaseballs behind him are comin',

they're gonna come hard.

And they know your other place is with Rudy,

and they might not know that this new spot here is just you.

So Rudy says just be aware.

Yeah, he's just lettin' me know the risk of having anything out here on my own.

I'm sorry, I just... I fucking knew it.

Of course he won't let this go. He's not gonna let me break away clean.

He isn't sayin' that. Do what you want, Paul.

Yeah?

All right.

When do you open?

Six weeks?

Eight?

Three months?

Ha! Shit, the way thing are going, possibly never.

All right. Question: one bathroom or two?

Two.

I'm just askin'.

Tryin' to save you some money.

Yeah.

It's a tough choice for sure...

but I think I'd still pay for the Italian.

Contractor: Wanna move that six-footer over here?

Probably be worth it in the long run.

Mm-hmm.

Candy: So all my calls came to nothing,

and even with the ten grand from L.A.,

this is gonna need more.

It's gonna need a lot more.

And one thing I know for sure is,

we gotta go upstate, or Jersey, I mean,

or even Westchester, but someplace, ya know,

'cause it's not gonna work on a half-assed fake-o set.

We need real trees.

I mean, I need a fuckin' forest.

Harvey, are you listening?

What was I just sayin'?

You'd want to shoot outside.

We don't have the lights to shoot outside.

Not at night, anyways.

So we gotta get some.

And we need to rent a cabin.

And we're gonna need to bring the actors

and the crew up there.

Are there wood nymphs?

Excuse me?

Or wood nymphos?

I'd hope.

Oh. Will they also be wearing lederhosen?

Is that what turns you on?

- ( chuckles ) - Sure.

You've done a ton of work here,

and I look at these pictures, and I can't see it.

I think it's a little quaint... for a fuck film.

Except it's not.

I mean, that's the thing.

I know it plays that way on the surface...

I like that.

But I mean, this is not some kiddie shit

about, you know, "Don't go off the beaten path or you're a bad girl."

This is about the hunger and the terror

and the risk... we all fuckin' risk...

to connect to each other.

Oh, my. What big ideas you have.

Fuck you!

C'mon.

No, hey.

Hey, hey, hey. Hey. No, no, no.

I'm sorry. Hey, come back...

Please sit down...

- Do we have a script? - Yes. We do have a script,

but it is mostly in my head.

Well, then, get it on paper,

and we will talk about it more,

and yes, we will see what we can do with what we have.

I get what you're going for.

I've read my fair share of Bettelheim.

I am familiar with all the Freudian shit...

sex and death and annihilation of innocence and matricide

and infanticide, et cetera.

At the end of the day,

it's gotta be about the fuckin'.

So, give me three straight boy-girl scenes,

one with the lesbian munching carpet,

and the big-top orgy at the end.

You got me.

I'm sold.

But if the fuckin' is not good,

then I'm not buyin' it.

Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin.