Bright Side -- the scene that Quinto stole.
Narrator: Bill, a struggling New York gossip magazine writer, is fighting through the worst day of his life. Thus far, he’s made up a story about celebrity foosball to save his job, discovered his girlfriend is cheating on him with his arch-nemesis, and nearly been killed in a robbery in an underground poker club. Having reached his breaking point, he’s decided to escape New York and move to South America with a Brazilian model-slash-DJ named Gaby. But his strung-out writer friend Todd is the only one who knows where she is. This is “Bright Side”, by Alexander Poe.
Exterior, Greenhouse nightclub, night. Bill exits the nightclub, frantically pushing through the velvet rope crowd outside. He dials Gaby but gets her voicemail.
Gaby: Hi, it’s Gaby, leave me a message.
Bill: Uh, yeah, Gaby, it’s, uh, it’s Bill. Uh, I need to talk to you. It’s…it’s about Brazil. Call me back.
Bill hangs up and dials Todd, who answers, sounding really trashed.
Todd: Hello?
Bill: Todd?
Todd: Yeah?
Bill: It’s Bill.
Todd: BILL! What’s up, man?
Bill: Hey Todd, uh, where’s the Details party?
Todd: The RETAIL party? Dude, who’s throwing that? *sniffs, sounds like he’s snorting a line of coke*
Bill: The party that Gaby is DJ-ing.
Todd: OH, dude, you mean the DETAILS party.
Bill: Yeah, yeah. Todd, where is the party at?
Todd: yeah, seriously, where is the party at tonight. Everything is dead! I wish the Jane(?) was still open.
Bill: hey look, listen-
Todd: Hey, what about that celebrity foosball article you’re working on? Does Clooney have a game going on tonight? Can we get in on that?
Bill: Okay, just-just tell me where you are right now.
Todd: Um….I’m at the Greenhouse.
Bill turns around and looks back at Greenhouse, the club that he just left.
Bill: Where are you in the Greenhouse?
Todd: I’m in the bathroom.
Bill walks back through the velvet rope crowd and into the club.
Interior. Greenhouse nightclub bathroom. Bill opens the bathroom stall door and sees Todd sitting on the floor, sipping a drink with a straw, totally wasted.
Todd: Hey man, that was fast. Did you take a cab?
Bill helps Todd up and we cut to the interior of a taxi, night. Bill and Todd sitting in the back seat.
Todd: It’s just like, why don’t we…hang out enough? I mean, people, they get so busy, you know, I mean why can’t we just slow down?
Bill: What’s the address?
Todd: Uh, I don’t know, man. It’s one of those unmarked places. Why does every place have to be like some underground hidden club now, like what is that? What is everybody hiding from?
Bill: Look, I mean, are we on the right street? There is nothing here -
Todd: Wait, it’s around here, I know where it is. It’s next to like, a, Laundromat or something, it’s uh…slow down, I think we might…I think….I think I might throw up.
Bill: oh God. Here’s good.
Bill and Todd get out of the cab in the middle of a sketchy, deserted point of town.
Bill: You okay?
Todd: Yeah, I’m great.
Todd sways like he might keel over. Bill catches him.
Todd: I’m good, I’m good.
Todd looks over at a building with a bouncer standing outside that, sure enough, is next to a Laundromat.
Todd: That is it. See, man? I knew …I told you, I told you it was right here.
And we cut to the interior of the Details party. Bill and Todd go down a dark, narrow hallway and step into a vast underground club. Music booming, people dancing. Bill sees Gaby across the room in the elevated DJ booth, spinning records. She looks angelic in the club lights. Bill has to shout in Todd’s ear to be heard.
Bill: I’LL BE RIGHT BACK!
Todd: OKAY!
Bill pushes his way through the packed club and elbows his way in right below the DJ booth. Travis, a club guy, elbows in past Bill as he tries to catch her attention.
Bill: G-Gaby!
Travis: Hey, can you play Lady Gaga?
Gaby: What?
Travis: LADY GAGA!
Bill: GABY!
Gaby: Bill, hi!
Bill: I need to talk to you!
Gaby: I can’t hear you.
Bill: I’m ready to go!
Gaby: What?
Bill: Brazil, I am ready. I am ready to go-
Travis: PLEASE, DO YOU HAVE ANY LADY GAGA OR WHAT?
Bill: BACK OFF! Please, man, just back off.
Travis: asshole.
Gaby: I have a break in 10 minutes. Meet me in the lobby.
Bill: yes! Okay. Ten minutes.
Gaby blows Bill a kiss. He smiles like he’s on top of the world, and we cut to a bathroom. Bill walks into a bathroom, splashes water on his face, looks in the mirror, and takes a deep breath. Life all comes down to a few moments, and this is one of them. Bill’s phone rings. It’s Todd.
Bill: Hey! Where are you?
Todd: Uh…I think I’m in the bathroom.
Bill hears Todd behind him, pushes open of the stall doors, and sees Todd sitting on the floor next to the toilet, wiping his eyes like he might have been crying.
Todd: Where were you? You left me.
Bill: Were you crying?
Todd: No.
Bill: I’m back.
Todd: Never leave a man behind, dude. Please.
Bill: I know. Are you good?
Todd: I mean, that’s the thing. I don’t even know…what does good even mean, you know? I mean, like, everyone tries to be good, I try to be good, my dad tries to be good, but if everyone was just like, real with each other, maybe we could actually get some shit done, you know? I mean, what the fuck? I mean, like, I haven’t even called my grandmother in like three months, you know, but I should call my grandmother because I love her, you know? Why don’t people just tell each other they love each other enough?
Bill: Yeah, you know what, I hear you there -
Todd: What is that?
Bill: Listen, Todd, I think you’re absolutely right, and I think people should live in the moment, and not think about other bullshit.
Todd: totally!
Bill: and right now, I need to go talk to Gaby and tell her how I feel about her and that I am going to move to Brazil with her.
Todd: Dude, that is great, man! I wanna go to Brazil.
Bill: yes, man! We are going to go to Brazil.
Todd: Didn’t you have a girlfriend?
Bill: It is over.
Todd: Then let’s go to Brazil.
Bill: Yes! Are you-you’re good here?
Todd drunkenly spits on the floor - maybe about to throw up, maybe trying to avoid it.
Todd: totally cool, um. You need to go and you need to do that.
Bill: okay.
Todd: and you are my best friend.
Todd and Bill share an awkward hug that lasts a little too long. Bill pats Todd on the back to break it up.
Bill: Okay, I guess I’m gonna go.
Todd: Go. I’ll be right here.
Bill walks out of the bathroom and back into the party, and we cut to the lounge area. Bill steps into a quieter VIP lounge area. Gaby is sitting on a couch talking with Tucker, a GQ reporter.
Gaby: You’ve been to Brazil?
Tucker: Oh yeah, I spent a summer there. I was staying right by Fortaleza.
Gaby: you know Fortaleza. Oh my god, I grew up right there.
Tucker: yeah, yeah, yeah!
Bill: hey!
Gaby: Bill! Hey how are you?
Gaby stands up and kisses Bill on the cheek.
Bill: It’s really good to see you.
Gaby: Bill interviewed me for Trend magazine.
Tucker: Oh right, yeah.
Gaby: Do you know Tucker?
Bill: Uh, yeah, hey.
Gaby: Tucker’s writing an article about me for GQ. Can you believe it?
Bill: That is great. Hey, you know? Hey, can we get out of here?
Tucker: what about Praia Pipa?
Gaby: oh my god, you’ve been to Praia Pipa?
Tucker: are you kidding? Of course I have.
Gaby: can we wait….(I don’t know what she says here)….please?
Bill: yeah, sure.
Gaby: you’re so cute. Do you mind grabbing me a bottled water, please? You’re the best.
Bill walks across the packed club towards the bar. He tries to flag the busy bartender. The bartender passes by.
Michael: BILL!
Bill turns to the side and sees Michael, a guy in a suit.
Michael: what’s up? It’s been a while.
Bill: hey, man.
Bill looks back at Gaby and Tucker and sees them talking more intimately.
Michael: Michael! Michael King! First floor, McHook and Choke (?). First year! Dude, we were in JV rugby together.
Bill: Right, hey, hi. How are you man?
Bill sees Tucker leaning into Gaby’s ear.
Michael: I ran into Jimmy a while back. He said you were working at some tabloid or something?
Bill: no, I quit.
Bill tries to flag the bartender.
Michael: oh cool. I’m just changing lines of work myself. Fuckin’ got hired at Lehman Brothers right before they went under, if you can believe THAT shit.
Bill: yeah man, that’s….
Bill sees Gaby and Tucker getting too close for comfort.
Michael: what are you doing now?
Bill: I’m moving to Brazil. HEY! Can I get a water here?
Michael: BRAZIL Brazil? I hear they have good sangria down there.
Tucker leans in and kisses Gaby. Bill takes off, pushes his way through the crowd, but it’s too thick - he’s not getting very far.
Michael: Where you going? Let me give you my card!
Bill sees Tucker take Gaby by the hand and lead her towards the back exit. Bill keeps fighting his way forward, but he gets there just in time to see Tucker and Gaby opening the exit door, streetlight pouring in.
Bill: GABY!
Gaby turns, smiles a sweet, apologetic smile.
Gaby: call me.
And we cut back to the interior of the bathroom. Bill walks back into the bathroom and finds Todd on his cell phone.
Todd: I love you too, grandma. I talk to you tomorrow. Hey, so, when are we going to Brazil?