The Long Game

They all said I'd kill it

when I moved from Nebraska to Hollywood.

They were right.

I ran. I ran away, screaming for help.

- Did help come? - No!

I was alone.

Alone with that awful thing that had been David.

I was just another small-town girl with big star dreams,

one of thousands of hopefuls trying to make it as an actress.

That's why I wanted to forget.

I'd literally taken the bus to Hollywood.

Forever.

I know you'd think lunch meat,

but you don't know me.

End scene.

End scene, yes. Uh, end scene.

What's going on, Holly?

That wall is back up again.

Really?

Yes, really.

When I did my scene in Heat with Al Pacino

He had three lines with Al Pacino.

The intensity was incredible.

And that's what you need to find here.

He gave me 150% with every line.

Every time.

Clay, um, how do you feel? In or out?

In. Like totally there.

Well, agreed. And I can see why they booked you on CSI.

Let's give him some love.

Come on.

- There you go, yeah. Huh? - That's it. Right.

Uh, no. Okay.

You really locked in with that medical way of thinking.

- Right. - Nice. Holly?

I felt in. I really did.

Well, I'll keep giving you the same note.

Find and show your vulnerability. All right?

I'm gonna ask that you and Clay keep working.

If you're gonna use this for the showcase,

it's gotta be better.

I strongly suggest you book a private lesson.

Private lesson.

If I'd taken one and fucked him like everyone else,

he'd tell me the scene was perfect.

Hey, we gotta nail that scene for the showcase down.

There's two casting directors coming.

Yeah, totally, but I, uh, we don't wanna just recreate the movie,

we gotta make it our own thing.

There was a movie. Is it good?

Yeah.

Gore Vidal, Montgomery Clift, Katharine Hepburn?

- Yeah? - Elizabeth Taylor? You tell me.

Hey, we should go back to my place and Netflix it.

We can rehearse and smoke some pot.

Clay actually thinks this is original.

Can't, I got work at 5:00.

No, it's good pot.

I know what that's code for.

Ah, yeah.

But let's find a time to rehearse tomorrow, okay?

Yeah.

I'd been in Los Angeles a year

and still hadn't booked anything more than a small part

in a movie that never got released.

I was living paycheck to paycheck on the good weeks,

barely making my rent and student loan payments.

Sometimes I'd drive up into the Hills

to look at the mansions built way back

during the silent screen era,

before Beverly Hills was just a gleam in a developer's eye.

I'd imagine what it would be like to have money like that,

and then I'd remind myself,

it's just a matter of time.

Here in LA, everyone raved about yoga,

But I preferred to relax the American way.

They say if a gun shows up in the first act,

you'll see it in the third.

One thing's for sure,

an hour of target practice was what I needed

to get through a night of slinging pasta.

I was working the 5:00 to 11:00 shift at Orzo,

a restaurant that catered to Eastside hipster types.

Men with leather jackets that cost more than my rent.

Women with perfect complexions and $300 haircuts.

You'd think they could leave me a decent tip,

but they looked at me like I was a piece of furniture.

We'll take the Bolognese.

Thank you.

It was a night like any other, until I saw him.

Hi, I'm Holly. Can I get you something to drink?

What do you recommend?

We have a great Barolo by the glass.

I'll have the classico. Any specials tonight?

Yes, we have an ossobuco alla Milanese,

a butternut squash ravioli

with a butter sage sauce,

and an ahi tuna carpaccio with arugula.

So Holly, would you say the, uh,

the ahi or the ossobuco?

Why do I have the feeling that if I say the ahi,

you'd order the osso?

Do I really seem that contrary?

Tell me, um, what's your favorite movie?

Um, Out of the Past, but the 1947 version, of course.

That's impressive.

They say that the day you die,

your name is written on a cloud.

Exactly.

It was the bottom of the barrel and I scraped it.

- No way. - Waitress?

Um, so the ahi is very popular,

but I personally prefer the osso.

Okay, great. Then I will have the tuna.

- Great choice. - Thank you.

- May I? - Oh, please.

I'll be right back with your classico.

It got busy then. People and wine and opinions.

Big steaming bowls of pasta.

I decided to have a little fun and fuck with him

by switching out his entree.

Perfect.

Maybe that was my first mistake.

- Enjoy. - Ah!

Hey, can I get another carafe of...

He watched me like a hawk watches a mouse.

You holding up?

Yes. It's better for me when it's busy.

Fuck table eight.

They drop 300 on dinner and leave me 10 bucks.

- Assholes. - I need two mojitos.

Who the fuck drinks mojitos anymore?

Oh, do you guys know anybody who's looking for an apartment?

My roommate just booked a series and moved out

and I really need somebody by the end of the month.

I mean, I can ask around.

Thank you.

Hey, he's been watching you all night.

- Creeper? - Hmm, harmless.

He's rocking that male pattern baldness though.

Anything else?

Uh, an espresso, please.

I'm Richard, by the way.

How was the osso?

It was a little fishy.

Uh, excuse me, but you've, um, you've got a spot exactly there.

Can I get you something for dessert?

No, just the espresso. And the check.

Fuck it.

I left the spot right there on my chest.

I didn't care what he thought.

He was trying to throw me,

but I wasn't that type of girl.

Not even then.

Anything else?

I am, uh, heading over to the Hillhurst.

Why don't you join me for a drink

when you're done here, huh?

I can't. I have to wash my shirt.

There was something about him.

I can't say what it was,

but when he left the place went flat, like old soda pop.

For some reason, I couldn't get the guy

at table eight out of my mind.

He was old, but he wasn't a needy, struggling actor,

and I was in a weird mood.

He intrigued me.

What the hell?

I could use a free drink

and it wasn't like I was gonna fuck him.

Did you get the spot out?

Out, out, damn spot.

How you liking in LA?

It was intended to startle me,

like using my name.

But it was such an easy bet,

everyone here was from somewhere else.

Can I have a whiskey neat?

- LA? - Mm-hmm.

I like it.

I like every fucking thing about it.

Where you from?

Uh, right here, actually.

Bullshit.

Hm, no, uh, went to, uh, Marshall.

Must be a mile away, it's a little nostalgic already.

Um, King Junior and, uh, Franklin Avenue Elementary.

It's hard to picture you as a kid.

I was a difficult child.

Never lived up to my potential.

I bet you that you were a little angel.

Suddenly I knew.

He was or had been an actor.

Hell, everything he said had a character's name

written above it.

I did well. I was valedictorian.

Played flute in the marching band.

And then you decided to act

at, um, Champaign-Urbana

or, um, Lawrence, Kansas?