Empire of Light

Thank you.

Thank you for coming.

Thank you. Merry Christmas.

And I'm not talkin' about a new pair of trousers.

An old pair, just lyin' there.

Oh, yeah. See, I used to do that.

When my mum wouldn't let me wear

my miniskirt out of the house.

I just got changed in the back row.

Also, used nappy.

Popcorn bucket with vomit inside.

Ugh.

Yeah. Whole cooked chicken in a Safeway bag.

How about you, Hils?

What's the worst thing you've found?

Anything interesting?

Um, dead body.

Had a heart attack during Smokey and the Bandit.

Took three people to move him.

Bloody hell.

Well, that's killed the mood.

What the fuck?

Blimey!

[SOFT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING]

Headaches? Nausea?

No.

Sleeping all right?

Yes.

Good.

Shall we weigh you?

Mmm.

Not ideal.

Four pounds heavier.

How do you feel, generally?

Fine.

Do you feel better since leaving St. Jude's?

Yes.

Any big mood swings?

No, not really.

Good.

Stable.

That's good.

I do feel a bit...

Hmm?

Numb, I suppose.

Well, I'm sure that'll wear off

as soon as you get used to the lithium.

It's marvelous stuff.

And you do have people you could talk to, I assume?

Family, friends?

Oh, yes.

Hilary, do you have a partner?

Yes. No, I don't think so.

Excellent. This is Bill.

Bill, this is Hilary.

How do you do? Nice to meet you.

Apologies in advance.

I mean, it's so depressing.

He's just dronin' on and on.

You wake me up when it's over.

Oh, piss off!

No, don't!

You're gonna break it.

No, don't! You're gonna break it.

Janine! Stop the...

God, you're a tosser.

I am a tosser, but I did try.

Yeah. Yeah, whatever.

Listen, come back, Supertramp, all is forgiven!

What on earth is going on?

Sorry, Mr. Ellis, Janine was playing us

something on her Walkman.

Well, you can all calm down.

Janine, if you're at a loose end,

perhaps you'd like to come and do tickets for us?

Trevor hasn't shown up again, so we're short.

But it's my lunch break.

It doesn't look like you were eating much lunch.

Well, yeah, 'cause I haven't had the chance yet.

My heart bleeds. Outside.

Hilary, perhaps you and I could discuss

that whole Trevor situation in my office?

Ten minutes.

Yes, of course.

Suck me. No.

Please. Suck me off.

No, let's just keep...

Just like this.

Like this.

[YOU'RE BLASE BY ELLA FITZGERALD PLAYING SOFTLY]

Good evening, sir. How can I help you?

Table for two, please.

Can I take your coat?

Thank you.

May I take your order, madam?

Oh, I'm not sure...

You know, I've just realized,

I'm really late for an appointment.

I'm terribly sorry.

So, Stephen here will be replacing Trevor,

who was never here anyway.

So, he's already off to a flying start.

Anyway, this is Neil, who does Box Office mostly.

Nice to meet you. Hiya.

Norman, our projectionist.

All right? Hello.

And Janine, who'll be collecting tickets with you.

Watch out for her strange musical tastes.

It can't be worse than mine.

Hiya. Hi.

Frankie, Brian

and Finn with the...

hair.

Hello. Hey.

And our esteemed duty manager, Hilary.

She also does sweets and snacks.

Hello. Hello.

So, I'll leave you all to get better acquainted.

Hilary will show you the ropes.

Make sure you take the packet from the front

otherwise it never gets sold then it gets dusty.

Okay.

That smell must make you hungry.

You're never tempted to sneak a handful?

No.

I didn't mean to steal it, I just meant...

Try to keep a tab of the items you sell

and then make sure you replace them at the end of your shift.

This is Screen One.

Wicked. Mmm.

You'll have to do final cleanup

if you're on late shift.

Make sure to check for sleepers.

Really? Yes.

One chap used to bring in an air mattress.

Projection booth.

Don't go in. Norman's very particular.

You stand at the bottom of these stairs.

And, make sure you keep hold of the ticket stubs,

then bring them back to me

so I can check them against admissions.

Okay. So, when do we, you know, open up?

Erm...

Twenty minutes.

What's up there?

Public aren't allowed.

Can I have a look?

Oh, I'm not sure. Go on.

Please.

Oh, my God.

It's a whole other cinema.

Used to be four screens.

Screen Three.

Screen Four.

Best for last.

Wow.

What a place.

It really was beautiful.

It still is.

Another world.

Look at this little fellow.

It's all right.

It's all right. It's all right.

I think he's broken his wing.

He needs a bit of help.

I don't think he likes it.

It's okay, he's fine.

Aren't you?

Here, hold him.

Oh, no, no. I don't like birds.

Oh, come on. Look.

Come on.

Go like this.

Oh.

There you go.

He loves it.

Look, he prefers you.

Now...