"Look, all I did was deliver the message." "You can't..." "No, all you did was save Venice." "That hotel would have killed me and the restaurant." "From now on, you eat for free." "Look, I'm just..." "I'm happy to be of service." "Look, man, why don't you come by the council meeting here tonight?" "We need more people like you who care about our community." "You keep going like this, you'll be the real Mayor of Venice." "All right, Oscar." "Politics?" "Ich bin ein Berliner." "So, how did you save Venice?" "Truth be told, I got a little help from Tilly." " Tilly?" " Yeah." "What the hell did she get out of it?" "I gave her the one thing that would make her truly happy." "Divorce." "Yes!" "Whoo!" "Oh, man." "That was a close game." "Yeah." " You played well." " Yeah." "Thank you." " That backhand felt really good today." " Yeah." "I did not sleep well last night." "Uh-huh." "No, just..." "the bed in the guesthouse is..." " Here it comes." " No, it's just so uneven." "You just moved back in and you're already complaining?" "Wait, wait." "Are you complaining about the guesthouse?" "Or are you just making excuses for why you just lost?" "Both." "I mean, neither." "It's just, after all those... the years of listening to you complain about the bed in there," "I never took you seriously." "Sorry." "Okay." "So, I just won this set, fair and square, right?" "That's not my decision." "Shit." "Wait." "Whoa, whoa!" "What the fuck is going on?" " Put that shit down!" " Easy, man." " Finally kicking me out, huh?" " What did you expect, Chip?" "I mean, you cost me four million dollars." "Jerry, that wasn't me." "I had... that was Save Venice, man." "You fucked me out of four million dollars." "I know you did." "Yeah, I'm sorry." "Oh?" "You're sorry?" "You're... you're sorry?" "Oh, God, I didn't realize you were sorry." "Wow." "I mean, I still can't believe that you fucked me." "Actually, I'm..." "I'm proud of you." "But you're still kicking me out, huh?" "Oh, Chip..." " It's nothing personal." " Tilly know?" "What do I care?" "It's just that I saw her the other day, and I made it perfectly clear that... either I stay in the store or the truth comes out." "Oh, about the accident?" "Yeah." "So, it was a bluff?" "I was serious." "The truth always comes out in the end." "Chip, I just don't think that the truth is the good friend that you think it is." "How so?" "I mean, I've been watching you for, what, ten years now?" "And, you know, you've made a really nice life for yourself out here, I'd say." "The "Mayor of Venice" life, you know?" "And..." "And with your troubled past that gives you so much credibility in the neighborhood and in your meetings." "Yeah." "Oh, and the chicks." "We shouldn't even talk about the chicks at all, right?" "Are you really sure you want to give all that up?" "I mean, for what?" "Just because you want the truth to come out?" "I don't think you want that." "You know why?" "Because you're a fake, Chip." "And the truth destroys a... a fake." "So, it was a bluff." "Come on, guys." "Keep it up." " Hey, Jerry." " Hey, Chevy." " Hey!" " Hey, Dennis." " Uh, look, I know what's going on." " What the fuck are you talking about?" "I'm going to give you the opportunity to come clean here." " Seriously, I..." " Yeah?" " Is this about me and Stefan?" " I don't give a shit about that." "Then I have no idea what you're talking about." " The wine, Kara." " Here?" "No." "The wine..." "No, the wine in the cellar." "The one that I told you I wasn't going to open." "What the fuck?" "What about the wine?" "Wait." "That wasn't you, was it?" "Wait." "You thought that I stole a thousand-dollar bottle of wine." "No." "No, no, no." "I'm so..." "I thought that you drank it." "Fuck you, Dennis." " I'm sorry." "I..." " What?" " Dennis!" "Jesus!" " Sorry!" "I'm sorry." "What the fuck?" "How long you worked for Topher?" "About a year." "Over a year." "But you... you've done this sort of thing before?" "Oh, yeah." "You got a family?" "Yeah." "I got two kids, eight and ten." "And a wife, of course." "Of course." "You guys live in a house?" "Yeah." "We're up in Northern California..." "in a house." "That's a hell of a commute." "I take the company plane." "You mean..." "You..." "You fly it?" "Or..." "Sorry." "It really..." "It shouldn't be too much longer." "He's on a call." "Chip?" "Chip!" "Hey, buddy." "Is that you?" "Oh, shit!" "Uh, sorry." "Sorry!" "Fuck!" "Hey, Chip." "What's the matter?" "Phone not working?" " No, it's nothing like that." " So, what can I do for you?" "Well, how do you know it's not the other way around?" "What I can do for you." " Is it?" " No." " Yeah." "Okay, talk to me." " I'm getting kicked out of the store." "Okay." "And I know we talked about it before and we even got really close, but..." " You want me to buy the store?" " No, I want to buy the store." "But, in order to do that..." "I'm a little short, is all." "Sorry, you... you want me to give you four million dollars?" " Think of it as a loan between friends." " You're not that good of a friend." " So, you'll think about it?" " No." " You won't even think about it?" " I just did and the answer is no." " I'm sorry that you feel that way." " You can't stop a tide, Chip." " Change is inevitable." " Okay." "Even if I did give you the four million dollars, the hotel development is still going to happen." " Yeah, well, I stopped it once before." " You stopped Wiener and Kaufmann." "It's only a matter of time before someone else comes along." "You?" "I thought you loved this place." "The vibe, the community..." ""This... this is real." What, you're going to just sell out, just like that?" "There's no selling out, Chip." "There's only buying in." "How did you stop Wiener and Kaufmann?" "I got a lot of pull in this town." "You know that." "Save Venice?" "What, are you their leader or something?" "Something like that." "Actually, maybe you can be of service." "Our lives would be a whole lot easier if we got a good reaction at the meeting tonight." "Cooler!" "Cooler, come on out, man!" "Give me a sec, dude!" "I just got in!" " Whoa!" "Jesus, man!" " What?" "It sounded urgent." "I know, but... come on." " Use another towel." " This is the only clean one I had." "What the fuck, dude?" "Okay, listen, I..." "don't sit on the couch, man!" "Dude, what did you want to talk to me about, man?" "Look, you need to get in touch with all the Save Venice people, okay?" "Just, everybody." "Stefan and Gypsy and Terrance and Uno." "Everybody." " You want to do a party?" " No, man." "The hotel development is back on." "What?" "But you already talked to the Wiener, man." "You killed it." "Yeah, it turns out it was just a flesh wound." "That's why you need to mobilize the troops." "Get everybody on the same page before the big town council meeting tonight." "We got to make sure that the... good people of Venice vote the right way." "This is, like, a "for real" deal emergency type situation." "This is serious." "Fuck yeah, dude." "What are you doing?" "This has to happen now." "Dude, like, right now?" "A 2005?" "Sorry." "I'm unable to get to the phone right now on account that it's in my ass pocket and I got it on vibrate." "So, I like to let it ring." "Hey, George." "It's Dennis." "Uh, look, I really need to talk to you." "It's about Chip." "He's... in trouble, you know?" "If you know what I mean." "David?" "Hey, Claire." "Or is it, uh, "London" now?" "I like the new look." "How'd you find me?" " Does it..." "Does it matter?" " No." "Just, um... you promised." "Yeah, I know..." "to give you space and time." "I just didn't expect you to take so much of it, is all." "Yeah, neither did I." "I actually started thinking that since so much time had passed, that... you know, that she wanted me to come find her, kind of, like, a test or proof that I loved you." " Here I am." " I'm sorry, David." "You..." "You have some food in your..." "Look, I just..." "I can't wait around forever, Claire." "You're going to have to decide." "Me or... that guy who sells stools?" "What the fuck, man?" "You almost ran me over!" "I fucking thought about it." "George, man, I don't have time for this, okay?" "Not today." "I got a lot of shit I got to do." "Yeah, your boy Dennis called me." "You went out, huh?" "Uh-huh." "Look." " Take this." " Whoa." "What the fuck?" "No, take it, man." "Save us all a lot of time and energy." " Look, I..." " Shut the fuck up, would you, Chip?" "For once." "Take the gun, put it in your mouth or whatever, and just spare us all the extra words." "George, I appreciate everything you've done for me." "No, you don't." "You don't give a fuck about me." "You don't give a fuck about anything or anybody." "Look, man, it's all under control." "You got it under control?" "Oh." "You're all fixed." "You can drink and be normal." "This is just one big wine cooler commercial." "Everything doesn't have to be one way or another." "You either drink or you don't, Chip." "We don't live in a black and white world, George." "That's a good one." "I wish I was as smart as you, 'cause you got it all figured out, Chip." "And you do?" "What?" "A fat, obnoxious, know-it-all cop with alimony payments and two kids who won't even fucking talk to him?" "Where do I sign up for that?" "The back of your Wednesday night men's stag meeting?" "Look, I, uh..." "You're a good man." "I mean, whether or not you want to admit it, but..." "I know you are." "I've seen you stick your hand out... to help other people, complete strangers... drunks." "I mean, countless times." "I just wish you would just listen to half the stuff you tell them." "I really hope that... that one day you can just step up, man, and... and just finally help yourself." "You lying motherfucker." " Oh." "Hey, it's you." " Is Chip here?" "No, he's not." "Come on in." "Fuckin'..." "Chip!" "Dude!" "What's up, man?" "I thought you'd gone and bailed on us." "Dude, I'm the one who told you to rally the troops." "Yeah, man, but there are people here that never show up for anything." " So, legit Venice people?" " Yeah." " Hey, man." "Is London here?" " I haven't seen her." "No." "Whoa, bro." "I don't think I've ever seen you this nervous, man." "So, what brings you to Venice?" "I thought this place was like Chinatown to you." "I need to talk to Chip." "I left him a message, but..." "His phone's been off all day." " I'm concerned." " Yeah, me too." "It's okay." "I know." " He told you?" " I found out this morning." " Does anyone else know?" " I left a message for George." " What would you do that for?" " George can help us." "I guess." "This girl... does she know?" "London?" "I..." "I doubt it." "I hope you're right." "If she finds out I killed her brother, then we're both going down." "That you killed...?" "You told me you found out this morning." "Yeah, that Chip was drinking again." "Not that he didn't..." " You're saying that you killed..." " Dennis." "What?" "Oh, fuck." " Don't make a big deal about this." " Oh, my God." "He fucking lied." "Of course he did." "All he's ever done is lied." "Ever since we first met, everything that he has ever told me has been a lie." "He didn't... he didn't..." "he didn't kill anyone?" " Isn't that better?" " No, not for me." "Who..." "Who does something like that?" "Who the fuck lies about something like that?" "Why?" "I think he thought he was doing the right thing." "What?" "He took the fall for you." "So that you could have your big career and that he could... what, have a fucking furniture store?" "That's insane." "This guy is unbelievable." "He wrote the fucking book on bullshit." "At least he says he did." "Listen, please." "The hotel is phase one of multidimensional rejuvenation project." "We don't want to rejuvenate." "Boo, bro!" "We can help you become the next Santa Monica." " Boo!" " Up yours!" "All right, all right, all right." "You will get a chance to counter, but you can't all be shouting at the same time." "Now, do you have a representative?" " Please, tell me that you have..." " Here we go, dude." " ...some leadership or a leader..." " Take us to the Promised Land." "...so that we're not sitting here all night listening to a hundred different versions of the same objection." " You got to do this." " Come on!" "We need you, man." " Come on, man." " Come on, man, do it!" " Speech!" "Yeah!" " Come on, brother." " Come on, man." " Come on, tell them like it is, man." "Okay, all right." "Hello, I'm Chip." "And I'm an alcoholic." "I came to Venice by accident." "Let me rephrase that." "I came to Venice because of an accident." "Ten years ago, I killed a man." "A..." "A boy, really." "There's no excuse for it." "I got loaded." "I got behind the wheel of a car and I took another person's life." "A human being." "And, in the process, I destroyed what was left of mine." "But the people in this room, not just those of you who are in A.A., you helped me get back on my feet." "I changed." "Venice helped me change." "And, in that time, Venice changed, too." "You know what?" "When I first got here, you couldn't walk down Sunset and Fourth after... ironically enough, sunset." "No way you could go up California and Seventh." "Broadway, no." "There were gunshots every day." "You were risking your life just by sitting in your own living room." "Then, it started to change." "An old ramshackle Craftsman would come down, and, in its place, they'd put up an architectural marvel." "My block would get a little bit safer." "Then, they'd do another one." "They'd open up a new store." "And another store." "A restaurant." "Oscar, I was there the night that you opened your restaurant." " How long ago was that?" " Almost eight years." "How many people you got working for you now, Oscar?" "Oh, man, including me?" "Uh, sixteen." "And my son." "So, seventeen, 'cause he counts, right?" "We all count." "Seventeen people." "Wow." "Seventeen people who..." "pay their rent, pay their mortgages, who spend their money right here in Venice all because Oscar had this preposterous idea to open a restaurant." "Look, I'm not one to usually make a stand." "Shit, I make stools, for Christ's sake." "But I came here today because I love Venice just as much as you do." "This is a new beginning." "A new chapter for us." "A chance for us to, not forget our past, but to... to build on it." "So, we can look forward... to a shared future together." "So, I say to you all today, yeah, let's save Venice." "Let's look at this regeneration project as a gift that we didn't even know we were getting." "Let's welcome these people into our community... much the same way we were welcomed ourselves." "Let's do it!" "Let's save Venice!" "That was a hell of a speech." " Yeah." "Thank you, man." " Yeah." "Especially the part about the accident." "That never fails to impress in the rooms." " Yeah." "It's a... it's a good one." " Yeah." "Yeah, it is." "You paint such a great picture..." "almost as if it really happened." "I got to level with you, man, 'cause you, uh... deserve to know." "It's serious." "I've been drinking again." "Alcohol." "Uh-huh." "Probably about 18 months." "Not a lot." "More than nothing." "And I've been drinking some of your wine." "Sorry, man." "I'm..." "I know I let you down." "Is that it?" "Well, yeah." "I mean, that's kind of a lot." " Is this about the jacket?" " No, man." "It's not about the jacket." "It's about the accident." "What about it?" "Tell me what happened." " You know what happened." " I know what you told me." "Then, that's what happened." "You can tell me the truth, Chip." " I've told you the truth." " Okay." "Then, tell me the truth about the truth." " It's the same as it's always been." " Tell me... what happened." "All right, man." "I guess this is it... for us." "Dennis, what are you talking about?" "You did it, Chip." "You won." "You got it." " Got what?" " Everything." "Everything that you ever wanted."