Volare
Oh, oh
Cantare
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Let's fly way up
to the clouds
Away from
the maddening crowds
We can sing in the glow
of a star that I know of
Where lovers enjoy
peace of mind
Let us leave the confusion
And all disillusion behind
Just like birds of a feather
A rainbow together we'll find
Volare
Oh, oh
E cantare
Oh, oh, oh, oh
No wonder
my happy heart sings
Your love
has given me wings
(AIRPLANE SOARING OVER)
(GRUNTS)
(SIGHS)
(AIRPLANE APPROACHING)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Who is it?
MAN: Room service.
Ls it eggs?
I don't know, sir.
I didn't order it.
You want some water with that?
No, no.
No, I don't.
Looks like you had a night.
They look perfect.
Get out.
I intended to bring that
to the attention
of a member of staff.
I had some difficulty
getting it to open.
It's the little key
on the door key, sir.
Right.
I was looking for some nuts.
I tend to avoid alcohol.
When I can.
(SPEAKING SPANISH)
I don't speak Spanish.
Cuatro cincuenta.
No change.
(MUTTERING)
(CROWD CLAMORING)
(SPEAKING SPANISH)
(FEEDBACK SCREECHES)
(SPEAKING SPANISH)
(SHOUTING IN SPANISH)
No, no, no, no,
you're not listening.
I said the Pirates,
not the Yankees.
It's going to be
Roberto's year,
I'm telling you.
Looking for Mr. Lotterman.
End of the room.
No, no, the Pirates.
You guys are going
to be all over.
It's Roberto Clemente, man.
And by the way, I
want to talk about...
LOTTERMAN: Not now!
He's having the Friday crisis.
You Kemp?
Yeah.
He was expecting you yesterday.
We had some weather.
Yeah, I heard.
Big snow in New York.
He's still on a call.
You want some coffee?
No, thanks.
What's all the fuss out front?
You came in the front?
We don't use that door.
Not when los jibaros pitch up.
What do they want?
I don't know.
Some fucked idea
of a living wage.
They've been out there
on and off for months.
By the way, my name's Sala.
Bob Sala, staff photographer.
Pleased to meet you, Bob.
Yeah.
He's off.
You might want to try
another subservient knock.
Yeah.
Kemp.
Don't notice the wig.
LOTTERMAN:
Yeah. What?
If you're
who I think you are,
you better sit down.
You find it
a little bright in here?
I'd take them off,
but I have
a medical condition.
What do you mean, you're blind?
Conjunctivitis, sir.
The old red eye, huh?
(CHUCKLES)
You arrive at a very,
very trying time, Mr. Kemp.
One of those days stacking up.
So, uh, why don't we cut
through the niceties
and just get right to it, huh?
That's how I like to proceed.
Okay.
Your resume here.
(SPITS)
Very impressive CV.
Yeah.
You worked your way up
some interesting titles.
I really like
the "fluent Spanish."
Mmm.
Wow.
(CHUCKLING)
This CV... This CV is
a bunch of bullshit.
Ls it?
This is two days on the wire.
A day dead.
We don't have it.
Oh.
What is the matter with Moburg?
He's about as useful
as a dug-up body.
(CHUCKLES)
You see, the problem with
this newspaper, Mr. Kemp,
is that I am among many
who don't enjoy reading it.
We have an ailing circulation,
and I just have to
look around this building
to understand why.
Lack of commitment and
too much self-indulgence.
Mmm. Mmm.
So what I'm looking for
is some enthusiasm,
some energy,
some fresh blood.
And the question
that I'm asking myself
is how much alcohol
is usual in yours.
My fresh blood?
How much do you drink?
I suppose at
the upper end of "social."
I'm poised to give up.
Well, Puerto Rico may not be
the best place on Earth
to do that.
Mmm. Mmm.
Don't look so
anxious, Mr. Kemp.
I wouldn't have paid
for your hotel if
I hadn't already hired you.
But this is not
the Last Chance Saloon,
and I do not need
another heavy drinker.
Which I perceive,
from the condition of
eyeballs behind glasses,
that you might
very well qualify as.
This is a medical
condition, Mr. Lotterman.
I know it might look
like something else,
but this is a...
Looks like a fuckin' hangover.
Does it?
(WHISTLE BLOWING OUTSIDE)
(CLAMORING)
Come here.
That's the kind of
commitment I like
to see in a man.
Oh! Determination,
balanced with
appropriate humanity.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Which side do you dress, Kemp?
I beg your pardon?
Politics.
I kind of hang in the middle.
(LAUGHS)
This is a schizoid
society, Kemp.
They got two languages,
two flags, two loyalties,
two anthems.
We bring them stuff
they never had.
They either hate it or
they want more of it.
It's a reluctant part
of America.
It's like an England
with tropical fruit.
Bob.
Just the man I wanted to see.
This is Paul Kemp.
He's joining us
from New York.
Yeah, yeah, we already met.
Uh, that's...
That's Mr. Clive Donovan,
sports.
And this is
Mr. Hubert,
accounting.
Listen, do me a favor,
will you?
Show him around,
the dos and don'ts.
Introduce him
to some of the guys.
I'll take him up to Al's.
Oh, the hell you will.
You take him to the library.
You pull out some volumes.
I want him to get
a sense of the paper.
You know,
make some notes,
go back a few years,
paying particular attention
to bowling alleys.
There's bowling and
bowling alleys.
Very big here.
They're up
like mushrooms.
A new one premieres every week.
Been to
Puerto Rico before?
No.
Oh, you're going to
fall right into it.
There's a boom
on here, Kemp.
It's an open door.
You play it right,
you can surf the place.
Ah.
What do you know
about horoscopes?
Nothing.
Ah, well, if I can
write one, you can.
So it's every day with
a special "Star's Star"
featured Saturday
with Betty Grable
and Neil Sedaka,
things like that.
So here,
everything you need
is right there.
It's called
"Madam La Zonga Predicts."
What happened to
Madam La Zonga?
He got canceled.
What do you mean, fired?
They raped him to death.
They raped him to death?
There are
very few places
on this island
I decline to visit,
but the toilets
frequented by sailors
on the west side
of Candado Pier is one.
They raped him to death?
La Zonga died in a cubicle.
Say, you're not,
uh, artistic,
are you, Kemp?
Oh, no.
You might want to
rethink those
menthol cigarettes.
They don't do a thing for you.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Come by the house.
I will.
I like your stuff.
The cuttings you sent
to Lotterman.
Oh.
It's good writing.
Thanks.
We'll talk.
SALA:
One more floor!
(BUZZER SOUNDING)
They put in automated
packing machines
about six months ago.
They mechanized
almost everything.
There used to be
Now there's five.
Hence happiness in the street.
Souvenir, day one.
SALA:
Here's to pretty women
with filthy thoughts.
(CHUCKLING)
Want a burger?
No.
Burger?
No, thanks.
Try it. Dos.
So how was the induction?
Somewhat fraught.
No disrespect, Paul,
but he didn't have
a lot of choice.
You know how many people
applied for the job?
One. You.
Ls that right?
Even then,
I thought I'd blown it.
Zeroed in on my weakest spot.
WOLSLEY:
Which is what?
Two and a half
unpublished novels
and references
of equal fiction.
Oh, you're a novelist.
Mmm, in a manner of speaking.
Can't even get read.
So I figured I'd do
some words for money,
see how it's looking
in a year or two.
SALA:
At El Star?
Hate to tell you this
on the way in,
but this publication's
on its way out.
And as far as I'm concerned,
it can't come soon enough.
Not going to happen.
SALA: You like
a little vonga on that?
I'll give you 1 3 to 2
this thing's over by June.
They're going to cut the cord.
Then why put in
all the new machinery?
Precisely my point,
and he can't answer it.
Well, like I'm tired
of arguing the obvious.
Come on.
Let's eat.
Now, I got to go
and see a man
about a horse.
Good to meet you, Paul.
(SIGHS)
Another night unfolds
over Old San Juan.
You been here long?
Too long.
This place is like
someone you fucked
and they're still under you.
Why don't you quit?
Life's full of exits.
Because I'm waiting
for it to collapse
so I get the payoff.
Three grand redundancy
puts me in Mexico.
Don't look left.
That's an introduction
you don't want to have.
Who's he?
Living example
of everything that's
wrong with this paper.
His name's Moburg.
Our Crime and
Religious Affairs
correspondent.
Lotterman can't fire him
because he never sees him.
He's rarely out in daylight.
Looks like he enjoys a drink.
The entire substructure
of his brain
is eaten away with rum.
I'm telling you,
this enterprise is doomed.
There's maybe three or four
professionals in the building
running the entire show.
Wait a minute.
Who is Hal Sanderson?
In the library.
Who's he?
He used to work for the paper.
Now he's what
he says he is.
A PR consultant.
Selling this place
street by street
to the Yankees.
Keeps a greasy little
bastard of a contact
called Segurra.
Mmm.
I saw him.
We didn't meet.
Wouldn't bother.
Piss on the make.
The boy, Segurra,
is at the property
wickedness.
I'm not sure
where Sanderson fits.
But Sanderson's
worth cultivation.
He's got some good connections.
He's good for some freelance.
This place is depressing me
beyond belief tonight.
You're at Plage Xanadu, right?
Mmm.
Come on.
I'll give you a ride.
(TIRES SCREECH)
I was thinking,
if you need somewhere,
I got a room for rent.
Not the best address
in town, but it's got
a fridge and TV.
Sounds inviting.
I might remention that.
Meanwhile, bleed it dry.
Uh, sir...
I was hoping for a swim.
The pool is closed tonight.
Really? Why?
What's going on?
It's a Union Carbide party.
It's a private function.
(MUSIC PLAYING IN DISTANCE)
(SIGHS)
Sorry.
I didn't realize
anyone was there.
I thought it was just floating.
Lt is just floating.
You doing what I'm doing?
I don't think so.
What are you doing?
Escaping the dreadful party.
I just snuck out and unzipped.
Well, that's very
courageous of you.
I thought maybe
you were a mermaid.
They tell me the coast
is infested with them.
I'm from Connecticut.
My boyfriend's making a speech.
Takes exactly 21 minutes.
Well, then I guess
it's pointless,
me inviting you for a drink.
What you got?
No, I mean at the bar.
Pointless.
I'd better go before
they wonder where I went.
Wait a minute.
What's your name?
Let's keep that a secret.
I don't even know it.
Well, then you'll
keep it even better.
What about your star sign?
I'm an experienced astronomer.
Could try Pisces.
The fish.
Oh, God.
Why did she have to happen?
Just when I was doing
so good without her.
KEMP: What would you say you
like most about Puerto Rico?
The bowling alleys
and the casinos.
Course, she likes
the duty free.
Well, the more you spend,
the more you save.
KEMP: Have you seen
a lot of the island?
We don't leave the hotel.
Lt isn't safe.
KEMP: But
you're having fun?
Oh, yeah!
A lotta, lotta fun!
KEMP: Have some fun
with a fucking Luger.
These alleys are magnets
to the glutton.
They come off the boats
like locusts.
Beasts of obesity.
Asses that wouldn't
feel an arrow.
The great whites.
Probably the most dangerous
creatures on Earth.
SALA:
There's your baby.
Walt and his woman.
Bowling alleys
isn't exactly
what I had in mind.
Tread it till the snow melts,
then join the exodus.
(KNOCK ON DOOR)
Red light!
LOTTERMAN:
Looking for Kemp.
Too many adjectives,
too much cynicism.
Nobody wants what's
wrong with the place,
they want to read about
what's right.
It's a rewrite.
Yeah, I'm aware of that.
And while you're at it,
you might want to rewrite
the title and call it
"Ten Things That I Love
About Puerto Rico."
So,
how's the sobriety
coming along?
I'm cutting down.
Oh. By that,
I assume you mean
the size of the bottles.
How does anybody
drink 1 61 miniatures?
You're averaging
What, do they
stock the place
four times a day?
Are they not complimentary?
No, Mr. Kemp,
they are not.
And neither is wine
and long-distance
phone calls.
So, as of Monday,
you are no longer
a resident of the Xanadu.
And what exactly
brings you
into the building?
Don't hazel me.
I got the X-rays back.
I got less than
a week to live.
LOTTERMAN: Hazel you?
What are you talking about,
you Swedish twerp?
You know,
it may have crossed
what's left of your mind
that I have
a newspaper
to run here,
that we have
something called news
going on out there.
But as far as you're concerned,
I might as well look out
of the fuckin' window!
What are you doing here?
This is a newspaper.
There's nothing here for you.
Two of the best scoops
you ever had
came out of my brain.
And you better
moderate your language
or I'll go elsewhere.
Elsewhere where?
You couldn't get work
as a fly repellent.
You're worthless, Moburg.
The last onion in the jar.
Don't push me, Lotterman.
I'm dangerous when pushed.
Oh, I know why you're here.
It's payday. (LAUGHS)
But in your case,
deferred on a permanent basis.
You're fired!
You can't fire me.
You owe me money.
And you better pay it,
or I'll come through the roof
and turn this place
into an insurance claim.
LOTTERMAN:
Are you threatening me?
Hey, guys, let's take it easy.
You want to suffer some voodoo?
You twerp!
Eat the death pill, Lotterman!
Come on, we're walking.
Did you hear
what he said to me?
This guy's my blood pressure.
This guy's going to kill me.
And I want the negative
of that picture destroyed!
I don't want that animal
in this building again.
He is hygienically
unacceptable.
Did you see the side
of his nose?
Blackheads like Braille.
They should have him put down.
(PANilNG)
Moburg is history.
He's out of here
at the earliest
opportunity.
And the earliest opportunity
is you.
You understand
what I'm saying, Kemp?
I think I get the drift.
I want you to
immerse yourself
into this paper,
'cause you got
the talent and I think
you got the will.
You make it grow
and you grow
right along with it.
I'm not best placed to do that.
You think
it's my intention
to keep you on
horoscopes and rewrites
and bowling alleys?
(CHUCKLES)
Matter of fact,
I'm gonna move you
right now.
Take a cab to the airport.
The mayor of Miami's coming in.
Make him sound nice.
I want a picture
and an interview.
Make it work, Paul.
(WOMAN SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY ON PA)
You leaving us already?
I'm moving into
an apartment if this
mayor guy ever shows up.
They keep changing
"delayed" to "delayed."
You want to have
some breakfast?
Little lobster on the beach?
Twenty minutes away.
Sounds inviting,
but I got to wait
for the mayor.
Isn't coming.
Canceled.
That's not what it
says on the board.
Lt will in a minute.
I just called Miami.
Come on, let's have
some breakfast.
I got a couple things
might interest you.
I better call in.
You can call from the car.
All right.
Yeah, thanks.
There's only
two of those
on the island.
Maybe three.
No one told me it
was so pretty here.
God's idea of money.
You know what makes
this place a gold mine?
Something that doesn't exist.
How's that?
Land.
There isn't enough of it.
Those who know how to
get it get the gold.
Chenault?
Paul's joining us
for breakfast.
Looks like
it's gonna be
a lunch.
This is Chenault.
You two know each other?
I don't know,
I thought maybe
we met on the plane.
Oh, I don't think so.
I flew Boyfriend Airlines.
Tell me, do you
like lobster, Paul?
You know what,
I might not have
time today.
I didn't realize the drive
was gonna take so long.
How much time you got?
In 1 5 minutes, I'm late.
I'll cut up a pineapple.
SANDERSON: You might want
to put on some clothes.
She sunbathes in the nude.
A few of
the over-tanned locals
tend to treat it
as a tourist attraction.
Doesn't surprise me.
I mean that in a...
In a very tasteful way.
It's a private beach.
They shouldn't be here.
Sit down, Paul, sit down.
We'll grab you a cab.
(CHUCKLES) His name's Harry.
Got the idea from a book.
Paul, I wanted to talk,
because I'm looking
for someone who can
assimilate contradictory
points of view
and make them into one voice.
You're a novelist, right?
Who told you that?
Oh, please.
Newspapers are
full of gossip.
I'm looking for someone
who's good with words,
next day, you turn up.
And 'cause I believe
in good luck,
I thought maybe you were it.
What I need
is someone with
the right kind of eyes.
For looking at what?
Looking at that.
An ocean of money.
(DOG BARKING)
Hey, you made it.
Door at the end.
Hey.
Hey.
Hey. Just give me
two minutes.
Walk right in.
All right.
(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING QUIETLY)
(ROOSTER CLUCKS)
(CROWS)
(CLUCKING)
I was trying to
get the place shipshape
before you arrived.
Adolf Hitler Speaks?
Not mine.
Nazi stuff belongs
to Moburg.
Moburg lives here?
He keeps his uniform here.
I never see him
from one month's end
to the next.
So, you can see,
it's quite spacious.
Don't look in the kitchen.
The water's off.
There's a problem
with the valve.
Thought you said you had a TV.
I said I kind of have a TV.
The guy across the alley
has a TV,
I have binoculars.
His wife's deaf.
With the window open,
you hear every word.
Oh, here it comes.
Water's coming up.
I, uh, noticed
you had some chickens
in the bedroom.
Cockerels.
Yeah, I'm sweating
the grease out.
Don't worry about them,
I'm moving them to my room.
What do you do with them?
You eat them?
Eat them?
Nah.
I don't eat them.
(ALL SHOUTING)
Come on, baby, come on!
Get in there, get in there!
Come on!
(CHEERING)
(ALL CHEERING)
Hey, on a trade wind,
my boy!
On a trade wind!
Come on, bump it up,
there, Bobby.
Bump, bump,
bump, bump.
Yes, sir!
(CLUCKING)
(CAMERA CLICKS)
(MEN CHATTERING IN SPANISH)
Hey. They call him
El Monstruo.
Say he's never lost
a fight in three years.
Come on, we're out of here.
Come on, rapido, rapido.
(KIDS CHATTERING IN SPANISH)
Hey, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Come on.
Come on.
Go on.
(KIDS CHATTERING IN SPANISH)
(COINS CLINKING)
(KIDS CHATTERING EXCITEDLY)
I tell you, we were
on a roll till that
thing turned up.
That's $21 7.
Not bad.
$21 7 is a shitload of money.
Relatively a shitload.
They're expensive to train.
I've seen guys win 2,000,
ten on North Beach.
Why didn't he take
El Monstruo down there?
You're talking
the environs of
the Hilton Hotel.
They wear bowties
and shiny shoes.
There's no hope for
his kind of hat.
The question, again,
is not one of goals.
We're for those goals.
It's one of means.
MAN: Were you claiming
that the Eisenhower
administration...
How long can
this blizzard of shame
go on?
Look at this ingrate
besotted with
his own righteousness.
Black is a very dark
shade of white.
Well, thank you
very much, Mr. Nixon.
I can't listen to
any more of this.
Lies like he breathes.
Imagine spending
your entire life lying.
Holy Christ.
Never got worse.
The only eventuality
worse than him is
you know that one day,
some filthy whore-beast
is gonna show up,
make him look like a liberal.
The only upside
with Nixon is
he ain't gonna win.
He's got the grin.
He ain't gonna win.
Irish guy's going to win.
But they'll never let him live.
How do you know that?
I do "horror-scopes."
(DOOR OPENS)
Thought you said
he never came here.
He's got filters.
What filters?
He goes over the wall
at the Barcardi plant.
These filters
are the last in line in
the distillation process.
They contain more ethanol
than rocket fuel.
What's it like?
A hand on the brain.
Off the scale.
No such thing
as 470 proof alcohol.
Certainty you might be
required to moderate.
Ah.
No smoking
in the extraction area,
if you please.
Don't be ridiculous.
Not for the social drinker.
You want to quaff?
No.
Not right now.
I got to write.
I got a deadline.
Oh, what's he writing?
He's lifting the stone
on the American Dream.
Guayanilla Bay.
Oh, yeah.
It's bad down there.
You might find such
a topic attracts
a limited readership.
Only need one.
Taking it to Lotterman.
Yeah. Oh, did
I hear somebody
say "good luck"?
(LAUGHS)
Yeah, I went down
there this morning,
he unfired me
on a temporary basis,
maggot that he is.
I'd like to
bring something in
to Lotterman.
Like a slide-action,
"fuck you" gun.
Don't drink that here.
(GROANS)
Just a nipperoo, old boy.
Quality test.
Man, slow-motion murder,
just like they do
in the movies.
See him flying back,
fuckin' arms
flapping in the air.
Okay, mother.
Look upon the last
face you'll see
this side of hell!
Bam!
(LAUGHS)
Down he goes,
morsels of
vital organs
spinning off into flesh orbit.
Bam!
There goes his asshole.
Bam!
There goes his dick.
Bam! Bam!
Fuck you, Lotterman!
You're in a B-fucking movie,
and I am the death machine!
Shall we have some Adolf?
Definitely not.
On your way,
on your way,
Moburg.
Hey, we're expecting guests.
I thought you said
he was writing a book.
Said I was writing an essay.
And it requires
some shut mouth.
Oh, don't waste
your time on
those junkyard losers.
This country was
built on genocide
and slavery.
We killed
all the black guys
that were here,
and then
we shipped in new
black guys of our own,
and then we
brought in Jesus,
like a bar of soap.
Let's go.
You know it.
I am the religious
correspondent.
Fuck off with
your Jesus Police!
If the Bible's God's
book, why didn't He
give it to everyone?
(DOOR SLAMS)
(SIGHS)
"We give more money
to parking meters than
we do to kids to eat."
Don't read me like that.
I've done the research.
went down in the bay
full of hydrochloric acid.
Killed off
everything in the sea.
Killed off the fishermen.
Their kids
are picking garbage.
All right, don't get angry.
It's hot outside.
You want a Scotch?
Yeah.
Ten years ago...
Five. Five years ago,
I might have said go after it.
Now I say go with it.
There's nothing you can change.
(CLEARS THROAT)
Sometimes you just
got to spew over the side
and keep rowing.
(CHUCKLES)
lnto a nut brown sunset.
It's the land of
multiple outrage.
Thousands trodden on
before you wake up
for breakfast.
That isn't news,
it's a commercial reality.
And providing it
isn't their sunset,
nobody gives
one-fifth of a fuck.
You underestimate your readers.
I don't think so.
You underestimate me.
You told me to make it work,
that's what I want to do.
Wind down this La Zonga crap
and make a newspaper.
Let me tell you
some home truth.
This paper's been
on its knees to a bank
since the day it opened.
And like most every other
newspaper on Earth,
it's financed
by its advertising.
And without advertising,
not only is
there no La Zonga,
there's no paper
to put it in, so, thus,
there are one or two things
that we don't write about.
In other words, nothing at all.
In one other word, discretion.
You're not
a foreign correspondent
in some far-flung
foreign land,
this is America.
This is Puerto Rico.
This is America.
You think some plumber
from Normal, Illinois,
saves up for 25 years
to come here
on a cruise ship
to read about bad times
in the sugar plantation?
They don't give a fuck!
The average guy
don't rock the boat,
'cause he wants
to climb aboard it.
And our readership
is vividly average.
(CHUCKLES)
They don't care
who the losers are.
(CHUCKLES) They want
to know who won.
Who won the bowls,
who won the races,
who won the pot
at the slot machines.
Look at me, Kemp.
You're not sleeping,
you're wide awake.
And this is the American Dream.
So many hotels,
you can't see the sea.
You can see the sea
by checking into
the hotels.
Pay to see the sea?
What's the matter with that?
You're paying to be
in the dream.
There's a thin veneer, Kemp,
between the dream
and the reality.
You wake them up
and the people might start
asking for their money back.
You're the boss.
Not quite.
The editorial policy
of this newspaper
is owned by the dream.
Oh, God.
Oh, Christ.
Oh, God, look at that.
Oh, God!
Hal?
Oh.
No, no, I'm a friend of Hal's.
I was looking at his boat.
She's a sweet little beauty.
You been aboard?
No.
Great little island hopper.
We've all been down on her.
It's a wonderful experience.
You two are early.
Oh, you got lucky.
SANDERSON: Yeah.
Did you meet?
Oh, yeah, we got first names.
Art Zimburger, late of
the U.S. Marines,
great friend of mine.
This is Mr. Paul Kemp,
New York Times.
Oh, you're the writer.
Paul's a novelist.
Uh-huh.
(MR. ZIMBURGER CHUCKLES)
New York Times?
He don't know one
from the other.
Just go with it.
This guy's key.
Key to what?
Key to the discussion
we're about to have.
Look at those mothers.
Come with me, Kemp.
This is a private beach.
We are not on it.
No, but we are!
And what we do is private!
Now get the fuck gone!
Get the fuck out of here!
I see your face again,
you're gonna have
a 1 2-gauge shotgun
telling you what to do.
Talking about Satan...
If there ever was
a kingdom of Satan,
the Soviet Union is it.
The only way to come
to terms with Communism
is to destroy it.
Hit it before it hits us
in a devastating
democratic strike.
No more for the major.
They're looking for a man
to push that button,
I am that man.
MRS. ZIMBURGER:
Yes, you are, honey.
You look ravishing, Chenault.
Thank you.
You need rescuing?
Oh, don't take him away.
He's very entertaining.
(CHUCKLES)
We were discussing Cuba and,
I don't know, we kind of
veered off, didn't we?
Paul presents us
with a somewhat
liberal point of view.
MR. ZIMBURGER:
There is no such thing
as a liberal.
A liberal is a Commie
with a college education
thinking Negro thoughts.
Well, here's a fact for you.
are controlled from Moscow.
That's why Castro gets
such an easy ride.
In my view,
we ought to bomb Cuba
off the face of the Earth,
let its people
live in peace.
Art.
Hey.
Come on, let's eat.
Come on.
Who's the guy in the shades?
Segurra's Daddy.
It's who you're waiting for.
Oh.
Thank you for my roses.
I didn't think you noticed.
Of course I noticed.
SANDERSON:
Paul, would you mind
joining us?
Oh.
How do you do, sir?
Mr. Kemp.
Nice to see you.
Mr. Kemp.
Okay.
Let me just start by saying
this is a purely
informal meeting.
And, incidentally,
you don't worry
about Lotterman, okay?
Lotterman?
What the hell's Lotterman
got to do with
The New York Times?
Mr. Kemp subs for
a variety of newspapers.
Occasionally, he writes
for the news.
What he does
in his spare time
is his affair.
That's how I like it.
We'd like you to do
some writing for us.
So I gather.
About what?
SANDERSON: In a sentence,
we want to set something up,
and have the public
as our friends.
And there are a variety
of ways we can do that.
Let me tell you how this kind
of thing works, Paul.
Suppose, by way of example,
you wanted to put up taxes
by five percent.
The smart way of doing it
is to float the idea
of a ten percent hike.
Let them all shout about it,
get themselves in a fuss,
then you offer concessions.
"How about seven percent?"
"No way," they'll say.
"All right, let's
stay friends and make
a compromise at five."
Bingo.
They think they won something,
you get the five percent
you wanted
in the first place.
Same thing applies
to real estate.
You want to build five houses,
you put in a planning
application for 50.
How many do you want to build?
None.
We want to build one hotel.
Well, looking
around this place,
I don't think
anyone would notice.
Lt isn't in this place.
It's an island.
Sensitive for a variety
of reasons we don't
want to get into now.
Nobody wants a paradise
choked with hotels, but
everybody will be pleased
to compromise at one.
This is going to require
some clever writing
in various
carefully placed articles.
Isn't that
kind of thing illegal?
MR. ZIMBURGER:
If I may say, Mr. Kemp,
that's an
inappropriate comment.
Where's the island?
Can't tell you.
Not yet.
Discretion is paramount,
Mr. Kemp.
If you want to join us,
you'll have to
sign some papers.
We're having a meeting
tomorrow in Hal's office.
If you want to be
part of what will be
a very exciting project,
come along.
There's a man outside
in a funny little car
for Paul.
Oh, yeah.
Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me.
I have to run.
Can't stay?
I hear the mermaids
come out in the moonlight.
(TUNING RADIO)
From the moment we met, I knew
there was going to be
something between us.
It's called her fianc.
God, I'm so hopelessly
and progressively in love.
Do not confuse love with lust,
nor drunkenness with judgment.
(ROOSTER CLUCKING)
You want my advice?
No. If it involves her,
no, I don't.
Stay away from her.
And stay away from Sanderson.
You're way out of depth.
I got no brief for Sanderson
or his pissy rip-off island.
I just want some
apple blossom lipstick
and fucks.
You are in total denial.
She's fucking someone else.
Oh!
And as I understand it,
about to be married to him.
La-la-la-la-la-la!
You won't even make an invite.
(TIRES SCREECH)
I don't believe this.
We're right back
where we started.
That is the same
Cabrones we passed
ten minutes ago.
(HORN HONKING)
We need directions.
Let's get in there and
get something to eat.
(GASPS)
(HOARSELY) No.
Please, no.
I haven't spent
all day on a beach
munching lobster
with criminals,
and I'm starving.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING QUIETLY)
(VOLARE PLAYING)
Two beers, two rums, one steak.
The kitchen is closed.
All right then,
two beers and two rums.
And one steak.
Cerrado, Mister...
Yeah, but let's not
bother me with that.
You got a sign down there
saying, "Food till midnight,"
and I want a steak.
(SPEAKING SPANISH)
Girl of the swamp.
Which reminds me,
we need a map.
You know what I think?
I think we're drinking
too much rum.
There's no other way.
I'm getting double ashtray
and double salt pot.
(CHUCKLES)
You got a Moburg bifocal.
Christ, this is heinous.
Imagine what it must be like
to be an alcoholic.
$2.
You pay and you go.
I don't see a steak.
No steak.
What do you mean, no steak?
I think he means no steak.
The kitchen is closed.
I got no way of serving you.
Listen, you don't want
to hear about my bad day,
and I don't want
no grave side out of you.
If you can't cook it,
bring it like it is.
I'll eat it raw.
Two dollars, you pay and go.
Don't bother me.
You pay now,
or I call the cops.
If you have no intention
of serving me steak,
why don't you do
your best to fuck off.
(MEN SPEAKING SPANISH)
lt seems to me there's
a bad vibe developing.
There are one or two oddities
giving us the eye.
Don't get paranoid.
He's on the phone.
For what?
Ordering food in a restaurant?
Let's hope
he's through to the FBI.
Si, la policia?
What's the matter?
What are you smiling at?
I'm not smiling.
I'm maintaining a casual face.
(MEN SPEAKING SPANISH)
A man just walked in
and has good reason
for regarding us
in a negative light.
Us?
Me.
And he's just seen me.
And he wants revenge
on the white man.
The fuck are you talking about?
How about the one
with the dent?
The one with the eye?
The very same.
Do we walk or run?
Walk.
I'll push the car.
Let's walk and hope he's happy.
(MEN SPEAKING SPANISH)
Hey, Yankee.
Yankee!
(SHOUTING IN SPANISH)
Don't let me see headlights.
Please don't let me
see headlights.
I just seen headlights.
Put your foot down.
Where exactly do
you think I got it?
(MEN SHOUTING)
Can you go faster?
Going fast as I can.
(MEN SHOUTING IN SPANISH)
(GLASS SHATTERS)
(SHOUTS IN SPANISH)
(SHOUTING IN SPANISH)
KEMP:
Jesus Christ, man.
(ROOSTER CLUCKING)
(SHOUTS IN SPANISH)
(GLASS SHATTERS)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
(CLUCKING)
We're gonna be killed!
We're gonna be killed!
Hey!
Get ready to run.
Run in opposite directions.
Give me the brew!
Give me the fucking brew!
(SCREAMS)
(SIRENS APPROACHING)
Paul!
(PEOPLE SPEAKING IN SPANISH)
(CAMERAS CLICKING)
(MEN MURMURING)
Piece of luck.
I just saw Moburg.
At least I think he saw us.
(MAN SHOUTS IN SPANISH)
They got some kind of
night court going.
(MAN SPEAKING SPANISH)
He says we were animals
on a rampage
of drunken anarchy,
poured gasoline
on one of his cops.
(GROANING)
(GAVEL BANGING)
(MAN SHOUTING IN SPANISH)
(SHOUTS IN SPANISH)
Oh, my God, we're doomed.
You have something to say?
Yes, Your Honor, I do.
Firstly, this guy
handcuffed to me,
I never seen in my life.
And second,
we'd like a translation
of the charges.
You heard what they said?
With respect,
I heard people
speaking Spanish.
What kind of language
do you think we speak
in this country, Mister?
(VOMIT SPLATTERING)
(GROANING)
He's not with us.
The cops attached him
to get a conviction.
Did you leave
the Cafe Cabrones
without paying?
Did you set fire
to the police officer,
yes or no?
Unfortunately, Your Honor,
he got in the way
of our flame.
That's right.
No way did we pour
gasoline on his head
and laugh as we did.
(LAUGHS)
lt wasn't like he said.
Like he said?
Like you say
you don't speak Spanish.
Mr. Kemp doesn't
speak Spanish.
JUDGE: Well, he will
have plenty of
opportunity to learn.
The charges against you
are grave.
Resisting arrest
carries a tariff alone
of one year in prison.
Never mind assault
with a deadly weapon.
I'm going to refer this case
to a higher court.
Meanwhile, I remand you both
in custody for 30 days.
(MAN CLEARS THROAT)
(SANDERSON SPEAKING SPANISH)
If I may, Your Honor.
(SPEAKING SPANISH)
Go ahead, Mr. Sanderson.
Thank you, Your Honor.
Lt isn't my purpose
to interrupt proceedings,
but if the intention
is to remand
these gentlemen,
I would respectfully ask
for a brief recess
to allow me
to contact
their counsel.
JUDGE: Who is who?
Alfredo Quinones.
Lt would necessitate
getting him out of bed,
of course.
But given the importance
of these gentlemen to
various interests,
I'm sure that he would
be as pleased as I
to come down here
at 3:00 in the morning.
How much did we cost him?
About $1,000 apiece.
(ENGINE STARTS)
I can't thank you enough.
Don't be late.
(GROANING)
(GRUNTS)
(GULPING)
SALA:
Mother of balls!
We got to rescue the car.
Not now.
We'll do it later.
I've got a meeting.
We do not have later.
They've already
had it 1 2 hours.
I know how these bastards work.
They can strip a train
to axles in 1 2 minutes.
We'll be lucky
to find an oil spot.
How long is this gonna take?
How would I know?
I can't be late.
I don't know
why you're going at all.
That guy is bad company.
He's a manipulative prick.
He manipulated us
out of jail, didn't he?
Now he fucking owns us.
I got a tongue like...
Like a towel.
Want a beer?
Do I want a beer?
No, I do not.
I am never gonna
touch alcohol again.
What fresh hell is this?
Front seat's gone.
That's a write-off.
Isn't it?
(PANilNG)
You know what,
I've got a brilliant idea.
(CAR RATTLING)
What's that?
SALA: There's too much
weight on the axle.
Try and move forward a bit.
Ugh, gonna be late.
I'm gonna be a week late.
What are you doing, Sala?
I suddenly realize
how much I like you.
What do you mean,
what am I doing?
There's something wrong
with the axle.
Oh, my God,
it's the cop
we set on fire.
Try and look normal.
(SIREN WAILING)
Make a right!
Make a right!
What right?
There is no right.
Any right!
(TIRES SCREECHING)
(BOTH SCREAMING)
(SCREAMING)
(CAR CRASHING)
SANDERSON:
Oh, there he is.
Paul, come in.
Sorry. There were
unexpected developments.
I had to go home
and start the day again.
Tell me about it.
Some days are
two sizes too small.
Well, I'm afraid
some of us
had to leave.
But, Mr. Zimburger
you know.
And this is Mr. Green
of First National
Maritime Bank.
You want some coffee?
I think we should
move right along, Hal.
I gotta go.
Sure.
Sit down, Paul.
As you may know,
Mr. Kemp,
the island is owned
by the U.S. government.
Part of it presently
used as a target range
by the Navy.
We know from
internal sources...
ls that what you're calling me?
(MEN CHUCKLING)
that the government
is preparing
to relinquish the lease,
and this place wakes up
as 32 square miles
of magnificent
and untouched
real estate.
Knock your eyes out.
No prettier beaches
in the Caribbean.
Orientated around
one hell of a
beautiful marina.
Thought it was one hotel.
We start with one hotel.
It's a foot in the door.
Once we're up and running,
we're servants of a market.
Like here?
Like here.
You look worried,
Mr. Kemp.
He's not worried.
Paul and I shared
a tricky little night.
Right, Paul?
Oh.
Neither of us got much sleep.
(CHUCKLES)
I gotta go, guys.
Well, we'll leave
you gentlemen to it.
Has Mr. Kemp
signed the papers?
Doing that right now.
What... What am I
actually signing?
Just a confidentiality
agreement,
affirmation of trust.
Just so we're all sitting
in the same Jacuzzi.
In case a turd floats up,
if you know what I mean.
Come on, Paul,
let's go over here.
Here you go.
(SIGHS)
It's just a technicality, Paul.
Means you promise
not to talk to anybody
about the project.
How's the head?
Unpleasant.
Gotta thank you again
for putting up the bail.
It's held on my cognizance.
And I think it
more than likely
to slip various minds.
This place is a sea
of money, Paul.
Unbelievable money.
Practically every
major corporation
hides its cash offshore.
No, thanks.
And that is good news for us,
because we are the shore.
Not one dollar
that wings its way
into Puerto Rico
pays a cent in tax.
Nothing?
Not penny one.
That includes
chemical companies,
oil companies,
mining companies.
There's $1 2 billion
worth of copper
in mountains less than
A dozen billion dollars.
And there's people like me
who know how to get it out.
So, putting it into context,
I don't envisage
the breaking of bones
to get at a thousand bucks.
Because you weren't here,
I agreed to an itinerary
with Zimburger
on your behalf.
You'll be traveling down
in the morning.
Hope that's okay.
What do you need, Paul?
Well, just in the context
of this Zimburger thing,
do you think
there's a possibility
of an advance?
I don't like to ask,
but Lotterman's
pretty erratic
with the paycheck, you know.
Need to get a hold of a car.
You don't have a car?
Nothing too reliable.
Plus, sooner or later,
I'm gonna have to find
a decent place to live.
Well, we can
help you with that.
When you get back,
we'll sort you out
something with a view.
Carol, what do we
have in the garage?
No, no, no, no,
no, no, not that.
Yeah, that's fine.
Okay, thank you.
Got you a car.
She'll give you the keys
on the way out.
Feels like 500?
Yeah. Thanks.
Oh, Paul...
How's your afternoon?
A half-written horoscope.
Do me a favor, will you?
Drive out to the beach
and pick up Chenault.
I need her
downstairs by 6:00.
All right.
(ENGINE REVVING)
So, this one?
Or...
This one?
What are these for, a party?
It's for carnival.
Didn't he say anything
to you about it?
No.
Oh, you've got to come.
We're all going down
on the boat.
He didn't invite me.
Well, it isn't his carnival.
Oh, this one.
Um...
I like the other one.
Yes.
Love this car.
Did he give it to you?
(CHUCKLES) I wish.
Fast.
You want a little bet?
A bet about what?
That you scream before I do.
That I scream before you do,
in relation to what?
Well, how fast does it go?
I don't know.
That's the bet.
I already crashed
one car today.
It's okay.
I'll just go sit
in the foyer and wait for him.
What do I get if I win?
I'll let you know if you do.
(ENGINE REVVING)
(TIRES SCREECH)
(ENGINE REVVING)
(BOTH SCREAMING)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
Come on, I'll take you back.
KEMP: Christ,
where'd they get this?
I don't remember.
I've been slightly
avoiding Lotterman.
You have me to thank
for your freedom.
Thanks.
I got a feeling
of total anxiety
trying to put
my anxieties together
in a single, coherent lump.
I'm fucked without a car.
I got us a car.
It's the Chevy downstairs.
Lt belongs to Mr. Sanderson.
So what?
I gotta go type this up.
(LOTTERMAN SHOUTING)
I don't know what's going on.
He's freaking out
and we're down 1 2 pages.
(SHOUTING CONTINUES)
You better frigging do it!
I see your filthy
animal face
in here again,
I'll have you locked up!
What part of the building
are you creeping
towards, Sala?
Darkroom.
Cops are
looking for you.
Looking for me?
Looking for you.
And it ain't
just your mug
in the paper!
What a day.
What a week.
I tell you, I'm out of here.
One way to friggin' Mexico.
Listen, I got
a trip tomorrow.
Sanderson's island.
No, no, no.
Oh, dear.
It's green money,
and I'm thinking of cutting
across for the carnival.
You know they
got that carnival
in Saint Thomas.
I know.
Why don't you come with me?
Give the cops
a few days to forget.
Yeah. Fun.
(LAUGHING)
(DISTANT EXPLOSION)
Our guys.
Nobody lives here?
No one who's staying.
(DISTANT EXPLOSIONS CONTINUE)
Lazar!
Mr. Zimburger.
(LAUGHS)
This is Mr. Lazar,
our much put-upon
site architect.
How do you do.
Hello.
Mr. Monk,
I think you know.
I assist Mr. Green,
First Maritime Bank.
This is Mr. Kemp
from The New York Times.
What did you say your name was?
Bob Sala.
Yeah, Sala.
From American
Travel Writers
Association.
(CHUCKLES)
Mr. Kemp is
preparing
our brochure.
"Wish you were here."
Beer in the cooler, gentlemen.
I have everything next door.
This and this are
the main hotels.
Guardians of the bay,
so to speak.
Why the different colors?
Blue is for
public dissemination,
red is for the investors.
Yeah.
Hill villas,
ocean condos.
Marina.
(CHUCKLES)
Parking for 2,000 cars.
There's no roads.
Damn it, Lazar,
you forgot the roads!
(LAUGHING)
We're building them.
We're building them.
Let's have some lunch.
(DISTANT EXPLOSIONS CONTINUE)
bellhops, janitors, clerks.
Plus, whores for the fat man.
Hard to believe they'd do it.
I was talking to that
architect kind of guy.
He's going
to Saint Thomas,
if you want a ride.
When?
How do I know when?
When he's finished here.
You know what Oscar Wilde said?
"They know the price
of everything,
"the value of nothing."
(LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING)
Two rums.
I thought you'd given up.
Finally beat my willpower.
Come on, let's go here.
(LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING)
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
Hey, mi amigo!
Hey, Rosie's a singer.
Paul!
Where's Hal?
Boat.
Boat?
Help me find my girlfriend.
CHENAULT: Hey!
How are you?
Watch your step.
Thank you.
All right.
There we go.
Thank you.
Hi.
Look at you.
SANDERSON: Good.
Grab some champagne.
Hey, Captain.
Hey.
Hey.
Did you take Sala
to the island?
You shouldn't have
done that, Paul.
It's why we have
a confidentiality agreement.
He isn't interested.
He's got a mouth
like an AP wire.
I just don't know
what he was doing there.
And I sure as shit don't
know what he's doing here.
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
Not going glum on us, are you?
Just thoughts.
What's the book?
The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner.
Lt was written in 1 797
by a junkie
called Coleridge.
He wrote that
when he was
I've been dragging
a typewriter
around with me for 1 0.
I've written nothing.
You've written some books.
Nah.
They had no voice.
I don't know how
to write like me.
I resent that.
No, I really have
to say he's all right.
I have to admit.
Fair is fair.
Fair is fair.
Thank you for the afternoon.
Maybe we'll see you in town.
Where you going?
Her friend's playing in a band.
We're gonna go check it out.
Oh, we want to come.
SANDERSON:
I'll rephrase that.
We don't want to come.
Yes, we do.
Us girls want to dance.
SANDERSON:
You're dancing tomorrow.
CHENAULT: What's the point
of going to carnival
if everything is preplanned?
I want to dance,
and if you're not
going to take me,
I'm gonna go with them.
DIGBY: She's got
you trumped, Hal.
Sit down. You're drunk.
So what?
So is everyone else.
Come on.
Come on, let's do it.
Lt might be amusing.
Oh, cuidado.
Careful.
Here we go.
(WOMAN WHOOPING)
(PLAYING ROCK 'N' ROLL)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Oh.
Yeah.
(CROWD CHEERING)
We're done.
We're spent.
You're gonna go?
Yes, we're gonna leave.
You're done?
I can't dance no more.
Really.
Hold on. You know what?
I'll be out.
Let me just get Chenault.
SALA: You want
rum or beer?
Um... Both.
Dos, uh, rum, uh, dos cervezas.
Oh, whoa, whoa.
We're gonna go.
Hey.
We're gonna go.
CHENAULT: What?
SANDERSON: Natalie's leaving,
so let's go.
CHENAULT: Hey, hey.
Come on, come on.
No, no, no, no.
(MUSIC BEGINS) (GASPS) Oh!
Chenault, come here.
We're leaving.
Chenault.
Stop it!
Chenault!
Hey, what?
I hear you
Yeah
I hear you
Yeah
(SINGER LAUGHING)
You all right?
Try it
Try it again
You try it again
Try it again
Shall we just sit?
Try again
Like a baby
Won't you try it?
You might like it
Honey
Yeah
Yeah, ha
It's all right
I tried
That's right
(PATRONS CHEERING)
Chenault, come here!
Chenault!
Get your hands off me,
you motherfucker!
Yeah
You want to fuck with me?
You know who I am?
You motherfucker!
You know who I am?
You're a dead man!
Go! Go!
Get your hands off me.
You're a dead man!
Go!
Forget it.
We'll call you a cab.
Fuck off!
I gotta get the girl.
She's having
a good time.
We closed.
You deaf?
I said we closed.
No way, Paul.
No way.
(SIGHS)
I looked everywhere.
I went to the gendarme.
And?
We went up there.
Nothing. Nobody there.
But an old woman with a mop.
She was more help
than the cops were.
"What can I do
if your girlfriend likes
someone else?" he said.
He's right about that, Paul.
She's not your girlfriend.
Maybe... Maybe she
went back to the boat.
Huh?
Did you...
Did you try the boat?
No.
I don't think
he'd let her back on.
Ls she with you?
Why don't you mind
your own goddamn business?
I want the keys.
The Chevy.
(KEYS JANGLING)
(ENGINE STARTS)
You blew it, Kemp.
KEMP: It's all rust.
I've seen better tires
hanging over
the side of a tug.
You want it or not?
Yeah, we want it.
Everyone turns up
for their Friday
check, right?
No check, no Lotterman.
So I go around to see
that unforgivably
ugly wife of his.
She tells me
he's gone to Miami.
For what?
You don't know, I don't know.
But the scabs are back.
Since Morell went,
the paper took a turn
for the worse.
Ls there anything
in the spinner?
We need a fresh sack.
Well, maybe I can
interest you gentlemen
in something else.
Like what, death?
Like the most powerful drug
in the history of narcotics.
I'm not at liberty
to discuss or disclose.
All I can tell you
is this stuff is so powerful,
they give it to Communists.
Who does?
The FBI.
Why would the FBI
get Communists high?
That I can't help you with.
You take it like eye drops.
In the eye?
So I understand.
Lt makes the eye see things.
You see a different reality.
What do you want for it?
I'll throw it in with the bike
if you do me a favor.
What's the favor?
I want you to come
to the bathroom with me.
He's your man.
$50, right?
Yeah.
(CHICKEN CLUCKING)
He wants me
to look at his dick.
I flatly refused.
What does he want you
to look at it for?
Says there's something
wrong with it.
It's a gentleman's matter.
I'm not looking at it!
All right, give me
the drugs back.
No! Wait.
I'll look at it.
I'll view it in the mirror.
Ls it clap?
A standing ovation.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(GRUNTS)
(SIGHS)
You see anything?
No.
Neither do I.
We'll give it another
five minutes.
ANNOUNCER: Trouble
making ends meet?
Then, you need
the Lending Man.
Right.
When money dries up fast
You're welcome to our cash
So borrow from
the Lending Man
Call the Lending Man now.
How long since we took it?
I don't know.
A while.
Bullshit, isn't it?
Ls it bullshit?
(STRIKES MATCH)
(SIZZLING)
(HISSES)
(GRUNTS)
Jesus.
Your tongue is like
an accusatory giblet.
(GROANING)
For Christ's sake, keep it out.
What are you talking about?
Your tongue belongs to Satan!
Are you out of your mind?
Keep it out!
If it goes back
into your mouth,
it'll kill you.
(MUFFLED SHOUTING)
We've got to get it
into the sink!
(GRUNTING)
You're giving me fear.
Stop it!
I've got fear!
Fuck you. So do I.
You're high, you fool.
Drink some rum.
(BUOY BELL CLANGING)
I thought I was
losing grip in there.
What did we take?
I don't know.
We need to get some more.
That explains it.
Doesn't it?
SALA: Explains what?
The world.
And us.
KEMP: I wonder
what it is
you might think about
our different worlds.
He looked at me
kind of sideways
and said,
"Human beings
are the only
creatures on Earth
"that claim a God.
"And the only living thing
that behaves
like it hasn't got one.
"Does the world belong
to no one but you?"
And when he said it,
I was taken aback.
Not because of who
was doing the talking,
because I finally
understood the connection
between children
scavenging for food
and shiny brass plates
on the front doors of banks.
Gotta go.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Shh. Come in.
Come in.
SALA: We gotta go.
Give me a minute.
I'll be waiting
for you downstairs.
Oh, how nice of you to drop in.
I was covering the carnival.
That's not what I heard.
I heard you were
in the moonlight
for Sanderson.
I was what?
Moonlighting for Sanderson.
Where's Segurra?
Mr. Segurra's
no longer with us.
I got a story for you.
Yeah, you may have noticed
that I'm somewhat busy.
This is real important,
involving Mr. Segurra
and Mr. Hal Sanderson.
I'm gonna tell you
how important it isn't.
I got 21 jobs on the line
and a newspaper going under.
Print this, and you'll sell it.
A planning scam.
Literally despoliation
of a paradise.
A thousand people
will be swept
into the sea like garbage.
You are weird, Kemp.
It's not what it's doing
to them, it's what
it's doing to you.
It's called journalism.
Oh, make me laugh.
I asked you
to tidy up the booze,
you couldn't even
sweep out a room.
Why do you think
you're working here?
'Cause you're everything
that's wrong
with a journalist.
And you're everything
that's wrong with
this insult of a newspaper.
Unanimously agreed.
Why don't you shut it, Moburg?
You are a waste of human sperm.
MOBURG: Die a prolonged and
relentlessly agonizing death!
Enjoy her.
(WHISTLING)
Made you some tea.
You should try and sleep.
I stole your bed.
(CHUCKLES) It's okay.
I'm going to write.
I'm so sorry.
Don't be sorry.
You did me
the best favor
I ever had.
There is no dream, Chenault.
Just a piss puddle of greed,
spreading throughout the world.
KEMP: I want
to make a promise to you,
the reader.
And I don't know
if I can
fulfill it tomorrow
or even the day after that.
But I put the bastards
of this world on notice.
That I do not have their
best interests at heart.
I will try and speak
for my reader.
That is my promise.
And it will be a voice
made of ink and rage.
Sit down.
I made you coffee.
Oh, thanks.
One for you and one for me.
Oh, man, I would
rather not start
the day with this.
What is it?
It's a writ.
Means we're going to court.
Lt means
they can arrest us,
should they so desire,
any damn minute they please.
We need to speak to a lawyer.
We don't even have a phone.
I know an old guy,
Spanish Advocate.
Kind of owes me one.
You should get dressed.
We'll go down there.
Water ran out.
I'm covered in soap.
Fuck it.
See what I can do.
What's it for?
Uh... It's Hal.
He put up a bond for us
on this thing,
and now he's pulled it.
Here.
You know he's a crook, Paul.
And we get the writs.
(RECORDING OF ADOLF HITLER
SPEECH PLAYING)
What is it?
It's, er... Hitler.
(RECORD SCRATCHES)
It's over.
What is?
They shut us down.
DONOVAN: He just
stood there
and lied to us.
He hasn't got the morality
of a clapped out cash register.
I hate to tell you this, guys,
but it was to avoid severance.
We all know what
it was for, Charlie.
What are we gonna do?
Nothing.
There's nothing we can do,
except report him
to the labor board,
which is the same thing
as doing nothing.
I disagree.
We gotta strike back
and nail this bastard
to his own front door.
DONOVAN: And how,
pray, do we do that?
By printing the paper.
We got tons of stuff
on Lotterman.
Every happy maggot with
his hand in the till.
Lt may be
the last-ever issue,
but we go out
in a blaze of rage.
What are you
talking about?
lt costs $2,200 a shot.
We bring in the scabs.
They're picketing for money.
You're through
the looking glass.
We haven't even
got enough money
for drinks.
It's not worth the fight.
This has been coming down
the pike for a long time.
You got to know
it's over when it's over.
This lousy little
Caribbean rag
is nothing
but a wrapping for fish heads.
Plus, it's a lockout.
Fuck the locks.
I say we just walk in.
Anybody with me?
Bob?
You know I'm with you.
SALA: We didn't
pay the bill.
Where's Chenault?
(STRIKES MATCH)
She's gone to New York.
She left me $1 00.
I don't believe it.
She didn't have any money.
You should use it
to go with her.
Red-eye for 50 bucks.
No.
I'm not going anywhere.
By some means or
another, I'm gonna
put the paper out.
Print the bastard,
then we're gone.
Face the reality, Paul.
There's no job,
no money, no girl,
and a warrant out
for our arrest.
There's no contest.
Donovan's right,
it ain't worth
the fight.
I'm not Donovan!
And I'm not like the others.
I'm telling you
right now, next time
some greasy moron
starts bullshitting me,
I'm going after him.
All the way up
to the president
of the United States.
I just want to win one once.
(STRIKES MATCH) One sheet.
You ain't gonna
get far on $1 00.
MOBURG: Some of the scabs
will do it for nothing.
We're gonna need
No, no, all you need
is two grand.
We're out of rum.
It's as if God,
in a fit of disgust,
has decided to wipe us all out.
(ROOSTER CROWS)
Yea, the cock crows thrice.
What about El Monstruo?
Bet the $1 00 on El Monstruo.
How do you know he lives here?
I saw him come out.
You better let me
do this on my own.
If he gets it,
we should bring it
to Papa Nebo.
Who's that?
My witch doctor.
She's a hermaphrodite.
MOBURG: Stop here!
Stop here!
By day, she drives
a garbage truck.
By night,
she becomes Papa Nebo,
the hermaphroditic
oracle of the dead.
When permission
is granted
from Papa Samedi,
the keeper of the cemetery,
she'll visit,
and she'll dig up a corpse.
Certain organs of
the disgrounded stiffs
are indispensable
for use in ouangas.
(WOMAN BABBLING)
This is horses hit, isn't it?
She cured my prick.
(WOMAN MUTTERING)
(BEADS CLATTERING)
(BABBLING)
She wants to know
what you want.
We want her
to empower this fowl.
We want it blessed
and anything that tries
to fight it, dead.
(BABBLING)
Bring forth the fowl.
(CLUCKING)
(BABBLING)
(CHANTING)
(PAPA NEBO SPITTING)
(BABBLING LOUDLY)
(LAUGHS)
(BABBLES)
She says that no fowl on Earth
could challenge this
cockerel and survive.
Great.
How's she off for curses?
MOBURG: Pretty good.
Let's have a curse
on Sanderson.
Make his dick fall off.
And that fucker
at the bank, Green.
Mr. Green.
(PAPA NEBO BABBLING)
(GAGGING)
Jesus!
MOBURG: Curse active!
(CHICKEN CLUCKING)
(CROWD CHEERING)
(ANNOUNCER SPEAKING SPANISH
ON PA)
Okay, come on.
(CROWD WHISTLING)
(SQUAWKS)
(CROWD CHEERING)
(ANNOUNCER SPEAKING SPANISH)
(CHEERING)
One down, two to go.
Okay. I'm gonna
call Moburg.
Okay.
(LINE RINGING)
Come on. Come on.
He isn't there.
He has to be.
He isn't there.
(DISTANT PHONE RINGING)
(RINGING)
KEMP: Where have you been?
Sorry.
I never heard the phone.
How's it going?
Winning, man.
We're winning.
Ls everyone there?
Ls everyone there?
Yeah, everyone's here.
What about the vans?
What about the vans, Moburg?
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, vans.
(ANNOUNCER SPEAKING SPANISH
ON PA)
(CROWD CHEERING) You hear that?
We're on our way.
What the hell is going on?
He said he had the men.
"All claims against
the former owners
will be..."
(MUMBLING)
"Signed on behalf
of First Maritime Bank,
Miami."
Sanderson's pal, Mr. Green.
Sorry, Paul.
I didn't know how to say.
They... They took
all the machines out.
Not everything,
but just the parts that matter.
I'll let you in.
(DOOR SLAMS IN DISTANCE)
All I wanted was a front page.
Probably for the best.
Probably would've
never pulled it off.
How much...
How much did
you guys win?
Just under six grand.
Oh, yeah, well, you...
At least you can
pay off the bond now.
Screw the bond.
We're out of here.
It's over with.
SALA: There's
a midnight Pan Am.
I'm not risking the airport.
No.
I figure this island
owes us a boat.
And I'm fuckin' taking
one of Sanderson's.
You smell it?
It's the smell of bastards.
It's also the smell of truth.
I smell ink.
Always think
About the days gone by
When the childhood
I have sown
Appears in the sky
But I'm not the simple man
The boy I used to be
No, I learned
to picture life...
I got to take the hen back.
And I found
After all the searching
Life was only what I made it
After all the searching
for new games to play...
Find yourself a trade wind.
After all the searching
Life was only what I made it
After all the searching
for a new game to play
Live my life away
Saw a dragon
shake the theater walls
While the steeple bell
Rang out in anguished calls
And I turn my eyes
To see a bird fly overhead
And I dreamt
its wings of freedom
Could be mine instead
And I found
After all the dreaming
Life was only what I made it
After all the dreaming
Of new games to play
I drink my life away
Love you all
And livin' on
Livin' life the way...
Do you remember me?
The ocean rolled
Time was slow
We felt an energy
The cock was crowing
The rum was flowing
A mermaid burns to see
Beyond the sea
I long to see
If there's a page for me
A page for me
In your diary