The Studio

Isn't film just magical?

Yeah.

This must bring you back to the good ol' days,

watching dailies projected through actual celluloid?

I just love the grain, you know?

The way it dances even in the static parts of the frame,

it just breathes, you know?

Every frame has so much life to it.

Most studio heads, they won't even let you shoot on film.

They don't even have a good reason. They just don't like it.

But me?

I'm sort of single-handedly keeping film alive.

Every good director in Hollywood knows.

If you wanna shoot on film, I'm the guy that'll make it happen.

Film's a fucking pain in my ass.

With digital, I just push a button.

This is a whole thing.

So how much more do you wanna see tonight?

I'm watching all the dailies tonight, my friend.

This movie, Rolling Blackout , what's it about?

I don't get any sound, just the images.

Yeah, yeah.

It's a neo-noir detective film,

set in the world of the Los Angeles solar panel industry.

Zac Efron's in it. Olivia Wilde is crushing it as a director.

Tonight's actually their last night of filming.

Yeah, sounds like a rip-off of Chinatown to me.

"Good artists borrow, great artists steal," right?

Yeah, yeah.

Hey, can I ask you something?

Does my hair look weird to you?

I dyed the sides, trying to get rid of the gray.

I'm worried I went too dark. It's all out of proportion.

How should I know? It's dark as shit in here.

At least you've got hair.

Yeah.

Hello?

What?

Jesus Christ. This is bad, man.

- This is really, really bad. - Yep.

How the fuck did this even happen?

I don't know, but it's happening.

God. Are you a hundred percent sure?

Yes. I've been on the phone with Jean-Paul, the line producer,

- for the last hour. Jesus Christ, man. - Honestly, I just...

I'm having a hard time believing it.

Okay, well, believe it.

A reel of film is missing.

Do they think maybe someone just lost it?

- No, they think it was stolen. - Stolen?

Who the fuck would steal a reel of film from a movie set?

Maybe they're mad because the head of the studio won't pay for the wrap party.

God, again with this wrap party! It's just a party.

This movie's over budget as it is,

I'm gonna pay for everyone to get drunk now?

- Film is very expensive to shoot on. - You and film.

I'm gonna walk in on you fucking a reel of film one day.

You're gonna have your dick in the little hole right there.

It is important that as a studio we are known as being filmmaker-friendly.

Oh, no, no. This is so you can feel fancy.

No one can tell the difference between film and digital.

Anyone with an artistic eye can tell the difference.

Can someone with an artistic eye tell the difference

between a good and a bad hair dye job?

Jesus. Hey, Jean-Paul.

She's in here.

You look like Giuliani. Did you Just For Men it?

I went a shade too dark. Shit!

With a gray beard and black hair you look nuts.

Fuck. I did medium brown. I should've done light brown.

- Matt. - Hey. Olivia.

Thank God you're here.

Like, you're literally the only person I trust right now.

- Thank you so much. - You too, Sal. Hi.

Yeah. Hey.

Listen, Jean-Paul just told me that we--

One of the reels of film from yesterday's shoot went missing. We just heard.

The camera department PA, Fred, loaded all ten reels of film in the van at wrap,

but the lab says that they only got nine reels.

That reel has the big third act shoot-out.

- Oh, no. - Yeah.

And remember the note you gave us for that?

- Do you remember what it was? - Yeah.

- Really go all out. - You said, "Really just go for it."

- Yeah, and I loved that. - Thank you so much.

And you suggested my cameo...

- Yes, I did. - ...which was genius.

- Thank you, yeah. - Also on that reel.

Are you fucking kidding me?

- That was on that... Oh, shit. - And it was such a good idea.

Thank you again. I really appreciate that.

Is this PA sure that he didn't leave one of these reels in the truck?

We scoured the truck. Someone definitely took it.

Oh, my God. What do you think, Olivia?

Is there anyone on the crew that, like, has it out for you or anything like that?

Anyone trying to fuck you over?

I'm sorry, on this crew?

Yeah.

- Matt, this crew is my family. - Okay. Yeah.

Each and every one of them is so devoted to the message of this film.

They've been working their asses off.

I mean, I have no idea who would do something like this.

- Okay. Okay. Yeah. - They need you on set.

Okay.

- Sorry. I... - Yeah. No, no problem.

It's a lot. It's a lot for me.

I just... Just know that we are also, you know, a part of this family,

and we at Continental are just...

We're dedicated to solving this problem.

- We've got your back, all right? - Okay. Great.

So, if the film isn't recovered, we'll just re-shoot it, right?

Insurance pays for that?

Yeah, you know, in order to do that,

we have to officially report it missing, which I kinda rather not do right now,

so maybe we just kinda keep this under wraps for now

until we find the film ourselves.

Okay, but if we don't find it, we just re-shoot, right?

Yeah. Don't worry. We'll find it.

We're on the case, okay? We got this.

We only got a couple more setups with the main unit.

We wrap them out,

got a few pickup shots with the splinter unit by the Hollywood sign,

and then it's an official picture wrap on Rolling Blackout .

Oh, my God.

If we don't have the film by then, I have to report it missing.

- Shit. Okay. - Oh, God.

Thank you so much for having my back, Matt.

I can't tell you what it means to have a studio head who is also a friend.

I can't tell you what it means...

How much it means to hear you tell me what that means.

- Bye. - Thank you.

God bless you. Great.

Yo. We need to talk to this PA, Fred. Whoever loaded the film into the van.

Also, could you get us some jackets?

It's getting a little chilly outside.

I'll get you some from wardrobe.

And can you grab a hat for this guy?

Thank you.

- Because of the hair? - Yeah.

- It's that noticeable? - You look insane. Pepé Le Pew.

- You fucked up. - Oh, fuck!

I know.

The sun has set on the Continental back lot,

and I begin what could be the longest, hardest night of my entire life.

A reel of film has gone missing.

Nobody knows who took it or why they took it.

They just know it's gone.

I'm so anxious right now.

They're pumping this fucking fake smoke all throughout the set,

it's making my throat all scratchy.

My neck and shoulders are killing me.

I should try to get a massage this weekend if I can.

Who are you talking to?

This might sound stupid.

My therapist told me any time I'm spinning out,

I should record my thoughts on a voice memo.

A lot of people do that.

- It's really stupid. - Yeah. Ha ha.

Look, I keep thinking this could be really, really, really, really bad.

If it gets out in town that one of our movies lost a reel of film,

that'll be used as precedent by every other studio in Hollywood.

Any time a director comes in and wants to make a movie on film,

they'll say no because of this event.

Yeah. You'll be the man who killed film.

Wait, meaning like you think it'll fall on my shoulders squarely?

- Like, I'll be known for this? - Not really.

- No, it will! - No.

You're right, it... I didn't even think of that, man.

Fuck. We've gotta find this fucking thing.

Hey, I don't mean to spin you out further,

did you smell booze on Olivia's breath?

I mean, who could blame her for having a drink after the day she's had?

No, no, this was different. It was weird.

I was trying to pinpoint the smell.

"Is it Tito's? Is it Chopin, because she's gluten-free?"

But it was something else.

It was really harsh and powerful stuff.

What's very weird about this

is that you can actually identify alcohol brands by smell.

No. I'm not talking about my drinking problem anymore.

She was acting odd.

- She was way too nice to you. - She wasn't too nice.

We're friends. She was acting friendly to me.

Sorry, you're friends with Olivia Wilde?

- What's so fucking weird about that? - What on earth are you talking about?

What?

Heard you were looking for me.

Oh, shit.

Are you Fred the camera PA?

Too many eyes and ears. Crew parking. Five minutes.

What about?

That's why we're meeting him. you dumb fuck.

I loaded all ten reels into that van.

I wrote it into the log. Like every night.

See?

Right there. Ten reels marked "loaded in van" at 5:48 a.m.

Zac Efron was there. He said hi.

He's always nice, no matter how much Olivia grinds him.

Then I went and closed up the camera truck,

came back, drove the van with the reels.