About

WHO IS THE BOB?

Freakin losers

WHAT WE'VE DONE

Nothing. <3

WHERE WE'RE LOCATED

The Bob is a global empire, located in all different continents and countries. Currently, the Bob is trying to save up so we can all move in together, and continue working around the clock to deliver top-notch content. Explore the house we are looking to move into.

WHY IS THE BOB?

The Bob does not wish to comment at this time.

THE BOB is...

a collection of American casual dining restaurants specializing in the fusion cuisine of Seattle and South Virginia.
the longest running group of giraffes ever. seriously, they are still running
afraid of ghosts!
a palindrome
literally so horny
streaming SAWAYAMA
for the girls, by the girls <3
trying their best
I know you are but what am I
coming.

ABOUT THE BOB

UNCUT GEMS by SAFDIE & BRONSTEIN IN HOWARD WE TRUST 04/17/15 ELARA PICTURES, INC. © 2015, ELARA PICTURES, INC. EXT. OPAL MINE - ETHIOPIA - DAY Unrest. White foremen violently argue via translators with a group of local black miners. A fist fight breaks out and quickly grows into a riot. Two MEN, both black, take advantage of the chaos to sneak inside the mine. INT. OPAL MINE - ETHIOPIA - CONTINUOUS The MEN don head lamps and plunge into the darkness of the mine. The sound of the riot quickly recedes behind them, overtaken by their own heavy, echoed breaths. They stop at a ragged t-shirt stuck in a crevice in a wall. MAN 1 keeps look-out as MAN 2 pulls the t-shirt out and uses a screw driver to dislodge a large clump of dirt from the crevice. MAN 2 crumbles the dirt away, exposing a rock the size of a grapefruit. Using an electric grinding sander, he exposes small ‘windows’ on either side of the rock and holds it up to a light for inspection. Twinkling electronic music fades in as the camera moves into the gem. Light and color engulf the frame in a shifting melange of abstract shapes and patterns. UNCUT GEMS A1 CREDITS accompany our psychedelic journey through the inside of A1 the gem. A metallic shimmer appears in the distance, as we near it, we see that it’s a boxing gym bell. INT. UNIVERSAL BOXING GYM, QUEENS, NY - RING -NIGHT DING DING DING. NADAV, late 20’s, dim, strong, with a unibrow, meets a YOUNG LATINO boxer center ring. NADAV is instantly hit 3 times in the head. He endures. Ringside, ARTHUR, 30s, black, yells excitedly. INT. UNIVERSAL BOXING GYM, QUEENS, NY - LOCKERROOM - AFTER NADAV, naked, changes in front of his locker. ARTHUR enters. ARTHUR Me and Dev are gonna hit up Glazz tonight. Tons of girls, come with. NADAV Alright, just gotta go home first. I’m around the corner. ARTHUR My nigga! 2. INT. NADAV’S APARTMENT, SUNNYSIDE QUEENS - BEDROOM - AFTER NADAV applies gel and cologne to his body, while ARTHUR watches from the bed. Hanging off the mirror are a dozen gold chains. NADAV grabs one with a star of David pendant and clasps it around his neck. Reaching into his underwear drawer, he pulls out and adorns a gold Rolex watch. ARTHUR takes note. ARTHUR You mind if I smoke? NADAV Nah, just do it by the window. ARTHUR walks over to the window, opens it and lights up. INT. GLAZZ NIGHT CLUB - AFTER At the bar, ARTHUR and DEV, also black, flirt with girls, NADAV clings on. NADAV is one of a few white people in the club. INT. NADAV’S APARTMENT, BUILDING HALLWAY - 12AM NADAV, drunk, walks down his hallway, unlocks his apartment. INT. NADAV’S APARTMENT - AFTER The apartment has been ransacked. The bed has been turned over, the drawers from his dresser pulled out and emptied, mirror broken, TV and stereo clearly missing. NADAV panics. NADAV No, no, no, no... NADAV searches the dresser area for his jewelry. NADAV (CONT’D) Mother fucker! He bursts into tears, howls, throws the dresser over and then fumbles for his phone. He dials. NADAV (CONT’D) COME ON, COME ON... HOWARD! PLEASE HOWARD PICK UP! INT. NADAV’S APARTMENT, SUNNYSIDE QUEENS - AFTER BUZZZZZ! NADAV opens the door. The hallway lights halo HOWARD NAGY, a heavyset, hardened yet handsome, early 50’s, oliveskinned Sephardic Jew with a thick mediterranean accent. NADAV is immediately comforted by his presence. HOWARD What happened? 2. 3. NADAV They took my mom’s jewelry! My stereo, TV, the nice speakers. My chains, shit hidden in my drawers. HOWARD One thing at a time. NADAV THEY TOOK MOM’S JEWLERY, they just took the whole box! They touched everything, put their hands on all my stuff! Look at my bed! HOWARD looks around the apartment and an open window. HOWARD Nadav, did you leave your window open like that? NADAV What do you mean? HOWARD What are you a fuckin’ moron?! NADAV Shit! Arthur must’ve forgotten to close it. HOWARD Who’s Arthur? NADAV He’s my friend from the gym, he wanted to have a cigarette so I told him by the window. HOWARD How long have you known Arthur? NADAV Few months. HOWARD He black or white? NADAV Black. HOWARD He been here before? NADAV No, tonight was the first time. He said let’s go get pussy and I told him I needed to change first. 3. 4. HOWARD Where’d you go with him? NADAV To Glazz. HOWARD What is that? NADAV A night club. HOWARD sees the Rolex around his wrist. HOWARD You put that on in front of him? NADAV What? HOWARD That watch, did you put that on in front of him? NADAV Uh...yeah... HOWARD You flaunt that shit in front of a schwartza? NADAV Arthur? HOWARD Arthur left the window open on purpose dumdum. Probably texted some of his boys that you had jewelry and shit laying around, clearly you have a rolex, right? NADAV (grows angry) He fucking robbed me!?! HOWARD His friends. He left the window open for them. NADAV erupts. Starts punching the wall really hard. Screaming expletives at ARTHUR. NADAV THAT MOTHER FUCKER!! HOWARD lets him blow off some steam. NADAV is out of control. HOWARD NADAV, ENOUGH! 4. 5. HOWARD (CONT’D) (much calmer) Ok, what did they take? NADAV I told you, all the jewelry, the necklace you got me and everything. HOWARD I’ll give you another necklace. What else? NADAV My TV, the stereo, all the electronic stuff, my i-Pod... HOWARD We can get you a new i-pod. NADAV ...The extra phones you gave me, my boxing beeper thing, cd’s- oh shit, DAD! NADAV suddenly panics, runs to the bed and moves it out of the way. He pulls up the carpet and using a metal shim, pries open a floor board. Underneath sits a plastic Duane Reade bag. NADAV (CONT’D) (crying) Thank god! Oh thank fucking god! HOWARD What is that? Cash? HOWARD opens the bag and sees bundles of cash. HOWARD (CONT’D) Josef gave this to you? NADAV Yeah, he left it to me. HOWARD How much is in here? NADAV All of it, about 235 thousand dollars. I never touched a penny. HOWARD laughs. HOWARD Are you out of your fucking mind?! NADAV He told me not to declare it. 5. 6. HOWARD So you decided to keep it on the floor? NADAV He said don’t declare it. HOWARD’S phone vibrates loudly. He immediately silences it. HOWARD I understand that but he didn’t expect you to live like a pig. He expected you to spend it, live nicely put the money somewhere untouchable. NADAV They didn’t find it! HOWARD I just can’t believe that all these years-You’re telling me you had this money for the past 8 years? NADAV Yeah. HOWARD Do you know what a moron you are? What an unbelievable moron you are. NADAV just stares at him. HOWARD softens a little. HOWARD’s phone rings again. This time, he pulls it from his pocket, see’s “GABI” and silences it again. NADAV You’re right, it’s not safe here. HOWARD Give it to me and I’ll take care of it, I’ll put it in a safe-deposit box for you tomorrow. HOWARD’S phone vibrates again, silences it. Again, sees “GABI.” HOWARD (CONT’D) (distracted) That’s your inheritance... you don’t keep your inheritance under a bed like that. You deserve what happened to you acting like such an idiot around people you don’t know. NADAV No, I know, I... I’m sorry... NADAV hands the Duane Reade Bag to HOWARD. HOWARD’s phone vibrates again, he pulls it out. 6. 7. HOWARD Alright! Alright. Answers phone. HOWARD (CONT’D) (into phone) Enough! I told you I’m on my way... Yes! FOR THE 100TH TIME YES! GABI (O.S.) Don’t you dare give me lip! A woman is heard yelling in the background of the call. CARMELLE (O.S.) You fuckin’ piece of shit lowlife... HOWARD Carmelle, Carmelle! Will you hold on a second? (to NADAV) NADAV, I gotta run. HOWARD takes 40$ out from his pocket, gives it to NADAV. HOWARD (CONT’D) Take this money and grab a cab and go stay at the house tonight, you can clean all this stuff up tomorrow. HOWARD kisses NADAV on the forehead, rushes out of the apartment, BAG in hand, and on the phone. NADAV Thank you Howard! GABI (O.S.) You there? EXT. LAGUARDIA AIRPORT - 2 AM A CAB pulls up to the departures entrance at LaGuardia Airport. HOWARD pays the driver with bills from the Duane Reade bag and rushes into the terminal. INT. MIAMI HIGH RISE APARTMENT BUILDING - 6 AM HOWARD rushes down an exterior hallway. On his left are apartment doors, on his right a sweeping view of South Beach Miami. He stops at a door, takes a moment to collect himself and rings the bell. Pause. The door is opened by CARMELLE NAGY, Howard’s sister-in-law, 55, tight shiny skin, wearing a nightgown. She bursts into rage. 7. 8. CARMELLE Oh! Look at this! Look at this! HOWARD Carmelle. PleaseCARMELLE No! No! You! You look at this. CARMELLE grabs HOWARD by the wrist and jerks him into the apartment, gesticulating wildly with her other hand. INT. GABI NAGY’S APARTMENT, LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS HOWARD looks around an empty room. The only visible furniture: two crappy metal folding chairs and a card table. LOUSIE We come back from Puerto Rico and this! HOWARD I know, I know. Listen to meCARMELLE grabs a printed note from the card table and violently shoves it in HOWARD’s face. LOUSIE A $17,000 Rue de Saint Claude Gold sofa set! HOWARD pushes her hand away and makes a beeline for the bathroom. LOUSIE (CONT’D) Hey! Hey! Ignoring her, HOWARD opens the door to the bathroom and enters. INT. GABI NAGY’S APARTMENT, BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS HOWARD closes the door on CARMELLE’s face and locks it. A constant stream of invectives is audible from the other side of the door. The room is filled with steam. An extremely disoriented man, GABI, 57, naked, shouts from behind the shower curtain. GABI I’m in the shower! I’m in the shower! HOWARD GABI, all I’m asking is for 30 seconds to hear me out. 8. 9. GABI Get out! HOWARD All you have to do is listenGABI I’m in the fuckin’ shower Howard! HOWARD GABI. Ok... I’m having some problems. The fact that any of it has affected you negativelyCARMELLE (0.S) We should’ve taken your name off this place YEARS AGO!!! HOWARD (to door) CARMELLE, I’M SORRY! (to GABI) We’ll change the title asap. GABI opens the curtain and shoves his finger at HOWARD. GABI I DON’T WANNA HEAR IT! GABI steps out of the shower. Grabs a towel. HOWARD You don’t want to hear how you could profit from this? GABI lunges at HOWARD, pushing him against a wall of pink tile. HOWARD reluctantly retaliates and within seconds has GABI in a headlock. CARMELLE (O.S.) Open this god damn door! HOWARD (calmly) 30 seconds. GABI Fuck you! HOWARD tightens the headlock. CARMELLE escalates to a constant muffled wall of noise. HOWARD Ok. (raising his voice) CARMELLE, I’M TALKING NOW! CARMELLE quiets down. 9. 10. HOWARD (CONT’D) (slowly, deliberately) CLEARLY, I’M HAVING SOME PROBLEMS. THE THOUGHT THAT THIS WOULD AFFECT THE TWO OF YOU NEGATIVELY IN ANY WAY MAKES ME SICK. THAT’S WHY I’M HERE, IT’S WHY I BROUGHT MONEY, I BROUGHT YOU 50 GRAND... FOR YOUR PROBLEMS. I HAVE ANOTHER 190 THOUSAND HERE THAT WILL TAKE CARE OF ALL OF THIS... BUT THIS ISN’T AS BAD AS IT LOOKS. EVERYONE IS FINE. HERE’S WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO DO... YOU’RE GOING TO CONTINUE WITH AN INSURANCE CLAIM, COLLECT WHAT YOU’RE OWED. I’M GONNA PUT THIS MONEY INTO AN ACCOUNT FOR THEM TODAY, IN A FEW HOURS, ONCE THAT’S DONE... (readjusts self) THEY’LL LET US KNOW WHERE YOUR STUFF IS BEING STORED AND NEITHER OF YOU WILL HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT A THING. JOANI WILL HAVE MOVERS BRING YOUR STUFF BACK HERE AND I’LL PERSONALLY COME BACK AND REARRANGE IT TO THE WAY IT WAS. (relaxes, slightly) PLUS I GOT A STONE COMING THROUGH THIS WEEK, IT’LL TAKE CARE OF EVERYONE, TRUST ME. I CAN HIT YOU OFF WITH SOME MORE CASH-DID THEY GET TO YOUR SAFE? Reluctantly, GABI shakes his head “No.” HOWARD (CONT’D) WELL, THEN LET’S EMPTY IT AND MAKE THAT CLAIM. GABI is not amused. HOWARD (CONT’D) SOON IT WILL BE LIKE NOTHING EVER HAPPENED AND YOU’LL BE RICHER FOR IT! CARMELLE (O.S.) And what, we’re supposed to eat on the floor for the next 2 months!?! HOWARD Not 2 months, I’m talking a few days. I’ll put you guys up at my expense at the Spa hotel in South Beach till your stuff is back. CARMELLE I hate that hotel! Our friends are here Howard! 10. 11. HOWARD Ok, a local hotel then! I was trying to make it nice! (to GABI) I’m gonna let go now. HOWARD lets go. Slowly, inscrutably, GABI slides away. With his back turned to HOWARD, and breathing heavily, he begins to dry his body. HOWARD (CONT’D) Gabi? A long pause. GABI doesn’t turn around. HOWARD (CONT’D) Are you mad? EXT. MIAMI STREET, NEAR BEACH. 7 AM HOWARD walks with fervor, on the phone. He smokes a cigarette. HOWARD (into phone) Jim... Jim... You gotta understand, I was in a really shitty place I’m in- You think I, me, Howard NAGY, wouldn’t pay... When have I ever failed to pay what I owe... Well, that was a ridiculous situation and it wasn’t my money to pay back... Ok then in this case you win, my brother won’t talk to me and his wife is gonna kill me... Ok, the second the bank opens down hereI’ll be at Chase before the managerI have cash on me, I can put 175 grand into those accounts for you- (long listen) You’ll have the funds by 9, 10, 11am... I just need them to open and then- BOOM- you’ve got your money... So I can tell Gabi you’ll have his shit back to him by the tomorrow... Ok, by Friday? HOWARD listens and turns onto the beach. EXT. BEACH, SOUTH BEACH MIAMI - CONTINUOUS HOWARD, barely listening, puts his phone on speaker so he can open up his browser to check an online sports betting site. 11. 12. JIM (O.S.) (via speakerphone) -That cock-sucker what he did wasn’t okay, and it put a real strain on everyone, screaming all that shit, and I don’t think this, but everyone knows that he was your guy, your rec and I know it’s not always guilty by association but you were associated and now this, it’s not cool, you put me in a place that I don’t want to be put in, I’m in a spot, you know that? How long I know you? HOWARD A long time. JIM (0.S) A long time. I don’t know many people a long time. But it doesn’t mean a thing if you play with my money like that. Ok? Not again. My partners aren’t as nice as I am. I’m a nice guy, you know that. HOWARD zooms in on spreads to potential bets. HOWARD The nicest guy in the business! I tell everyone that. JIM (O.S.) (sardonically) Don’t do that. HOWARD sees a few betting lines that excite him. HOWARD Wow... Ok, okay, once the money clears can I place a few bets with you, I wanna do a 4 team parlayJIM tries to interrupt HOWARD. JIM HowarHOWARD 2 dimes on the Knicks to cover - the over on the half there- what’s the spread on the Hawks/Thunder gameJIM (O.S.) -ARE YOU KIDDING ME? NO. I WON’T TAKE ANYTHING TILL YOU’RE ALL SQUARED UP. NO ONE’S TAKING SHIT FROM YOU, STOP, WHILE12. 13. HOWARD disengages speakerphone. Brings phone up to ear. HOWARD JIM.. Jim.. Jim! I’m on a beach! My phone’s gonna die, don’t do this! I’m holding 175k of your money in a bag right now. I swear to G-d... JIM... Jim- Yeah- Don’t letPhone dies. HOWARD (CONT’D) (to self) Mother Fucker. An early morning JOGGER runs by the ocean with his dog. HOWARD hunches over and plays with it like a little kid. HOWARD falls to the ground, the dog licks his face all over. INT. AIRPLANE. DAYTIME, 30,000 FEET. HOWARD sits in first class at a window seat drinking a Coke zero. He compulsively rips pages of luxury items out of an issue of SkyMall Magazine and puts them in his pocket. INT. MIRAGE CASINO, LAS VEAGAS. CHIP EXCHANGE - DAYTIME HOWARD removes money from the DUANE READE BAG and places it on the teller’s counter. HOWARD Gimme them in $500 chips. The TELLER runs the cash through a money counter. Slow zoom into the digital counter. MONTAGE: HOWARD gambles at the crap tables, roulette, poker... making money hand over fist. He looks manic. INT. MIRAGE CASINO, LAS VEAGAS. SPORTS BOOK - AFTER HOWARD stands at a teller’s window. Flat-screen TV’s fill the room displaying games, scores, stats and betting lines. HOWARD I want 60 grand on the following parlay: Knicks to cover, with the over on the 1st half of that same game, the under on Amare’s points, the Hawks to cover, and the Bulls money line over the Cavs. TELLER types bet into ticker. 13. 14. HOWARD (CONT’D) Next, I want another parlay-three games, college football, I want Boise State to cover, Notre Dame money line, and the under on Tennessee, I want that at 40 grand. INT. MIRAGE CASINO, LAS VEGAS. NEAR SPORTS BOOK. HOWARD stands at a blackjack table sipping from a glass of water. He plays the DEALER alone, buying all seven hands himself. Each hand has a short stack of $1,000 chips behind them. He stares at faraway TV screens rolling ESPN. DEALER Here long? HOWARD On business, just for the night. DEALER Ah, you waiting for any games on the east coast? HOWARD Yeah, all of them. DEALER laughs. HOWARD looks at a pair of 3’s and a pair of 4’s. He splits them both and doubles down on a 6/4 showing. A WAITRESS approaches HOWARD. HOWARD (CONT’D) Possible to get a whole bottle? He presents his glass. WAITRESS Sparkling water? HOWARD (to DEALER) Hit all of them. WAITRESS We can’t do a bottle, but I can keep them coming. HOWARD hits blackjack on one hand and low cards on all the others. HOWARD (to WAITER) That’s fine. HOWARD tips her a $50 chip. ESPN runs an interview with RAY FORECASTER, a prized middleweight boxer, a superstar. 14. 15. FORECASTER wears sunglasses and multiple gold chains, showy. The graphic underneath him reads, “RECORD PAY OUT FOR UPCOMING VAIDANA FIGHT, $70 MILLION.” His phone rings. “BLOCKED” number. He answers. HOWARD (CONT’D) (calmly) Yo... Oh, hey, yeah. Sorry, my phone’s been off... Yeah, I went right to the bank when they opened, the money hasn’t cleared yet?... That’s strange, the transaction should be on file... Yeah, I got a number right here... DEALER I’m sorry sir, there’s no phone use on the floor. HOWARD pays no mind to the dealer, instead he pretends to look around for a piece of paper. HOWARD (to self) Oh where is it... ah here it is... You got a pen?... Ok, ready... Transaction from branch 654, Palm Beach, Florida: Transaction number 5A5889099231G, that’s G as in Grenade... DEALER Sir, please... HOWARD (to DEALER) One second (into phone) Okay, let me know. HOWARD hangs up. HOWARD (CONT’D) I’m sorry. DEALER That’s fine. (referring to cards) What do you wanna do? DEALER waits for a go on all hands. HOWARD Hit em all. HOWARD busts on 5 of his 7 hands. 15. 16. INT. BELLAGIO HOTEL, LAS VEGAS. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE. EVENING. RAY FORCASTER, 35, middle-weight champion of the world, seen earlier on TV, sits with a bong in his lap in a palatial suite. SKANKS parade around in the background. A Championship Belt is strewn over the edge of the couch. On a table sits a mountain of $10,000 bundles arranged in a large pyramid. RAY wears sunglasses and glances at one of his three phones. HOWARD sits across from him, inspecting the contents of a briefcase full of bedazzled jewelry. HOWARD Hey-yo, where’s the money sign pinky ring? HOWARD looks around the room and spots the ring on the finger of PAC, a giant, BLACK BODYGUARD. HOWARD (CONT’D) (tapping on his own pinky) Hey big guy. The bodyguard reluctantly hands the ring over. HOWARD (CONT’D) (to Ray) Do they comp the bottles here or do you have some type of deal with them? RAY No, I pay for it all. RAY watches a video of a jewel encrusted ROLLS ROYCE. RAY (CONT’D) How much he want for it? HOWARD See how it sparkles? RAY Yeah, I see, is it ready now? HOWARD Next week likely. RAY I gotta see it for real. HOWARD You know the Jews and the Blacks, we’re the same people. RAY reads a message on one of his phones. Then hands it to PAC. 16. 17. RAY Pac... Post that, but make sure it links TBT, TMT and shout out Justin’s thing, say something about catching dreams out the window. PAC starts typing away on RAY’s phone. HOWARD continues to itemize the contents of the briefcase. HOWARD The kids get their own suite? RAY Yeah, that staircase in the back connects us- they put up posters in their room and shit. HOWARD arrives at a red diamond Cobra chain, RAY points to it as he takes a bong hit. RAY (CONT’D) (while holding smoke in) Wait... I wanna keep that one. HOWARD I can have something similar for you by next week. RAY Fuck that. How much you want for it? HOWARD sends a text message to a “JO, B” asking “how much for the red diamond cobra chain? Need to know now, w Forcaster” RAY takes another hit. Sips from champagne. Empties a bottle. HOWARD takes note of RAY getting more inebriated. RAY (CONT’D) Reg! (beat) Yo, Reg! REG, a 7’4 heavy set black male, 30s appears. RAY (CONT’D) Grab me a few more bottles from the fridge and a bunch of more ice, this one is soupy. REG Got you. HOWARD receives a text message, “25.” HOWARD I can do the cobra red for 50. 17. 18. RAY 50?! HOWARD Yeah... 50. RAY How bout 35? HOWARD You’re killing me Ray! Lowest I can go is 45. RAY I’ll give you 40 right now. HOWARD Fuck it, gimme 40... but you know I’m losing 5 grand on that for you. RAY takes the chain from the briefcase, puts it around his neck and stands up to look in a mirror. HOWARD (CONT’D) Ray, lemme ask you something, is it true you fly two G-6’s, one for you and the other for your team. RAY You think I’m getting on a plane with 3 Reggie’s? That’s half a ton nigga. It’s not that much to have a second plane, that type of shit is over-inflated to the public. Like people think it’s a million dollars to fly a PJ. It’s only about an extra 60, 70 grand. It’s my life- (take bong hit, holding breathe in) Fuck that. They can ride in their own plane. HOWARD I hear that. You got a plane going back east tonight? RAY Tonight? No. HOWARD Shit, I gotta get back to NYC... RAY There’s one going back for my wife tomorrow morning. She’s going on some show in the morning around 10. HOWARD Can I hop on that? 18. 19. RAY Yeah, okay. HOWARD takes his camera out. HOWARD Let’s do an Instagram. RAY Reg, come take the bong. HOWARD positions the phone/camera to frame both them, the jewelry and the mountain of money behind them. REG appears with a new bottle of champagne. HOWARD (while typing into phone) Yo, Ray, gimme 50 grand. RAY Huh? HOWARD Gimme 50 grand. RAY (laughing) For what? HOWARD For a shitty fuckin’ day. From one bettor to another. What does that mean to you? 50k?! I lost over 340 thousand dollars today, you know that? RAY You lost 340 today? HOWARD I was up 200 grand and then fell, I had a bad day- My nigga c’mon just peel off 50k and give it to me. RAY looks at HOWARD, now looking up and making eye-contact. RAY slowly reaches for some cash, starts to count it out. RAY I’m gonna give you 50 grand, after I just agreed to give you 35? HOWARD 40- Yeah, but that’s for the chainRAY -What am I gonna be getting in return for this? 19. 20. HOWARD Nothing. RAY looks at HOWARD. HOWARD (CONT’D) Nigga, it’s me. It’ll come back to you. RAY impulsively grabs 5 bundles and tosses it at HOWARD. HOWARD immediately puts it in his briefcase. HOWARD (CONT’D) You can hang onto one of those daydates too, those are mine.. RAY Nigga, those shits are fake, you think I don’t know that. HOWARD They’re not fake! RAY FakeWatchBusta already called a nigga out TWICE for rockin’ those... C’mon. HOWARD You could sell them at a discount for 10. RAY I’m not selling watches at all, let alone fake onesHOWARD They’re not fake! RAY Nigga, I know they are. It’s cool, I feel the hustle, but I gotta a story to tell and folex’s aren’t a part of it. HOWARD laughs, posts the picture of him and Ray on Instagram. EXT. TETERBOROUGH PRIVATE AIRPORT - ARRIVALS - EARLY MORNING. HOWARD exits the airport carrying one young black BOY on his shoulders and an even younger GIRL in his arms. They climb off of him as he double-kisses RAY’s wife goodbye. RAY’S FAMILY hop into a pristine blacked out SUV. HOWARD turns, looks around, sees YUSSI, HOWARD’S brother-in-law, Sephardic, 36, swarthy, sits in a 7 series White BMW, and nods in acknowledgement. HOWARD approaches the car and gets in. 20. 21. HOWARD Where’s the bottles of water? He finds a bottle under the chair. HOWARD (CONT’D) Always keep these in the holders. HOWARD, sweating, opens one and guzzles water like an animal. HOWARD (CONT’D) Was there anyone waiting at Gems when they opened this morning? YUSSI I came straight here, I know Dina’s there now. HOWARD How do you know that? (motions with hand) Go, pull out of here. YUSSI pulls the car out of its spot. YUSSI Because she called me 15 times this morning. HOWARD What’s she saying? YUSSI I didn’t answer. Her texts were all looking for you, threatening me this that and the other. They sit in the slow lane. This infuriates HOWARD, who motions with his hands. HOWARD Go, go go! C’mon! YUSSI laughs, HOWARD not amused. HOWARD (CONT’D) Get out of this fuckin’ lane! EXT. DIAMOND DISTRICT - 46TH STREET BTW 6TH AND 5TH - 11 AM HOWARD and YUSSI jay-walk across the 46th street into an arcade/throughway. HOWARD carries FLOWERS and a shopping bag. INT. 47TH STREET JEWELRY ARCADE - CONTINUOUS They enter a large arcade connecting 46th to 47th. The room is congested, resembling a dingy bizarre. 21. 22. Hundreds of glass showcases divide the space into a maze of narrow aisles. Dealers call out numbers. Others sit bored. TWO HASIDS play cards on top of a display case. Another sucks on an ice pop. YUSSI and HOWARD cut diagonally across the room, using it as a short cut to 47th Street. HOWARD makes a quick pit-stop at one of the booths. JOSHUA, an overweight middle-aged Jewish dealer, stands behind his showcase, hunched over a plate of hot food. HOWARD You’re getting crumbs all over my merchandise you disgusting pig. JOSHUA (unperturbed) They were crumbs to begin with. HOWARD Look Josh, you’ve had ‘em for three weeks nowJOSHUA So take ‘em back. They’re wasting valuable space. HOWARD I would. But I like you. JOSHUA Your breath smells like shit. HOWARD slides JOSHUA’S lunch to the side of the counter, smiles at JOSHUA and walks away. EXT. 47TH ST BETWEEN 6TH & 5TH AVE, THE DIAMOND DISTRICT - AFTER HOWARD and YUSSI walk east on 47th street past many HASIDIC MEN, tourists and street peddlers. One STREET PEDDLER, runs up: STREET PEDDLER Howard! Take a look. The STREET PEDDLER pulls a diamond encrusted HUBLOT watch from a bag. Shows it to HOWARD. HOWARD can’t help but glance at it. HOWARD Eh. STREET PEDDLER All synthetic... HOWARD Not interested. 22. 23. STREET PEDDLER 35%. HOWARD No. HOWARD and YUSSI move past the STREET PEDDLER and turn into a building on “The Block.” INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - SHOWROOM - CONTINUOUS SADIE HOLMES, enters the showroom from the back. She’s tough, she’s street, an attractive, NYC native, late 20s. She carries a tray of small diamonds to a well-dressed WHITE GUY, 36. SADIE These are the VVS2’s we have in the 1 to 2 carat range. WHITE GUY How much more are we talking if we went to flawless. SADIE At this size, probably a good amount, the difference is big. Unless you wanna go synthetic, I would go with a 2 carat at this clarity. The WHITE GUY inspects the stones. SADIE uses a tweezer to place them against different style bands. WHITE GUY I want her to feel royal. Something that’ll impress her friends. SADIE When I first was proposed to he gave me a V1 diamond, but big, and I personally found it to be trashy, diamonds are everywhere on that level. WHITE GUY laughs, inspects options. SADIE (CONT’D) (CONT’D) Look, get something like this, do a Channel setting with two smaller stones next to it. That’s classy. WHITE GUY likes it. Takes out his phone. WHITE GUY You mind if I take some pictures? SADIE Not to show her I hope! 23. 24. WHITE GUY Nah. Her girlfriends. LARRY, mid 40’s, shaved head, track suit, interrupts them. LARRY What are those did you say? SADIE Huh? LARRY You said those are what type of diamonds? SADIE (caught off-guard) These are VVS-2s. You interested in something? LARRY I wanna put together a ring. SADIE JOANI, will you help this man. JOANI, a co-worker, late 20’s, Sephardic Jew from Long-Island, turns from her computer. JOANI What can I do for you? LARRY How much are these? JOANI Depends on the cut, which one are you interested in? LARRY Hmmmmmm. JOANI Do you have a wholesale license? LARRY To be honest, I’m really just waiting for Howard... But I am interested in this. BUZZZZZ! SADIE looks over to the security monitor and sees HOWARD and YUSSI waiting outside the door. She buzzes them through the first set of doors. They enter into a small vestibule and wait several seconds for the door behind them to completely close. JOANI I’m not following you. 24. 25. LARRY I wanna buy something... SADIE buzzes them through the second door into the showroom. HOWARD Larry? Oh for Christ’s sake. LARRY No, Howard, you need to listenHOWARD hands ELAN, 19, HOWARD’s nephew and staff errand boy, his briefcase. HOWARD Take that down to JO’s. ELAN is buzzed out of the space. HOWARD hands his phone to SADIE. HOWARD (CONT’D) Charge this for me. HOWARD pinches her ass. SADIE jerks away. SADIE (quietly) DINA’s in the backroom. HOWARD I know. YUSSI walks behind the showcase and into the backroom. YUSSI Oh hey, DINA. DINA (O.S.) You don’t wanna answer my calls? What kind of brother are you... HOWARD! DINA, 40s, olive-skinned, made up, Sephardic, storms into the showroom. DINA (CONT’D) (yelling) Why is the account overdrawn?! I went by the bank and they told me there’s nothing they can do until more funds are there. What is that?! HOWARD It’s nothing, it’s a mistake. You want these? HOWARD tries to give her the flowers. She swats them onto the floor. 25. 26. DINA Shove em up your ass. Time-Warner and Gas arent paid. We’ll have no gas and no TV. HOWARD They’re not shutting anything off, you idiot. It’s just a big misunderstanding, I’m moving funds around. DINA Why is Carmelle calling me at 1am last night, non stop? Huh!?! Why is she blaming me- you- for all her furniture missing. Why is her furniture missing? HOWARD (annoyed) And what do you think I’ve been doing for the past 36 hours? Sailing? DINA I have no idea what you do. HOWARD It’s a big misunderstanding, Honey, this gentlemanDINA -The debit card isnt working eitherHOWARD -I said don’t worry about it. It’s all being taken care of. DINA Don’t lie to me Howard. HOWARD points to the showroom. HOWARD says quietly. HOWARD What are you doing? Why are you doing this in front of everyone here? DINA’s phone rings. She looks at it. Silences it. DINA I have shit I have to do! DINA’s phone rings again. She shows the Caller ID to HOWARD. DINA (CONT’D) It’s Eddie... great. She answers it. 26. 27. DINA (CONT’D) (into phone) Eddie... Yes, I’m here with daddy, what’s up... I don’t know (looks to HOWARD) Are you coming home for dinner? HOWARD Possibly. DINA (into phone) No, he’s not coming. LARRY watches HOWARD attentively. JOANI plays on her phone. DINA ACTIVELY avoids eye contact with SADIE and retreats to the backroom. LARRY Listen HowardHOWARD, now visibly annoyed, looks down at the tray of gems. HOWARD What is this!?! (to SADIE) Sadie, put this back in the safe. LARRY Wait a second. You haven’t been calling me back and the address you gave me was no good so I figured I would come to where you work to get what you owe me. HOWARD (laughing) You realize this stuff isn’t mine. This is all on loan. Who am I? King Tut? LARRY You can’t keep stiffing me like this. And I hear you’re placing bets with otherHOWARD pulls LARRY aside so no one can hear their conversation. HOWARD Listen, Larry I told you I would have the money in a week. LARRY I don’t care, I’m not fucking around here Howard, I need that money! I WANT IT NOW! WHITE GUY glances in their direction. 27. 28. HOWARD Larry, will you hold on a second? HOWARD dips into the back room... INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE- BACKROOM - CONTINUOUS DINA still on the phone, gathering her things. She now has sunglasses on. HOWARD approaches her, she pushes him away annoyed. HOWARD (whispering) Here, take this and go get yourself something nice at Barney’s, get lunch at Fred’s... HOWARD shoves a handful of cash into her jacket pocket. She removes the bundle for a second, looks at it, pulls away from the phone and looks at HOWARD. HOWARD (CONT’D) See? HOWARD and DINA rejoin the showroom... INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE- SHOWROOM - CONTINUOUS DINA, engaged with the phone, leads HOWARD. DINA (into phone) Baby, no, I’m leaving Daddy now, will you give me a second... hey! Hold on a second. (to HOWARD) Okay, I’ll call you after Barney’s, but call the bank and straighten all this out now. HOWARD Of course. DINA is buzzed out of the space. LARRY So there’s enough for Barney’s but not enough for me? HOWARD How dare you!?! Can’t you see that I got a lot of shit going on right now? I haven’t touched over 5 grand in a month, seriously. I just got out of the hospital. 28. 29. LARRY Your word is nothing, I went by the hospital. HOWARD Which hospital? LARRY Sinai. HOWARD I told you Beth Israel. LARRY No, you didnt. But I checked there too. HOWARD When? LARRY Friday. HOWARD I was let out on Wednesday... (assures him) You want to see the hospital bracelet? BUZZZZ! A large black BODY GUARD appears on the surveillance monitor. SADIE buzzes them in. The BODY GUARD enters and immediately barks orders to the showroom. HOWARD (CONT’D) Larry, I’m sorry, you’re gonna have to leave. Call me on my cell. LARRY Your cell’s no good. HOWARD starts to walk him towards the door. HOWARD The 987 number? LARRY Yeah. HOWARD That one’s no good anymore, Larry, I told you that... Call 917 871 4147. LARRY enters the numbers into his phone and immediately calls it. A pause. Howard’s cellphone RINGS. HOWARD (CONT’D) We good? 29. 30. BODY GUARD 1 tugs on LARRY’s arm. BODYGUARD 1 Alright, pack it up, you gotta get outta here. LARRY looks over to HOWARD for assistance. HOWARD Sorry, Larry... Next week, I promise... HOWARD points to the bouncers. HOWARD (CONT’D) This could be the answers to all our problems. The BODYGUARDS pressure LARRY out of the office. BODYGUARD 1 Alright, everyone out. WHITE GUY I was in the middle of... (looks to SADIE) Tell him, I just was. SADIE I’m sorry, hon. WHITE GUY Seriously? BODYGUARD 2 walks over and begins to nudge the WHITE GUY. HOWARD Come back in an hour or so. As WHITE GUY leaves, AMARE STOUDEMIRE, 30, black, a 7 foot superstar basketball player enters the space, kissing a mezuzah on his way in. With him are DEMANY, 30, black, flashy, wearing a lot of jewlery, PRIVELEJ, 29, heavy-set rapper, lots of jewelry, a YOUNGER BLACK MALE and a WHITE YOUNG WOMAN. DEMANY embraces HOWARD. DEMANY What’s Gucci Howard? HOWARD Demany! DEMANY introduces AMARE. DEMANY AMARE, that’s Howard. 30. 31. HOWARD (with arms outstretched) Baruch hashem, AMARE. I can’t begin to tell you what an honor it is to have you here, in MY showroom. You happen to be a personal hero of mine, and I want you to feel entirely at home here, and needless to say, what’s mine is yours. AMARE (sweetly, softly) I appreciate being here. When I enter into a new environment what I most prefer is the freedom to explore my space, quietly and peacefully, and let things come to me... do you mind if I do that? HOWARD Not at all... Sadie. (to Sadie) Can you bring AMARE some refreshments? HOWARD offers a hundred dollar bill to SADIE. SADIE What should IAMARE I’m not thirsty. I’m not hungry. But thank you. Can I explore? HOWARD Be my guest. AMARE quietly surveys the showroom. He begins by examining the photo gallery on the walls: a collection of famous people posing with HOWARD...e.g. JR Smith, Patrick Ewing, Cam’ron, Cindy Lauper, Wiz Khalifa, Ja Rule, Al Goldstein, Cypress Hill, Ray Forcaster... etc.. HOWARD watches him in great anticipation. DEMANY (To HOWARD, whispering) I hook you up or what? HOWARD (whispering) You’re incredible. DEMANY (whispering) I told you I’d bring AMARE, and what I do? What I do? HOWARD (whispering) You brought AMARE. 31. 32. AMARE explores the showcases muttering quietly to himself. The rest of the posse start to browse as well, while PRIVELEJ sidles up to SADIE. PRIVELEJ Look at you, huh. SADIE What about me? PRIVELEJ (to HOWARD) How much for her? SADIE reaches over and grabs PRIVELEJ’S cellphone from his hand. SADIE How much for you? She starts looking through the photos on his phone. HOWARD looks annoyed. PRIVELEJ Oh, you’re dangerous. I like that! (to DEMANY) Yo this girl is tight. Grabs my phone like that! SADIE zooms in on a nude picture of PRIVELEJ. PRIVELEJ (CONT’D) Alright, give it back to me. YUSSI re-enters the space, he rests his arms on the showcase. DEMANY (to YUSSI) That’s that Day-date with the President bracelet? YUSSI holds his wrist out for DEMANY. YUSSI Yeah, solid yellow. You like it? DEMANY Shit’s hot. (to PRIVELEJ) Yo Priv, check out this Roley. PRIVELEJ leaves SADIE and moves over to inspects YUSSI’S Rolex. HOWARD, again, looks annoyed. YUSSI I can get them for you in yellow or Rose for cheap. PRIVELEJ Oh yeah, how much? 32. 33. YUSSI 23 or 24. PRIVELEJ That’s a good price. With the box and papers? YUSSI With box and papers. PRIVELEJ (to DEMANY) We gotta get AMARE up on this. HOWARD approaches YUSSI. HOWARD (whispering) YUSSI, please, what are you doing? YUSSI (whispering) What? HOWARD (whispering) Stop! Now! HOWARD drifts back. YUSSI, upset, retreats to the backroom. DEMANY (To AMARE, whispering) This nigga can encrust anything. HOWARD (soft, eager) Anything you want. I’m your nigga. AMARE Is this true? HOWARD Of course... AMARE shifts his weight from one knee to other, and stretches. SADIE (laughing) You have the longest arms. Hold ‘em out. AMARE smiles and displays his incredible wingspan. SADIE (CONT’D) That’s insane. HOWARD Just incredible... 33. 34. SADIE laughs. Leaning on the showcase, AMARE looks at the gems. HOWARD (CONT’D) You’re going to that big ball? AMARE How do you know about that? HOWARD I know everything. AMARE Yeah... I want something Hebrew. HOWARD (laughing) Hebrew... AMARE Maybe a Hai with a little... HOWARD Don’t say ice... You’re not a diamond guy, everyone’s got diamonds. AMARE What do you mean by that? HOWARD You’re not an ice guy, AMARE (joking) No more Mr. Ice guy. HOWARD (laughing) Sure a little ice here and there, but you’re like a pigeon vein blood red ruby or a dancing sapphire... (readjusting) Look, if you want stones, I can get that for you too... I take care of people I love, ask anyone. SADIE What about that ruby Jo sent over? HOWARD The cushion 6? Yeah, go get that. SADIE heads to the backroom. EMANY, AMARE and PRIVLEJ inspect the pieces out on the showcase. SADIE returns and places a box in front of HOWARD. 34. 35. YUSSI (gruff) I’m out. Be back in an hour. DEMANY I’ll let you know about that DayDate. Come by Priv’s show- (redirects to HOWARD) Yo, Howard, you too. You gotta come to Priv’s show tomorrow night. HOWARD Tomorrow? Sure. Wait, fuck, I have my kid’s play... PRIVELEJ (to SADIE) You should come. SADIE Where? PRIVELEJ Webster hall. I go on around 10. HOWARD Oh! I can make it by then. PRIVELEJ (to SADIE) What about you? SADIE I can be there whenever. HOWARD Yeah, I’ll meet up with you guys at 10, or just before, probably. YUSSI I can’t come tomorrow, but text me about the Day-date. Joani, buzz. YUSSI hands DEMANY a card and is buzzed out. AMARE Demany, what time is it? HOWARD What time you gotta be somewhere? DEMANY Nigga, Howard’s good people. JOANI Show him the ruby. 35. 36. HOWARD pulls a gold jeweler’s loupe from a necklace around his neck. He hands the loupe to AMARE and offers him the ruby. AMARE leans heavily on the showcase. HOWARD Amare, sorry but if you need to lean on the case, please lean on the edges, not the glass, please. AMARE puts the loupe down, disinterested. AMARE I don’t feel this. BUZZZZ! NADAV appears at the door with a large Styrofoam crate over his shoulder. SADIE buzzes him in. HOWARD Who’s that? SADIE Nadav. NADAV enters carrying an enormous wooden crate. HOWARD grows excited, puts his arm around AMARE. HOWARD Oh... my... god, AMARE. You’re gonna LOVE this. NADAV moves towards the backroom. HOWARD follows him. HOWARD (CONT’D) Amare, gimme a second, please. It’s for you. Please. I’ve got a bunch of Powerade in the fridge... AMARE Thank you. I’m not thirsty. HOWARD (to SADIE) Show ‘em what we did with Fat Joe. (To AMARE) When he was actually fat! HOWARD hurries into the back room. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - BACKROOM - CONTINUOUS HOWARD now serious. HOWARD (to NADAV) It’s heavy? 36. 37. NADAV (without breathing) Yeah... HOWARD Yes! NADAV puts the crate down on the desk. HOWARD grabs a crowbar and cracks open the case. Inside is a styrofoam crate and inside that are 4 large fish wrapped in clear vacuum sealed bags. He slices one of them open, searches inside, nothing... He grabs another fish, cuts it open. Nothing. He grabs another, slices and pulls out a wet black plastic bag the size of a grapefruit. Inside this bag is a large uncut 600 carat Black Opal (the gem from the African mine). He grabs a loupe and looks into an opening in the gem. HOWARD (CONT’D) IT’S... IT’S BEAUTIFUL!!

INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - SHOWROOM - CONTINUOUS HOWARD rushes out of the back room, gem in hand. NADAV follows. HOWARD This is your lucky day, Amare. HOWARD presents the BLACK OPAL to AMARE who leans on the glass showcase to look at it. HOWARD (CONT’D) VERY special. From an untapped mine in Ethiopia. HOWARD hands him a loupe. AMARE takes it and looks into the gem. HOWARD (CONT’D) I can have it cut up and have a couple carats set into anything, earrings, charms, been tracking it for a while, not easy to get... AMARE closely inspects the gem, transfixed. INT. INSIDE THE GEMSTONE - CONTINUOUS The camera zooms into the GEM. Again, we see a kaleidoscope of color, light, and swirling abstract shapes. A psychedelic trip. Hauntingly beautiful and mesmerizing. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - SHOWROOM - CONTINUOUS CRAAAASH! All of a sudden, AMARE’s elbows break through the glass showcase. HOWARD, JOANI and SADIE scream, DEMANY and PRIVELEJ jump back in shock. 37. 38. BODY GUARD 1 AMARE! FUCK! AMARE’S arms are covered in blood. He pulls himself out of his reverie. SADIE runs over with some paper towels and tends to his elbows. HOWARD I said don’t lean on it! You all heard me! AMARE (dazed) Let me take it tonight. HOWARD What? AMARE Lemme have it tonight. I need it. HOWARD I- It’s set for auction next week... I’m already late for appraisal... AMARE gives him a deep soulful stare. AMARE One night. 16 hours. What’s 16 hours with sleep? HOWARD Amar’e, I’m sorry. AMARE I’ll gram 3 pictures of you and me together right now- And! I’ll post a pic of the stone afterwards and say ‘my game shines because of it.’ HOWARD Ah shit. Tag NAGY in the picture and in the comment? AMARE Of course. HOWARD Follow me and ‘like’ 30 pictures. AMARE This very second. HOWARD thinks long and hard. HOWARD Tomorrow, ok? No excuses. 38. 39. AMARE You have my word, Howard. BODY GUARD 1 You better pray he’s good tonight. HOWARD Wha’?! It’s glass, it’s not meant to support all that weight. INT. BORATTA’S RESTAURANT - EARLY EVENING HOWARD strolls into the restaurant. ANTHONY, an impeccably groomed Italian, mid 40’s, sits at a corner table quietly enjoying a steak. He looks up. ANTHONY Howard, what are you doing here? HOWARD You don’t answer my calls. ANTHONY I don’t answer your calls because there’s no reason for us to talk. HOWARD I wanna make a play. ANTHONY I’m done taking your action. HOWARD -I got cash for you baby. Not looking for a credit line. HOWARD pulls a manila envelope from his jacket. HOWARD (CONT’D) 65 grand. HOWARD slides a Rolex watch box towards ANTHONY. HOWARD (CONT’D) And this, for putting up with me. ANTHONY What do you want? HOWARD A parlay. 5 teams. ANTHONY You wanna do a 5 way sixty-five k?! A WAITRESS passes by. 39. 40. HOWARD Honey, a diet coke please. WAITRESS How are you Ant? ANTHONY Fine. Thanks. WAITRESS leaves. HOWARD I want the Knicks money-line, wanna do that with the over on Amare’s points plus rebounds, the Thunder to cover, King’s 2nd quarter, and the under on the Blazers/Heat, but I want to buy half a point. ANTHONY That’s like 4 to 1... HOWARD Yeah. ANTHONY Too much trouble. You gotta spread a bet like that out over more books. HOWARD I can’t take it elsewhere. ANTHONY And why not? HOWARD Look, I got the cash here now. You want my action or not? ANTHONY Fuck it, I’ll lay a bunch of it off... gimme the envelope. HOWARD hands ANTHONY the envelope. HOWARD Perfect! I don’t know how you make it in your business, being so kind. ANTHONY Enough. Let me eat. HOWARD You know what, I’ll get a bite, what’s good here? (to WAITRESS) Can I see a menu? 40. 41. INT. BAR - NIGHT HOWARD sits in a loud, crowded sports bar watching the Knicks game and surveying his Instagram account. A notification pops up to inform him that he has 549 new followers. He clicks on a photo of himself and AMARE taken earlier in his showroom. In it, HOWARD is making the peace sign. The comment: “@Chocol8Monsta: peep this sweaty fatass JEWler” ANNOUNCER (ON TV) A mythical performance from AMARE Stoudemire! HOWARD looks up to the television. COLOR COMMENTATOR (ON TV) 29 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists and still 28 minutes of basketball to play. HOWARD claps his hands like a circus seal. ANNOUNCER (ON TV) This will go down in history. And he’s playing with those cumbersome bandages! AMARE appears at the free throw with bandages on his elbows. He adjusts them before his shot. HOWARD (to self) Okay, great, that’s two... (to BARTENDER) What’s the score of the Thunder game? The BARTENDER looks at his phone. BARTENDER Up by 4 with six remaining. HOWARD Okay, I gotta run. HOWARD throws a fifty dollar bill onto the bar. EXT. 3RD AVENUE. AFTER. HOWARD listens to a game on his phone while walking. BROADCASTER (VOICE) ...12 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists, just one shy of a triple double. 41. 42. BROADCASTER 2 (VOICE) You know, if I’m Eastrick, I’m thinking about this victory. When he’s not looking to score, they function much better as a team. HOWARD stops walking. HOWARD No, No... Don’t dribble it out. BROADCASTER 1 (VOICE) Yeah, they should just be able to dribble this one out, 110 to 100. BROADCASTER 2 (VOICE) Wait, what? It looks like Eastrick just called a time out! BROADCASTER 1 Yes, Eastrick calls a time out with 15 seconds to go. Bizarre! HOWARD Yes, yes! Eastrick, go for the triple double! HOWARD stands in the middle of the sidewalk. BROADCASTER 2 (VOICE) Wow, Adelman’s upset. Looks like he told his team to stay at center court, allowing Eastrick a free ride to his triple double. Adelman doesn’t like this one bit... HOWARD stands in shock, the biggest smile starting to emerge. BROADCASTER 1 Eastrick catches an inbound pass, passes to Nar Touré up-court who slams it in for 2 points! This is incredible. There’s the buzzer. HOWARD Yesssssss! BROADCASTER 2 And with that final assist the Thunder win it 112-100 HOWARD Holy fucking shit! I hit! I hit! Enraptured, HOWARD almost throws his phone against a building. BROADCASTER 1 This will be infamous. Adelman has already left the floor, and none of the players are shaking hands. 42. 43. BROADCASTER 2 Yeah, I’m not sure I’m a fan of this-Greedy, unsportsmanlike, selfish, self-serving, I’m with Adelman here. HOWARD realizes he’s standing right in front of Wollenky’s steakhouse. EXT. EAST 55TH STREET - AFTER HOWARD carries two take-out bags from Wollensky’s. He sees a bum sleeping on his side. HOWARD Hey? HOWARD leans in for another look. HOWARD (CONT’D) Hey, you up? You like steak? The HOMELESS GUY doesn’t move. HOWARD removes a container of food from one of his bags and places it next to the sleeping man. He then pulls out a bankroll of money, peels off a few $100s and shoves ‘em into the HOMELESS GUY’s coat pocket. The HOMELESS GUY suddenly springs up. HOWARD sees his face; a gaunt grizzled toothless horror show. HOWARD (CONT’D) AAAAAAHHHHH! HOWARD scurries away as quickly as possible. INT. HOWARD’S APARMENT BUILDING - JUST AFTER HOWARD approaches the door of his apartment building. A doorman runs to open it for him. ALEX DOORMAN NAGY! HOWARD walks in. HOWARD Alex, my friend, how are you? ALEX DOORMAN All good. HOWARD asks FRANK, a concierge behind a desk. HOWARD Frank, anything? 43. 44. FRANK CONCIERGE No, Sir. HOWARD If anyone comes by, we left town. FRANK CONCIERGE Of course, Sir. HOWARD steps into the elevator. INT. HOWARD’S APARTMENT- KITCHEN/LIVING ROOM - AFTER HOWARD kicks off his shoes in a small vestibule and throws his keys onto a side table. HOWARD Sadie! Baby! YO, YO! I got dinner. The vestibule opens up onto the living room, which is littered with gizmos and gadgets; the kind of ware only offered on television infomercials and in-flight catalogues. The apartment is the epitome of garish nouveau riche decor; shiny blacks surfaces, faux marble, leather, wall to wall carpeting, a big salt-water fish-tank. HOWARD walks to the bedroom. INT. HOWARD’S APARTMENT. THE BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS The room is a mess. Clothes spill out from the closet, the California-King bed is unmade. The mirrors surrounding the big bed have smudges on them. HOWARD Yo! HOWARD walks into the bathroom. INT. HOWARD’S APARTMENT- BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS SADIE springs up in the bathtub. HOWARD What’s up, you don’t say hello? SADIE (covering herself) I’m in the tub! HOWARD Why you covering yourself up? SADIE I don’t know. 44. 45. HOWARD (looks around) I brought you a steak from Wollensky’s, with the crunchy onion strings and vegetable sides. SADIE Thanks. I’ll eat it later. HOWARD looks at SADIE’s legs in the tub. SADIE (CONT’D) (doesn’t care) Oh, yeah. There were a bunch of messages from the management about rent payment not going through. HOWARD Uh huh. SADIE They were pretty upset about it. HOWARD I’ll deal with it. HOWARD still annoyed that she’s covering herself. HOWARD (CONT’D) Why’re there smudge marks all over the mirror near the bed? SADIE I don’t know. I touched it. HOWARD You touched it? (beat) Ya know, I can get a maid to come by more than once a week. SADIE (short) No need to waste money. HOWARD Then, you should pick up around here, a maid once a week should be enough and she charges me more when it gets like this, all messy, I’m not made of money. HOWARD flips the fan on. HOWARD (CONT’D) You should use this, it conditions the air, makes it feel fresh. Also the moisture will mold up the wallpaper. 45. 46. HOWARD organizes the toiletries around the sink. HOWARD (CONT’D) Stinks like cigarettes in here. It’s disgusting. The whole place reeks of cigarettes. SADIE It’ll air out. HOWARD Well it hasn’t... SADIE Can you please give me some privacy? I’m gonna get out. HOWARD Just get out with me in here, I wanna clean. SADIE Howard, out. HOWARD exits. INT. HOWARD’S APARTMENT- HOWARD’S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS HOWARD examines the smudge marks on the mirror while he unbuttons his shirt. They look like different types of fingerprints. HOWARD shifts out of it, turns on a 70 inch television and leaves the room. INT. HOWARD’S APARTMENT- KITCHEN/LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS HOWARD grabs a remote and powers up each of his 6 flat screens, one at a time. ESPN, NBA TV, ESPN 2, HBO, Shopping Network. AMARE appears on one of the TV’s for a post game interview. It’s muted but AMARE appears to be giddy. HOWARD un-mutes it. HOWARD makes a call on his phone. AMARE (on TV) Sometimes the gods beckon you from above... (smiles) Tonight, I guess we saw that communication. HOWARD (to TV/AMARE) I love you! HOWARD waltzes back into his bedroom. 46. 47. INT. HOWARD’S APARTMENT- HOWARD’S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS AMARE appears on his bedroom TV as well. SADIE is standing behind an open closet door changing into a nightgown. HOWARD (into phone) Demany, it’s Howard. I’m sure you guys are out celebrating- Listen, I have a lot riding on that gem, I was crazy to give it to him in the first place. Not that I mind, but I absolutely need it back in my hands tomorrow morning, by 9am. Alright? You don’t have to call me back, just please make sure you’re at the office at 9 with the gem. HOWARD hangs up. HOWARD (CONT’D) What is this hiding from me shit?! HOWARD walks over to the closet and closes the door, exposing SADIE topless in her underwear. SADIE Howard, stop! HOWARD Stop what? Stop buying you things? Stop bringing you your favorite food? You know I was in an incredible mood when I came in. I come home and the place is like shit. SADIE The place is fuckin’ fine!

HOWARD Who was in the apartment? SADIE No one! HOWARD runs over to the smudge marks on the mirror. HOWARD Whose finger prints are these? There are more than one set of prints here! SADIE You’re acting like a crazy person. HOWARD I don’t think so. 47. 48. SADIE I’m not gonna argue with you about this. HOWARD What do you even have to argue? SADIE ignores HOWARD. HOWARD (CONT’D) Huh!?! I’ve had a terrible 48 hours and you don’t even ask how I’m doing? SADIE You just said you were feeling incredible. HOWARD But before that I wasn’t. Everyone asks me bullshit all day, all they do is want! They all want something from me, what is that? It’s not a good feeling. Soon I’ll be all skin, no meat. SADIE I’m sorry, Howard, how are you? HOWARD I seriously was on a high when I walked in, felt like a million bucks, really! I went and got you that food, for usSADIE I can’t help it that I ate already. HOWARD Did you even know I had to go to Florida? SADIE No. How could I know that? HOWARD But you weren’t wondering where I was. Did you even notice that I was gone? SADIE Of course I did. SADIE warms up a little, leans against wall. SADIE (CONT’D) You’re right. I’m sorry Howie. 48. 49. HOWARD (looks at her legs) You know what’s crazy? I just had a sudden impulse to fuck you from behind. SADIE retracts. SADIE Jesus, Howard! SADIE storms out of the room. On the television: a heroic slowmotion shot of AMARE flying through the air. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE- BACKROOM - MORNING A phone set on speaker blares rings throughout the backroom, which buzzes with morning activity. ELAN works on a setting, NADAV trolls Instagram, YUSSI does inventory. HOWARD sits at his desk in front of the phone waiting for someone to pick up. He stares at the time on his computer. 10:27AM. The call goes to voicemail: an excerpt of Biggie’s ‘Gimme One More Chance.’ VOICEMAIL Biggie, gimme me one more chance... BEEP. HOWARD DEMANY GOD DAMMIT. It’s now 10:30! Answer.. Your... Phone!!! EXT. MIDTOWN STREET - DIAMOND DISTRICT- AFTER HOWARD is rushing to the subway when LARRY [the bookie that HOWARD blew off in the first showroom scene] sidles up alongside him. LARRY Hi Howard. HOWARD (startled) I can’t stop and talk, I’m sorry. LARRY (interrupting) Why do you think you can SON me like this? HOWARD Not now! 49. 50. LARRY I heard about you’re $65,000 parlay yesterday. HOWARD What of it? LARRY I need that 80 grand. I’m really not fucking around here. I need something now. HOWARD pulls up his sleeve, exposing a Rolex watch. HOWARD You see this watch? HOWARD unbuckles it. Takes it off his wrist HOWARD (CONT’D) That’s 28 thousand brand new. LARRY inspects it. HOWARD (CONT’D) You can sell that easy used for 15. LARRY Where? HOWARD Anywhere. Wimpy’s. HOWARD’s phone rings. He looks to the Caller ID: It’s GABI. HOWARD instantly dismisses the call. HOWARD (CONT’D) Okay, I need to take this. We good? LARRY Good!?! HOWARD I mean til the end of the week. HOWARD descends into a subway station. Tourists clog the stairs. HOWARD (CONT’D) C’mon, c’mon... It’s not a fuckin’ escalator. EXT. BED-STUY PROJECTS - AFTERNOON HOWARD walks past a group of YOUNG BLACK MALES shooting dice. He enters a building. 50. 51. INT. DEMANY’S APARTMENT DEMANY opens the door, he looks hung over, tired. DEMANY Sup. HOWARD I said 9. 9am sharp. DEMANY I just woke up. HOWARD Utter horseshit! DEMANY Chill! We were in the club til 5 in the morning. HOWARD You didn’t see my calls? I called over 20 times. DEMANY I haven’t been using the phone at all today. Just kickin it at home. What’s goin’ on? HOWARD I was absolutely crazy to lend the gem out. But that’s me, I’m crazy, right? DEMANY You’re crazy. HOWARD You don’t understand. The thing is sold. I have people waiting. DEMANY (annoyed) Alright! I’ll talk to AMARE. HOWARD Now. Call him now. DEMANY I will, gimme a minute. DEMANY opens fridge and slowly pours himself some orange juice. DEMANY (CONT’D) That was an insane game, huh? He was turnt all the way up. They say there’s never been a 40, 30, 10 game before. 51. 52. HOWARD Call AMARE. DEMANY He’s at practice now. He’s not gonna pick up the phone. HOWARD Call him and tell him I’ll give him that ruby for a few days instead. DEMANY Howard, you’re not listening to me. He... is... at... practice. HOWARD Okay, let’s go to practice. DEMANY (laughing) You crazy. HOWARD This is a million fuckin’ dollar gem. You want that chain, don’t you? DEMANY Howard, you owe me that chain for bringing you AMARE in the first place. INT. DEMANY’S LEXUS - DAY DEMANY and HOWARD drive on the BQE in DEMANY’s red Lexus. Loud hip-hop on the stereo: a track called “ALL ABOUT THE MONEY,” which features central lyrics, “It’s all about the mother fuckin’ money...” HOWARD This Privelej? DEMANY focuses on his phone and the road. DEMANY Yea, Troy Ave and me produced it. HOWARD bobs his head to the music. HOWARD Very good. You produced the beat? DEMANY Troy did. You should hook him up with some shine for the video. HOWARD He should put me in the video! 52. 53. HOWARD listens to the music, adds: HOWARD (CONT’D) You know what kind of money I hit on yesterday? DEMANY (not paying attention) What’s that? HOWARD I hit a 5 way parlay, you know what that means? (beat) It means after Amare, I’m gonna go collect a lot of cash! DEMANY checks his phone. HOWARD cranes his neck to see. HOWARD (CONT’D) That AMARE? DEMANY Get out my business nigga. HOWARD Lemme ask you a question, you fuck a lot of your own girls, or you get AMARE’s run off? DEMANY I handle my own shit. HOWARD Lemme ask you another question, you’ve seen AMARE’s dick? DEMANY Aaaaa-yo! HOWARD What? I saw he did that nude thing for ESPN magazine, was kind of misleading. INT. KNICKS PRACTICE FACILITY - AFTER A crowd of press gather on the court where team officials buzz about. DEMANY and HOWARD walk up to the locker room entrance. DEMANY greets the SECURITY GUARD. DEMANY What up big? The SECURITY GUARD moves aside for DEMANY. HOWARD closes in behind DEMANY. The SECURITY GUARD stops HOWARD. 53. 54. HOWARD No, I’m with him. DEMANY I don’t know that nigga, he ain’t with me. HOWARD What!?! DEMANY, without looking back, walks towards the locker room. HOWARD (CONT’D) (yells) DEMANY! YO! DEMANY disappears into the locker room. HOWARD (CONT’D) Ohhhh you piece of shit! You son of a bitch. SECURITY GUARD Sir, you need to back away. HOWARD You see that shit? You saw us arrive together. SECURITY GUARD I didn’t see anything. Step aside. HOWARD pulls two hundred dollar bills from his pocket. HOWARD I need 3 minutes. You can time me. The SECURITY GUARD ignores the gesture and starts dealing with the next person in line. EXT. CITY STREET - AFTER HOWARD rushes down a city street checking his phone. INT. LACE STRIP CLUB - AFTERNOON HOWARD enters smiling ear-to-ear. ANTHONY clears a chair at his table. Before he’s at the table, HOWARD’s talking: HOWARD You said it was a crazy bet! ANTHONY Howard, sit down. HOWARD sits. 54. 55. HOWARD Look, I’m not expecting all of it right now. Let’s say the 65 I put down, plus half for now... so, like, 95- ANTHONY There’s no money Howard. HOWARD NO MONEY!?! I HIT THE BET ANTHONY, I HIT A FUCKIN’ 5 TEAM PARLAY. ANTHONY Stop acting. You know why there’s no money. HOWARD What are you talking about? ANTHONY (calmly) I told you I was gonna lay it off. I went to Jim. He could tell right away it was your bet. He told me already you’re into him for 375. HOWARD freaks out, starts making noises, gesticulating wildly. ANTHONY (CONT’D) He took your 65 grand straight up. HOWARD He doesnt have the right to do that. ANTHONY He would have done the same for me. HOWARD Fuck Jim and fuck you! This is theft! You’re a thief! ANTHONY Howard don’t make a scene. HOWARD But I hit! ANTHONY No you did not. HOWARD Yes I did! I sat right in this chair and placed a bet and I hit! ANTHONY I had to do the right thing. You can’t go around playing with other people’s money. It’s offensive. 55. 56. ANTHONY extends HOWARD’s Rolex watch box. ANTHONY (CONT’D) Take this back please. EXT. SCHOOL BUILDING, QUEENS, NY - NIGHT HOWARD moves through a crowd into a building. INT. SCHOOL AUDITORIUM - AFTER HOWARD sits next to DINA, his youngest son EDDIE, 7, looks like a mini-Howard and oldest son BENI, 15, pimpled and gangly. BENI plays a game on his iPhone. The stage is decorated with amateurish mountain scenery. A banner with the words ‘Snow White’ hangs from the ceiling. HOWARD jokes around with EDDIE by tapping the MAN IN FRONT of them on the shoulder. When The Man turns around HOWARD points to the person a few seats over from him. EDDIE finds this hysterical. HOWARD is his hero. HOWARD (to BENI) What game is that? BENI (without looking up) Knightmare Tower. HOWARD You set any records yet? BENI Yeah, 32nd rank in NY. HOWARD Out of 33. BENI laughs. EDDIE leans over and taps HOWARD on his shoulder. In jest, HOWARD, turns around, looks for who tapped him, but instead notices TUNA, 30’s, stocky, and ROBERT, 40’s, oafish, sitting by the aisle some 10 rows back. They look out of place. They stare at HOWARD. HOWARD looks away, waits a few seconds, and looks back. The two men are still staring. HOWARD stands up. DINA Where you going? HOWARD Daddy’s gotta use the bathroom. HOWARD gets up and moves down to the aisle. 56. 57. INT. SCHOOL AUDITORIUM - 10 ROWS BACK - CONTINUOUS HOWARD approaches TUNA and ROBERT. HOWARD (whispering) Do I know you? TUNA I don’t think so. HOWARD Then why are you staring at me? ROBERT Was I? HOWARD What’re you doing here? ROBERT We’re here to enjoy the play. ROBERT laughs but with a fixed, menacing look at HOWARD, who briskly walks towards the exits. INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS HOWARD makes a call as he walks down a hallway, HOWARD (into phone) Jim, this isn’t right! My daughter’s school, really? ROBERT and TUNA appear in the hallway. HOWARD walks in the opposite direction. INT. ANOTHER SCHOOL HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS HOWARD picks up his pace. He tries a few random doors. Locked. ROBERT and TUNA turn the corner just as HOWARD finds an open door and enters it. INT. SCHOOL AUDITORIUM - BACK STAGE - CONTINUOUS Costumed children wait by the side of the stage. Set pieces move about. HOWARD crosses through the space. A TEACHER looks at him. HOWARD Wow! Everything looks fantastic! Hearing his voice, MARCEL, 11, little girl version of DINA, turns around. 57. 58. MARCEL Daddy! HOWARD Baby! You’re going to kill them! Before the TEACHER can respond, HOWARD has already exited the room through a set of doors on the opposite side. INT. SCHOOL STAIRWELL - CONTINUOUS HOWARD scurries down steps to the basement. He rushes through a labyrinthine maze of dark corridors until landing in the boiler room. INT. SCHOOL BOILER ROOM - SAME TIME HOWARD squeezes himself behind the hot sooty boiler, burning his arm in the process. A long pause. Footsteps resound through the space, getting louder, then stopping. ROBERT (O.S.) The faggot must have popped out that other door. TUNA (O.S.) No, he’s in here. HOWARD hears them move around the room, getting close to the boiler. HOWARD, motionless, wedged behind the boiler, holds his breath. ROBERT (O.S.) Ahhhh! My fucking hand. TUNA (O.S.) What happened? ROBERT (O.S.) I burned my fucking hand! TUNA (O.S.) Fuck this. We’ll wait out front. HOWARD hears them drift into another part of the basement. He opens his phone and sees a text from SADIE, “PLAY OVER YET?” He replies, “Running late. See you at the after party”, but there isn’t enough signal to send it. He manically tries to resend the message. Nothing. 58. 59. INT. SCHOOL AUDITORIUM - CONTINUOUS MARCEL (SNOW WHITE) is picking wild berries downstage stage when the QUEEN, a young girl dressed as an old hag, approaches. DINA checks her phone. Nothing. QUEEN Oh, hello fair young maiden. MARCEL Hello. QUEEN Care to share this apple with me? MARCEL I’m starving... but... QUEEN You needn’t worry... please have this half. MARCEL who skeptically accepts the apple and inspects it. QUEEN (CONT’D) (taking a bite) Look, I’ll eat my half first. These apples come from an ancient place, making them the most delicious. Convinced, MARCEL takes a bite as well. MARCEL Oh, it’s quite tasty. She drops dead to the floor. The QUEEN laughs maniacally. DINA looks incredibly irritated. INT. SCHOOL BOILER ROOM - MUCH LATER HOWARD readjusts himself, squinting in obvious discomfort, and slips out from behind the boiler. He is reddened from the heat and covered in soot and grease. He uses his cellphone to light his way through the room. INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - AFTER The hallways are empty. HOWARD makes his way to the exit doors. They are locked. HOWARD Oh you gotta be fuckin’ kidding me. The hall goes dark as Howard’s phone dies. 59. 60. HOWARD gropes around, tries a few classrooms, which are locked. He returns the basement. INT. SCHOOL BASEMENT - CONTINUOUS HOWARD rushes from sublevel window to sublevel window, pushing on each, hoping for an opening. He finds a loose one, pulls a few boxes over and climbs through it, barely fitting. EXT. SCHOOL PLAYGROUND - CONTINUOUS HOWARD emerges in the school playground. He runs over to the gate. Locked. A pause. With some difficulty, he scales the fence, ripping his pants in the process. HOWARD Fuck! The moment his feet touch ground, a limo pulls up next to him. A guy comes running out of it and whacks HOWARD in the back with a mini baseball bat. HOWARD shrieks and falls to the ground. The window zips down to reveal JIM, 50s, wax-faced, heavy-set. HOWARD (CONT’D) Jim, please I’m already very late. I can’t be any more late, let me go, then weJIM Howard, get in the car. INT. LIMOUSINE - CONTINUOUS HOWARD climbs in sits down between the ROBERT and TUNA, across from JIM. HOWARD LookJIM I don’t want to hear another word from you. HOWARD You already have all my brother’s stuff. You alreadyHOWARD is interrupted with a vicious chest punch from ROBERT. JIM Do you know now to listen? 60. 61. HOWARD (winded) That 65 grand you took from Anthony, that was supposed to be 260, I was planning onROBERT jabs HOWARD in the head with a running electric razor, shearing off a chunck of hair. HOWARD jerks forward and clutches his head. HOWARD (CONT’D) What the fuck was that?! HOWARD inspects his head in shock. JIM I’m offering you an out. You hear me? You have til Wednesday to give me 250 grand, and then we’ll call it even. None of the interest. We’ll be done with each other. You won’t have to listen to me, I won’t have to listen to you. But you’re done. No more playing with me or any of my guys. You’ve got 48 hours to pay me in-full in-cash or then it won’t be about the money anymore and there won’t be any collecting. (beat) You understand that? HOWARD Can I speak now? JIM I just wanna hear yes or no. That’s all. I’m offering you a big discount to end this cat and mouse shit. HOWARD Jim, with all due respect, I’d just like to explain. (waits for approval) Please, just let me explain. (beat) I told you that a gem was arriving this week. Well, it did. It’s sitting on my desk in my office right now. It completely drained me of cash, but I have it. Precious opals of this size go for 1, 2 grand a carat. It’s 600 carats! It’s worth anywhere between 600 and a mil and it’s up for auction next week. Why you’re chasing me through my kid’s school on a Thursday when you can have your money in full on a Tuesday is crazy to me. Crazy. 61. 62. JIM (cynically) So you were going to pay me the full 250 on this coming Tuesday? HOWARD I’ll give you 300 for your troubles on Tuesday, well on Thursday, cuzJIM -See already you’re making excuses. HOWARD It’s not an excuse, if you let me finish... the auction is on Monday but I won’t see the funds unless it’s a wire, but most likely I won’t see it till later in the week, but Wahler Loans will front me if they see an auction ticket. JIM listens without interest. HOWARD (CONT’D) Look! If by next week you don’t have your money, you can kill me! I’ll deserve it. JIM I already said I’ll give you till Wednesday. It makes no difference to me how you get the money. HOWARD Fine, fine. Then we’re good! There’s no problem! JIM Yes, between now and Wednesday there’s no problem. HOWARD refuses to acknowledge the menacing undercurrent. HOWARD Great! Look, you guys wanna roll with me to Greenhouse? Meet Amare Stoudemire? The rapper Privelej? JIM Are you asking me for a lift? HOWARD No, we all go. Into the city, to Greenhouse. Have some drinks, sit with Amare and Privelej. They’re my friends. They have tons of pussy with them always. JIM Where’s Greenhouse? 62. 63.

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HOWARD On Varick, downtown. JIM You hear that Michael? MICHAEL THE DRIVER Greenhouse? JIM You wanna go in and get a drink? MICHAEL THE DRIVER And meet Amare Stoudemire? What do you think? JIM Okay, we’ll go in with you. EXT. GREENHOUSE NIGHT CLUB - AFTER THE CAR RIDE A large crowd of YOUNG BLACK MEN and WOMEN push against velvet ropes, all vying for the BOUNCER’S attention. HOWARD, MICHAEL the driver and JIM approach. [Remember HOWARD looks like shit and is now missing a piece of his hair]. HOWARD Yo, my man, what’s happening? HOWARD palms a $100 bill to the BOUNCER. HOWARD (CONT’D) AMARE’s expecting us. BOUNCER AMARE’s not here tonight. JIM snorts. HOWARD Privelej though, right? The BOUNCER unlocks the ropes, allows HOWARD in. HOWARD (CONT’D) (to JIM) Come on, guys. What’d I tell you? They enter the club. INT. GREENHOUSE NIGHT CLUB - CONTINUOUS The nightclub is pumping. Scantily clad waitresses carry champagne bottles with sparklers shooting out of them. The DJ gives shout outs to VIPs in the club over blaring Hip Hop. HOWARD and JIM are the only white people present. 63. 64. They snake their way through the room until HOWARD spies one of AMARE’S BODYGUARDS standing at a banquette towards the back. INT. GREENHOUSE NIGHT CLUB - BANQUETTE HOWARD approaches BODYGUARD 1. HOWARD YO, WHAT’S UP. BODYGUARD 1 gives HOWARD a pound, HOWARD walks past him and approaches two blinged out, extremely cool looking young guys -- KEV and PARIS -- who pass two blunts between them. HOWARD has to scream at the top of his lungs to be heard. HOWARD (CONT’D) WHAT’S UP, WHERE’S PRIVELEJ AT? KEV looks up at him. Blows smoke into his face. HOWARD (CONT’D) I’M HOWARD, AMARE’S BOY, DEMANY HERE? KEV YEAH, HE’S HERE SOMEWHERE. HOWARD THIS IS MY BOY JIM AND HIS BOY. PARIS WHAT’S GOOD? JIM is not entertained. HOWARD grabs a waitress. HOWARD LEMME GET A BOTTLE OF... (to PARIS) WHAT SHOULD I GET? PARIS HENNY VSOP! HOWARD HENNY VSOP FOR MY FRIENDS HERE. (to JIM and MICHAEL) HAVE SOME DRINKS ON ME. JIM takes a seat at the table. HOWARD (CONT’D) (to PARIS and KEV) JIM IS A G. TRUST ME. PARIS WHAT UP! 64. 65. HOWARD (to BODY GUARD 1) IS SADIE HERE? BODY GUARD 1 YEAH, SHE’S HERE. HOWARD WHERE IS SHE? BODY GUARD 1 DUNNO. HOWARD (to PARIS and KEV) HAVE YOU SEEN A WHITE GIRL, YOUNG, SHORT BANGS, DARK HAIR. KEV and PARIS laugh. Exhale tons of weed smoke. KEV (laughing) YEAH, I’VE SEEN HER. HOWARD WHERE IS SHE? PARIS BITCH HAS BLADDER PROBLEMS! KEV laughs. HOWARD HAHA. What!?! PARIS I SAID THE BITCH HAS BLADDER PROBLEMS! HOWARD’s smile recedes. HOWARD (shouting to JIM) I’LL BE RIGHT BACK. INT. GREENHOUSE NIGHT CLUB - BATHROOM HALLWAY HOWARD sees TWO BIG MEN standing in front of the bathroom door. He walks between them and bangs on it. HOWARD SADIE?! YOU IN THERE? BIG MAN 1 YO, WHAT THE FUCK YOU THINK YOU DOING? 65. 66. HOWARD NO WORRIES. I NEED TO KNOW IF MY GIRL IS IN THERE. BIG MAN 1 YOU SEE IT’S IN USE. HOWARD bangs on the door some more. HOWARD SADIE?!!! SADIE?!!! BIG MAN 1 and 2 push HOWARD up against the wall. HOWARD (CONT’D) GET OFF ME YOU ANIMALS! Suddenly, the door opens and PRIVELEJ appears, looking really wasted and his pants are unbuckled. BIG MEN let go of HOWARD. PRIVELEJ WHAT’S UP? WHO WAS BANGING? HOWARD ME! I WAS BANGING! HOWARD looks into the bathroom. SADIE sits on the sink, underwear around her ankles. She looks beyond wasted, barely able to keep her eyes open. HOWARD lunges into PRIVELEJ, sending them both careening to the bathroom floor. The BIG MEN grope to pull HOWARD up but the floor is wet. SADIE starts shrieking. HOWARD is a maniac, flailing his arms and legs, throwing wild, sloppy punches and kicks every which way. A few land on PRIVILEJ, who is balled up, covering his head with his elbows. Enough is enough. BIG MAN 1 and 2 lift HOWARD from the floor, like he weighs nothing, and in a long tracking shot, carry him through the club. Along the way, they pass JIM and MICHAEL, who stare up in utter disbelief. BIG MAN 1 and 2, carry HOWARD down a grossly lit back hallway. They kick open the metal doors to a service entrance and violently toss HOWARD out to the street. EXT. GREENHOUSE NIGHT CLUB - BACK ALLEY - CONTINUOUS The metal doors slam shut. HOWARD gets up and pounds on them, to no avail. 66. 67. HOWARD YOU DIRTY MOTHER FUCKERS! YOU FILTHY ANIMALS! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO I AM! I’LL SUE YOU TIL YOU HAVE NOTHING. I’LLThe doors re-open. DEMANY’s steps out and hands SADIE over to the HOWARD. DEMANY Take your girl and get the fuck out of here. Now. The doors close. HOWARD puts his head in his hands and has a 15 second ‘power cry’. SADIE is too fucked up to respond. INT. CAB - AFTER HOWARD stares out the window in a silent rage. SADIE continuously tries to press the “OFF” button on the Taxi-TV. HOWARD swats her hand away and turns it off himself. EXT. HOWARD’S BUILDING The cab pulls up in front of Howard’s apartment. A DOORMAN rushes to the curb and helps SADIE out. HOWARD remains inside. HOWARD Make sure she gets into the house. (to driver) Ho. The cab drives HOWARD away. EXT. DIAMOND DISTRICT - NIGHT HOWARD walks down 47th street. It feels like a ghost town. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - BACKROOM - 145AM HOWARD flips the lights on and throws his sports jacket onto his desk. He pulls a blanket and a pillow from a cabinet and sets up a makeshift bed on the floor. CUT TO: INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE- BACKROOM - MORNING An unkempt HOWARD talks on the phone. In a nearby plexiglass enclosure, JUAN, a Mexican jewelry setter, is grinding stones. 67. 68. HOWARD (into phone) I’m sorry I can’t hear you. Hold on. (to NADAV) Will you tell him to stop for a minute! NADAV pops up and bangs on the plexi. NADAV Hey! Stop! JUAN stops. HOWARD (into phone) I’m sorry... HOWARD holds his tape dispenser as if it were the GEM. HOWARD (CONT’D) Yeah, I’m looking at it right now... It’s gorgeous. We’ve had it for a few days now, it’s a beautiful opal... (listens) I’ve been so busy-Would I have to pay for the addendum? We still have a few business days before the auction, it could help... What about on the Christies website, can you add imagery of it if I got you jpegs? (looks at incoming call) Oh my god. Mary... Mary, let me call you right back, I have to take this. (answers other call) Janet! Hi, yes, this is Howard Nagy. Thank you for calling me backNo, I didn’t mean to worry you... I just... Well, I saw online that you represent Amare Stoudemire and I really need- Yes, no problem. I’ll wait. BUZZZZZ! HOWARD looks up at the security monitor and see’s YUSSI enter the SHOWROOM and march directly to HOWARD’S office. YUSSI (livid) Jo wants to know where his red cobra chain is. HOWARD turns his back to YUSSI and waves him away. YUSSI (CONT’D) No! Now! 68. 69. HOWARD CAN’T YOU SEE I’M BUSY!?!? YUSSI I just need you to tell me where the chain is. HOWARD Oh for fuck’s sake! The cobra chain? I sold it for 25 to Ray Forecaster. YUSSI Fine. Then give me the money and I’ll walk it down to him right now. HOWARD Not now! YUSSI Yes now! HOWARD You work for me not Jo! (into phone) HI! YES! Well, yes and no, it’s only an emergency because of time... Howard Nagy... No, I’m his JewlerYUSSI slams his finger down and ends the call. HOWARD (CONT’D) ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND!?! YUSSI YOU’RE GOING TO DEAL WITH THIS RIGHT NOW! WHERE’S THE 25 GRAND!?! HOWARD starts to redial. HOWARD I don’t have it right now. You can tell Jo next week. YUSSI swipes the phone off the desk. YUSSI I have 100 Rolexes coming this week and without Jo I have no one to front the costs. Are you going to front the costs!?!? HOWARD Get the fuck out of my face. YUSSI Jo was gonna buy half of them. 69. 70. HOWARD You shouldn’t be doing business with that scumbag anyway. YUSSI And now he won’t have anything to do with me because of my relationship to you. So you know what?! Now you’re gonna have to put up the money for them. HOWARD Your stupid rolex hustle is a waste of time- Get out of my office. YUSSI Fine... YUSSI makes a beeline for the open safe behind HOWARD’S desk. HOWARD bolts up and pulls YUSSI away. HOWARD Don’t you touch my stuff! YUSSI I’m taking my watches, I wanna have them with me. YUSSI pushes HOWARD aside. HOWARD leans forward. YUSSI (CONT’D) There’s only 4 watches in here, where are the rest? YUSSI keeps looking. YUSSI (CONT’D) Where the fuck are the rest? HOWARD They’re on loan. YUSSI Are you kidding me? HOWARD They’re a few hundred each. Gimme a break. YUSSI They don’t belong to you! NADAV (interjects) YUSSI! That’s enough! Get out! YUSSI, full of rage stomps over to his desk and starts to pack his things into a shoulder bag. 70. 71. YUSSI I’m gonna call my sister and tell her all about Sadie, Sara, the money... everything. Calling his bluff, HOWARD grabs the phone and extends it to YUSSI, who in turn storms out of the BACKROOM. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE- SHOWROOM - CONTINUOUS YUSSI makes his way past the showcases towards the exit. HOWARD (O.S.) (yells) Oh, who’s a big boy!! JOANI buzzes him out. He slams the door AS HARD AS HE CAN on his way out. JOANI buzzes him through the second door, which he also slams. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE- BACKROOM - CONTINUOUS HOWARD Yussi’s a BIG BOY!!! NADAV You alright Howard? HOWARD I’m fine. NADAV reorders things around the room. On the INTERCOM: JOANI (O.S.) Sadie’s on the phone. HOWARD Tell her I’m not here. Tell her I haven’t been in all day... NoHOWARD engages speakerphone. HOWARD (CONT’D) Where are you? SADIE (O.S.) (very upset) Just woke up, I feel like shit. HOWARD (sarcastic) Ah, so you’re taking it easy today? I’m sooo happy to hear that! I want you to rest, be comfortable. SADIE (O.S.) Please Howard. 71. 72. HOWARD It must be so nice to take a day off whenever you feel like it. What’s that like? SADIE (0.S) Howard, I feel horrible inside. The other line rings. HOWARD No, it’s good, it’s good. Get your beauty sleep. Take as much time off as you need, meanwhile... (sarcasm turns to anger) The rest of us will continue to work for your spoiled unappreciative ass and keep this fucking business afloatSADIE (O.S.) All I want to do is see you, I just thought you didn’t want to see me, that’s why I didn’tINTERCOM interrupts: JOANI (O.S.) Knicks Player personnel on line 2. HOWARD hangs up on SADIE and engages the other line. HOWARD This is Howard Nagy. SPEAKER PHONE Hello Mr. Nagy, how are you doin? HOWARD I’m not gonna lie, I could be better. I’m in a situation with one of your high profile players and I’m about a moment away from making things very ugly. SPEAKER PHONE Okay... can you hold for a second? HOWARD No, no, no. Do not put me on hold! (listens to silence) Look, I’m a very litigious individual and I’m about a second away from hanging up on you and calling my lawyer, the police, and then the press soon after. You’ll be dealing with a much uglier situation than I think you’d like the public to know72. 73. SPEAKER PHONE Sir, you need to calm down. I don’t have any clue what you’re talking about. BUZZZZ! HOWARD looks to a security monitor and sees AMARE and his TWO BODYGUARDS waiting in the hallway. JOANI (O.S.) AMARE’s here! SPEAKER PHONE Can you please give me your number and I canHOWARD hangs up the phone and runs to the showroom. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - SHOWROOM - CONTINUOUS JOANI buzzes AMARE and his BODYGUARDS into the small holding area between the two doors. AMARE waves hello at HOWARD through the glass of the interior door. JOANI buzzes. It won’t open. JOANI buzzes again. It still won’t open. HOWARD Open it, what’s going on?! JOANI holds the buzzer down while BODY GUARD 1 yanks at it. HOWARD runs around the showcases and up to the doors. HOWARD (CONT’D) Try it again. JOANI buzzes, HOWARD pushes hard. He kneels down and inspects the lock. HOWARD (CONT’D) Crap, it’s bent. AMARE (though glass) What’s going on? HOWARD (yelling) THE MAGNETIC RELEASE. IT’S NOT CONNECTING WITH THE DOOR. HANG ON. HOWARD tries to bend the release. JOANI joins HOWARD. HOWARD (CONT’D) Shit, this is no good. (loudly to AMARE) AMARE! YOU GOT THE GEM ON YOU? AMARE removes it from a bag and holds it up. 73. 74. HOWARD (CONT’D) Great. Look this might take a minute. Go downstairs to Yuri’s for a tea. I’ll come get you when this is fixed. BODY GUARD 1 pulls on the first door. It won’t budge either. BODY GUARD 1 WHAT THE FUCK MAN!?!? JOANI holds down the buzzer. HOWARD PULL HARD. BODY GUARD 1 pulls hard on the door. Nothing. JOANI It’s not working because it thinks the other one is engaged. AMARE (barely audible) WHAT DO WE DO?! HOWARD FUCK! (Beat) OKAY, HANG TIGHT! 30% OFF ANYTHING YOU GUYS WANT IN HERE! I SWEAR. JOANI (laughing) I can’t believe this. HOWARD Nadav! See if you can fix this! NADAV approaches the door. HOWARD (CONT’D) Bend this frame back into place so the two pieces of metal touch... You see what I’m sayin? NADAV I think so. HOWARD (yelling to AMARE) I’M SO SORRY GUYS! BODY GUARD 1 IN 1 MINUTE I’M BREAKING IT DOWN. 74. 75. HOWARD YOU CAN’T! NADAV’s face contorts into a severe grimace as he tries to bend the frame back into position. NADAV It’s impossible. HOWARD grabs a phone and dials. HOWARD (into phone) Tony... It’s Howard at KMA... Yeah, the locks jammed... From the inside... We tried that... Can you just come and check it out. I got a VIP stuck in there. HOWARD hangs up, and dials ELAN. HOWARD (CONT’D) (into phone) ELAN! Stop what you’re doing and run to the hardware store and buy a sledgehammer. JOANI lights up a cigarette. HOWARD takes a drag from it. HOWARD (CONT’D) (CONT’D) Then bring it here, but wait outside on the street... Oh, and make sure we can return it. EXT. 47TH STREET BETWEEN 6TH AND 5TH, DIAMOND DISTRICT - AFTER ELAN rushes down the block with the sledgehammer in hand. He arrives in front of HOWARD’S building when he hears faint: HOWARD (O.S.) ELAN! HEY ELAN! ELAN looks around, confused. HOWARD, NADAV & JOANI UP HERE! ELAN looks up and sees them. EXT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - OUT WINDOW - CONTINUOUS HOWARD Someone dial ELAN’s cell. JOANI picks up the phone and dials ELAN. She hands the phone out the window to HOWARD. HOWARD watches ELAN look for his phone. 75. (MORE) 76. HOWARD (CONT’D) (looking at ELAN) Hey-I’m gonna lower this twine down. Untie the dumbbell and very, very securely... you hear me, VERY securely... tie the rope around the hammer... Yeah, now... and don’t hang up, just put me in your pocket. HOWARD lowers the twine with the dumbbell attached. ELAN receives the rope and dumbbell and ties it to the hammer. HOWARD cautiously raises it back up. Half-way up, the sledgehammer catches on a piece of concrete moulding. It sways wildly and cracks a window on the 3rd floor. HOWARD (CONT’D) Shit. HOWARD continues to pull on the rope until the sledgehammer is in his hands. He jumps back inside. NADAV Want me to do it? HOWARD No. HOWARD enters the showroom. JOANI, and NADAV follow. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - SHOWROOM - DAY HOWARD smiles as he shows AMARE the sledgehammer. AMARE and CO are now seated and covered in sweat. HOWARD I’M SO SORRY ABOUT THIS AMARE! 30% OFF FOR YOUR BOYS. ANYTHING IN THE SHOP. HOWARD positions himself. He takes a swing at the door. WHACK! HOWARD (CONT’D) (to JOANI) Okay, try it.

JOANI buzzes. Nothing. HOWARD whacks wildly, to no avail. NADAV Lemme. HOWARD hands it to NADAV, who starts hitting the door very hard. HOWARD has an idea. He runs to the back room and reappears seconds later with metal shavings and a screwdriver. HOWARD (to NADAV) Enough. Get out of the way. (MORE) 76. HOWARD (CONT'D) (MORE) 77. (to self) Waste that money on the hammer... HOWARD crouches down and shoves the metal shavings into an opening in the door frame. HOWARD (CONT’D) Okay, try it. JOANI presses the buzzer. It engages. HOWARD opens the door. AMARE and CO stand up and exit the vestibule. HOWARD (CONT’D) Oh my god, AMARE, I’m so sorry. AMARE That was horrible, Howard. BODY GUARD 1 I’m in the mind to break that fucking showcase over you head. AMARE silences the BODYGUARD with a look. HOWARD JOANI, give them a glass of water and for them- (looks to BODY GUARDS) 20% off... Lemme just see if this works now. HOWARD enters the vestibule and lets the doors close behind him. JOANI buzzes. The doors work. HOWARD (CONT’D) Voila! (to AMARE) Okay, back to business. You’re not an easy man to get a hold of. But when I do, I really do, huh? AMARE I’m sorry but I don’t feel very humorous at this time, Howard. HOWARD Alright, lemme see the gem. AMARE removes the GEM from an inside pocket. He delicately extends it to HOWARD. HOWARD (CONT’D) You know, I forgot what it even looked like... I had only seen it the one time... AMARE It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever has. It feels important. HOWARD (CONT'D) (MORE) 77. AMARE (CONT'D) 78. Howard, do you know what I mean when I say ‘important’? HOWARD Of course. That was a legendary performance the other night. JOANI hands AMARE a bottled water. AMARE Thank you. I’m feeling better. (to HOWARD, quietly) Do you think we could talk in private? HOWARD Sure, let’s go to my office. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE- BACKROOM - CONTINUOUS HOWARD walks to his desk, AMARE ducks down to clear the doorway. AMARE Howard, this stone means a lot to me. Importance is a feeling that comes from within. Most people think the opposite. HOWARD Morons. AMARE This stone does something for me. With it, I feel a connection to the ground and, hence, the sky and of course to the cosmos. It’s very important to me. HOWARD I can tell you feel that way. AMARE I want to buy it. HOWARD Okay. How much is it worth to you? AMARE I have $175,000 cash with me. HOWARD (laughing) Amare, buddy. I’m sorry, this stone is worth a helluva lot more than that. AMARE (CONT'D) 78. 79. AMARE And Court-side seats for the rest of the season. That’s easily a 50 thousand dollar value. You could sell each and every ticket. HOWARD Normally I wouldn’t give a shit. I’d give it to you for free. But it’s all a bit messy right now. I’m stuck in a hole and to be honest, my life is being threatened on a nightly basis. I only tell you this to emphasize why I’m obligated to sell this gem for the most money I can get. AMARE (interrupting) This is a lot of money for me. HOWARD You make millions of dollars. AMARE It’s not what you think. I get paid in stipends. People hold onto a lot my cash. A lot of it is tied up in investments. This is a number I can do. Plus, I’ll post a picture of you once a week on my Instagram. HOWARD You’re not understanding me. AMARE grows angry but then controls himself. AMARE I feel like I’m being very fair. It’s an honest price for a gem of this kind. HOWARD feels conflicted. HOWARD Look, it’s already listed with Christies. If it means that much to you, you’re free to attend and bid on the item like everyone else. Who knows, you could get it for 175 there. I doubt it but I haven’t even had the thing appraised yet. AMARE When is the auction? HOWARD Monday. 79. 80. AMARE Okay, fair enough. But you will let me hold onto it until the auction date. I have a game tonight and two on the road, one in Cleveland and one in Atlanta. I can have it back by Sunday. HOWARD (laughing) Amare, buddy, I have a million things to do with it before the auction, including, like I said, getting it appraised. AMARE stands up. AMARE You’re saying no again. HOWARD I’m sorry. I can’t. I just can’t. Maybe if your game on Saturday was at home... maybe JUST MAYBE, but even then... AMARE walks back to the showroom. HOWARD (CONT’D) AAAAH AMARE! Don’t be like that! BUZZZZZ! AMARE (O.S.) I’m not gonna get stuck in there again, will I?! JOANI (O.S.) No. I don’t think so. BUZZZZ! HOWARD looks up to the security monitors and watches AMARE leave KMA and head towards the elevators. The elevator doors open and SADIE exits as AMARE and his BODYGUARDS enter. Upon seeing SADIE, HOWARD quickly throws on his sports coat, places the gem in the front pocket and dashes out of his office. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE- SHOWROOM HOWARD jets around the showcase. HOWARD (to JOANI) I’m going to Aren’s at G.I.A, Close up without me. BUZZZZZ! HOWARD leaves. 80. 81. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE- VESTIBULE - CONTINUOUS HOWARD opens the door to the hallway, coming face to face with SADIE. Her face is splotchy and puffy. BEFORE SHE CAN SAY ANYTHING, HOWARD waves a finger in her face. HOWARD NO! HOWARD rushes down the hallway. She runs after him. SADIE Howard, I’m sorry, what do you want me to do, I want to die. HOWARD Good, die. HOWARD pushes the elevator button. SADIE But you told me to come in! HOWARD laughs loudly. SADIE (CONT’D) Please, Howard! It was a mistake, I was fucked up, I’m sorry! HOWARD I don’t give a shit. SADIE tries to get into his field of vision. HOWARD (CONT’D) If I wanted to look at you, I would. The elevator doors open. HOWARD gets in, SADIE tries to enter. HOWARD violently pushes her out. HOWARD (CONT’D) Stay out! SADIE starts crying. The doors close. INT. CHRISTIES AUCTION HOUSE BACK ROOM - DAY AREN, a plump man, Jewish, late 40s, examines the gem with a wet grinder. He dries it off, re-wets it and holds it up to a light. HOWARD Incredible, huh? With a digital caliper AREN measures it’s size, then weighs it. HOWARD (CONT’D) Can you believe that was noodled?! 81. 82. AREN Sure I can. AREN sends light through the stone and checks its refraction. AREN (CONT’D) (CONT’D) Well it’s certainly not the harlequin multi color black precious you said it was. HOWARD What? What do you mean, what’s wrong with it? It’s harlequin! AREN Look, it’s got a basic pin-fire pattern... HOWARD No, no, noAREN (looks deeper) Limited in color... HOWARD That’s a crock of shit. I had the thing under dull lighting and saw full spectrum. AREN It won’t face up across it’s largest dimension... HOWARD What’s that mean? I’m not an opal guy. AREN It means even with the best cutter, you won’t get it to fully face upright. It will undulate. HOWARD Okay, fine, so we’re looking at what? a ‘G’ a carat? AREN It’s not even as dark as true black should be, like you had told us. HOWARD It’s black as night. And the thing is skin to skin. AREN But it isn’t... Maybe it’ll yield 30-40%. Look, you know noodled opals are a gamble. Why you didn’t tell Steven this is beyond me. 82. 83. HOWARD Steven was doing me a favor. I saw pictures, it was windowed for us there. It’s from Welo! AREN I don’t know about that. Welo opals aren’t this big-and I’m seeing that there very well could be a flaw or two, looks like a grain of sand about a mil deep, there are a lot of notches. HOWARD The thing’s gorgeous! I could get 650 for it in an hour. AREN I’m sorry Howard, I can’t appraise it at that. We’ve already estimated this at 750 to a mil. HOWARD Okay, let’s keep it at that. AREN You kidding me? I’d lose my GIA certification. (looking at gem) We can say the 175 to 250 range. Start bidding at 100. HOWARD paces about. HOWARD 175!?! Fuck this. I’m gonna bring it to Carol’s, she’s certified and knows a lot more bout opals than you do, she’s already seen it. HOWARD’s phone rings. He silences it without looking at it. AREN Then she told you the same thing. C’mon Howard, I have no reason to lie to you. You gotta hope for a collector, a jeweler won’t even take this on most likely. HOWARD But it’s beautiful. HOWARD’s phone rings and again he silences it. HOWARD (CONT’D) If people see it up close they’ll bid through the roof. Can’t we show a video of what it looks like inside? 83. 84. AREN Won’t matter. They’re gonna withdraw it. HOWARD Let me deal with Steven. He won’t pull it. Can you guys do the video? HOWARD’s phone rings again. This time he takes it out of his pocket. On the caller ID it says, “DINA.” HOWARD (CONT’D) Oh shit. Shabbat. INT. GOOEY’S - PARK AVENUE APARTMENT - DINING ROOM - NIGHT HOWARDS distant cousin GOOEY, fat, perfectly clean shaven, sits at the head of a formal dining table. The table is set for Shabbos; candles, challa bread, wine, etc. His home is expansive, rooms beyond view, expensive artwork and decor. Next to GOOEY is RAQUEL, his wife, an olive skinned trophy wife, his son EDMOND, 14, chubby, bratty, braces, GINA, 9, his daughter, a princess, NICKI, 15. The men wear yarmulkes. On HOWARD’s side sit DINA, EDDIE, BENI and MARCEL. The two families look related. GOOEY recites a Hebrew prayer, dips a ripped piece of challah bread in salt and violently throws a piece to each person at the table; a Sephardic tradition. HOWARD’S phone rings in his pocket. He immediately silences it without looking at it. HOWARD notices a painting above the fireplace. A gradient of color that resembles a sunset. HOWARD Is that new, I don’t remember you guys having that up last time we were here. RAQUEL When were you guys here last? DINA 7 months ago. HOWARD phone vibrates again, the vibration is audible. HOWARD silences it. EDDIE Dad! The kids fight over iphone games and pick at their food. MAIDS come in and out throughout the meal. 84. 85. RAQUEL That’s too long. EDDIE Dad! HOWARD What baby? EDDIE Beni isn’t sharing. HOWARD (to BENI, very serious) Give him the phone or I throw it in the garbage. BENI dutifully hands phone to EDDIE. GOOEY That’s an Alex Israel. Jewish kid in Los Angeles making lots of money right now. RAQUEL They’re colors from his dreams! GOOEY Stupid. RAQUEL What’re they then? GOOEY pulls an Ipad up and opens some files. He finds the piece of art they’re talking about, reads about it. RAQUEL (CONT’D) Rene got it for us for nothing. But now they go for like 1 to 200, that one there is about 125. DINA I don’t get it. HOWARD’S phone vibrates again. HOWARD immediately silences it. GOOEY (reading) They are replicas of backdrops from movie sets in Hollywood studios, he’s from Los Angeles so the movie industry is important for him. (looking up) You see, it’s not what you said. HOWARD Will you guys excuse me for a second. 85. 86. HOWARD gets up. DINA issues a disproving look as he walks out of the room. INT. GOOEY’S - PARK AVENUE APARTMENT - HALLWAY TO DINING ROOM HOWARD immediately pulls the phone out, “SADIE” appears on the caller-ID. He answers it. HOWARD (into phone) What are you doing!?! You know where I am, why are you calling me like this? SADIE (O.S.) (in tears) Why are you doing this to me? HOWARD turns into the first open doorway. INT. GOOEY’S - PARK AVENUE APARTMENT - CHILDRENS BEDROOM HOWARD enters a children’s bedroom, lavishly decorated to look like a city playground, with monkey-bars installed on the walls. SADIE (O.S.) I fucked up. I know I fucked up. I don’t even remember what happenedNo, I guess I wouldn’t. HOWARD It’s Shabbos! What do you want? SADIE (O.S.) I just want talk to you for a minute. HOWARD I don’t have anything to say to you. I’m here having dinner and after I’m going to enjoy a nice peaceful weekend with my family away from your poison. SADIE (O.S.) You don’t have to say anything, just give me a minute, please. HOWARD Okay you have 60 seconds... Silence. HOWARD (CONT’D) This counts. 86. 87. SADIE collects herself, breathes deep. After a long pause: SADIE (O.S.) I hate myself. You can’t hate me more than I hate myself. I-I-I hate that I am this way... Shit, I had it in my head perfect... HOWARD You sound like televsion. SADIE (O.S.) Okay, ok, I know, I’m a piece a shit, I’m a slut, I’m a no-good-lowlife who deserves nothing but the street. HOWARD If you were sorry you would have been in the office this morning with coffee and flowers before I even got up. Do you know how messed up my back is today from sleeping on that chair? My back is in so much pain. You caused that pain. SADIE (O.S.) I know. I don’t want to cause you any pain any more... I think maybe what we need is for me to give you some space. I can move out temporarily. HOWARD You can move out for good! SADIE (O.S.) If that’s what you want. HOWARD looks at the time. HOWARD Yes. Out. By 10pm tonight. Are we done? HOWARD throws his phone against an oversized pillow shaped like a pigeon. INT. GOOEY’S - PARK AVENUE APARTMENT - DEN - DURING HOWARD sits at the edge of a plush couch in a rich velvety den. GOOEY makes him a drink. ESPN plays basketball recaps on the TV. HOWARD Make it louder. GOOEY raises the volume with an IPAD remote. 87. 88. SPORTSCASTER (O.S.) AMARE needs help. You gotta learn to keep yourself in check. Sportscenter footage of a distressed AMARE swatting a cup of Gatorade off a courtside desk and accidentally spraying fans. AMARE apologizes profusely. The graphic reads, “Hero to Zero.” GOOEY So hot one night and so cold the next. SPORTSCASTER (O.S.) AMARE Stoudemire, 3 for 17... SPORTCASTER 2 (O.S.) And they’re hitting him with single coverage, it’s not the defense. SPORTCASTER (O.S.) It’s like the boiler broke. SPORTCASTER 2 (O.S.) Call the super! HOWARD grabs the remote and makes it even louder: SPORTSCENTER shows AMARE shirtless after the game in front of his locker. AMARE I just couldn’t hit my rhythm. NEWSDAY REPORTER You couldn’t hit anything compared to last game. Is it the elbows? AMARE My elbows feel fine... I didn’t have a good game and I take full responsibility. AMARE looks tortured on TV. HOWARD Fuckin’ guy tried to steal an opal from me. GOOEY What?! HOWARD Yeah, I lent it to him the night he had that crazy game. Fuckin schvartza gave me a heart attack. GOOEY What did you do? Call the cops? 88. 89. HOWARD No, I knew he’d turn up. He just got carried away. I know his people really well. They wouldn’t do me like that. GOOEY What did he say? HOWARD He thinks that the stone gives him special powers. GOOEY Really?! HOWARD I believe it! He was possessed. You saw his performance. GOOEY What kind of stone is it? HOWARD Precious black opal, insane color spectrum in harlequin pattern... top notch, HUGE! You get lost in it. GOOEY laughs. HOWARD (CONT’D) He wants the stone but was lowballing me on the price, offering 175. Stormed out after I told him to try his luck at the auction. GOOEY What do you think it will go for? HOWARD Honestly, I think it could go for 600, I don’t see why not. GOOEY What’s it value? HOWARD 1st appraisal was low and I don’t have time to get a 2nd one. GOOEY What was it? HOWARD Eh, they appraised it around a quarter. GOOEY And he offered 175? 89. 90. HOWARD Yeah listen Gooey, lemme ask you a favor. GOOEY Oh boy, what? HOWARD Come to the auction Monday at Christies, they know you there. Make a few bidsGOOEY Absolutely not. HOWARD I’m not talking about a lot, just ensure that it gets to 250. GOOEY And if I win at 250? HOWARD Then I give it right back to you. GOOEY You know I resent being put in this position. HOWARD Look at the guy. AMARE looks destroyed on TV. HOWARD (CONT’D) He’s gonna overpay. Trust me. GOOEY If it were Southeby’sHOWARD 20%. I’ll give you that off his final price. GOOEY I’ll do it for 30%. HOWARD 20% is fair. GOOEY But I’m the one with the reputation. HOWARD looks at highlights they show of AMARE’s peak performance game. AMARE celebrating. 90. 91. INT. HOWARD AND DINA’S FAMILY CAR - NIGHT HOWARD sits behind the wheel of his family’s BMW SUV. EDDIE plays an iphone game called “Make it Rain,” where the object is to flip through enough money as you can. BENI/MARCEL crowd over EDDIE. DINA surveys Instagram in the front seat. HOWARD sees that it’s 10:15 on the car’s clock. DINA Why you going down 5th? HOWARD I need to grab something from the apartment. EXT. HOWARD’S BUILDING - AFTER HOWARD pulls the BMW up to his building. A DOORMAN approaches the car. DOORMAN Anything in the trunk, Mr. Nagy? HOWARD No, I’m just popping up for a second. DINA and their children watch HOWARD enter the lobby. INT. HOWARD’S APARTMENT. LIVING ROOM/KITCHENETTE - AFTER The door flies open. SADIE sits relaxed on the couch in a robe. HOWARD sees her and bursts into a rage. HOWARD It’s half past 10 and you’re laying around watching television?!?! SADIE stares at him. He runs to the counter and rummages through SADIE’s handbag till he finds her set of keys. HOWARD (CONT’D) I’ll tell you this! He removes the house keys from her key ring and pockets them. HOWARD (CONT’D) Now the next time you close this door behind you it’ll be the last time! HOWARD slams the door closed. LOUDLY. Seconds later the door flies open again. HOWARD runs back into the apartment and makes his way to the bedroom. 91. 92. HOWARD (CONT’D) I decided I’ll pack up for you. INT. HOWARD’S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS HOWARD throws the closet doors open, SADIE watches from the doorway. HOWARD grabs a suitcase from the closet and tosses it onto the floor. He then pulls random armfuls of clothing from the wardrobe and shoves them into the suitcase. HOWARD (to self/her) You wanna go fuck black guys in the nasty bathrooms of their clubs, GO! Suck black dick, fuck black dick! I gotta live my life and... SADIE Howard... HOWARD grabs a bunch of shoes and throws them onto the floor, walks over to a dresser, pulls a full drawer out of the unit and dumps it into the suitcase. HOWARD Please, go! Go, stuff your little pussy with their big black dicks, What? I don’t fuck you nice enough? SADIE You’re being ridiculous! He squeezes the suitcase closed, zips it up and rolls it out of the bedroom. INT. HOWARD’S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM/KITCHENETTE - CONTINUOUS HOWARD rolls the suitcase towards the front door. HOWARD I’ll leave this with the doorman, I’m gonna tell them to throw it in the garbage out back if you don’t come down with two others just like it in the next hour or so. SADIE Are you coming back? HOWARD leaves the apartment, slams the door. INT. HOWARD’S APARTMENT - BUILDING HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS HOWARD rolls the suitcase to the elevator. He then opens the door to an adjacent stairwell and hides the suitcase behind a trash can. 92. 93. INT. HOWARD AND DINA’S FAMILY CAR - NIGHT HOWARD gets back in the car. DINA (icy) Did you get what you wanted? HOWARD Yes. Howard falls silent, starts the engine and drives away. EXT. STREET IN SUBURBAN QUEENS, FOREST HILLS - AFTER The BMW drives down a tree-lined street of oversized garish homes crammed onto small properties. The car pulls into a driveway and cuts the engine. INT. HOWARD AND DINA’S FAMILY CAR - CONTINUOUS The NAGY family pile out of the car and ascend a decadent stone staircase. DINA (to HOWARD) Pull the recycling out before you come in. HOWARD walks around to the side of the house, grabs a blue bin and slowly drags it to the curb. Lights turn on inside the house illuminating his movements. When the chore is done, HOWARD shuffles up the stairs and enters his home. INT. CHRISTIE’S AUCTION HOUSE - AUCTION FLOOR - AFTER An AUCTIONEER, an Indian man, 40’s, British accent, stands at a podium spouting off information about a collection of ruby encrusted necklaces. Above him, large TV’s show the necklaces in detail. Prices are tracked and translated into other currencies on a second monitor. Each side of the room is lined with manned telephones. The general public and registered bidders sit with paddles and books in rows of chairs. Sitting in the front is GOOEY, flipping through the auction catalogue. Several rows back sit one of AMARE’S BODY GUARDS and a welldressed white woman in her mid-30’s, Amare’s PERSONAL ASSISTANT. Seated in the back are JIM and ROBERT. HOWARD stands by the side of the room, also flipping through the auction catalogue. 93. 94. The ruby necklaces go to bidder in the back. The system moves on to the next item. Images of the Opal appear on the big screen. Curtains open and a MODEL in a formal dress appears, holding the gem on a pillowed cushion. AUCTIONEER Before we move onto item number 38, we have a formal statement from Christies to announce, an apology. (reads from paper) Those of you in attendance for our next item for auction, Item #38 a 600 carat precious black opal from Lightning Ridge, Australia, please accept our sincerest apologies. We recently learned that the opal is in fact from the Welo mines in Ethiopia and estimated, not in the $750,000 to million range, but $155,000 to $225,000. (off script) Under normal circumstances we would pull such an item, but we do feel that the gem is still a unique, exquisite specimen. A close up of the HOWARD’S gem is projected above. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) As you can see the rough opal has been windowed on either side. Before even being cut you can see a dazzling array of color in the classic pin-fire pattern that, with the right cutter, could yield up to 50 or 60%. There seem to be a few recorded totches on the backside and cutting needs to be precise if that is the intention of the buyer. Let’s open this at $40,000. Amare’s PERSONAL ASSISTANT starts the bidding off, raising her paddle. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) We have 40 grand, can we see 50? A random MALE BIDDER 189 in the back raises his paddle. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) 50 to the gentleman in the back, (to AMARE’S PEOPLE) 65, Do we have 65? PERSONAL ASSISTANT raises her paddle. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) 65,000, 65,000, do you want 75? MALE BIDDER 189 raises his and announces: 94. 95. MALE BIDDER 189 85. AUCTIONEER 85, Do you want 95? PERSONAL ASSISTANT responds. BODY GUARD 1 100,000. AUCTIONEER We have 100. (to MALE BIDDER) Would you give us 110? The MALE BIDDER doesn’t move. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) 105, sir? 105? MALE BIDDER still despondent. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) Do we have 110? Anyone, 110? GOOEY raises his paddle. The AUCTIONEER is elated to see GOOEY’S participation. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) 110 to Mr. Dabba, nice to see you. GOOEY nods. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) (to PERSONAL ASSISTANT) Will you go to 125? PERSONAL ASSISTANT raises her paddle. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) We have 125, Mr. Dabba, 135? GOOEY raises his paddle. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) 135! 135, 135, do we have 150? 150? PERSONAL ASSISTANT raises her paddle. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) 150, great, 160? GOOEY raises paddle. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) 160! 170? Will you see 170? PERSONAL ASSISTANT raises her paddle. 95. 96. BODY GUARD 1 (shouts) 175. AUCTIONEER 175! Nice advance. Mr. Dabba, 190? The crowds murmurs. JIM seems content. GOOEY looks to HOWARD, pauses, and raises his paddle. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) 190! (to PERSONAL ASSISTANT) Will you do 200? Take us there! PERSONAL ASSISTANT talks quietly to BODY GUARD 1, who is clearly urging her to go higher. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) 200 to counter Mr. Dabba? 200? PERSONAL ASSISTANT is clearly reluctant. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) Will it be 200? PERSONAL ASSISTANT shakes her head no. BODYGUARD 1 looks annoyed. HOWARD looks on in shock. GOOEY looks panicked. JIM and ROBERT look pleased. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) No? Okay, 200 to the room? 200? (looks to room) Anybody, 200 for the 600 carat Opal... A great addition to any gemologist’s collection. 200,000 dollars? It’s undervalued at 190. Do we have 200? Silence from the room. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) Okay, we’re gonna go to Mr. Dabba for 190 then. 190 going once, 190 twice. AUCTIONEER bangs his gavel. AUCTIONEER (CONT’D) Sold to Mr. Dabba for 190,000 dollars. Thank you Mr. Dabba. Weak applause spreads through the room. GOOEY reluctantly responds with a quick wave. Amare’s retinue stand up and leave the room. HOWARD tries to head them off by the exit but can’t get to them in time. GOOEY walks past HOWARD, actively avoiding contact. 96. 97. INT. CHRISTIE’S AUCTION HOUSE - HALLWAY - AFTER GOOEY casually walks up to HOWARD in the hallway. GOOEY (livid) 190!?! HOWARD What can I say? I was wrong. GOOEY So now what!?! HOWARD (looking over his shoulder) Control yourself. Not here. HOWARD (CONT’D) (whispering) I told you, once the money clears into my account I’ll wire it right back to you. GOOEY Including Christie’s 12%? HOWARD That comes out of my pocket, naturally... I just need a few weeks on that. GOOEY That’s nearly 25 grand! HOWARD Shhhh! Christie’s manager, LLOYD, Asian, 40’s, effeminate, stops them. LLOYD Mr. NAGY, Mr. Dabba, can I see you gentlemen in my office. HOWARD Can this wait? We’re in a rush. LLOYD I’m sorry. This will only take a minute of your time. INT. CHRISTIE’S AUCTION HOUSE - LLOYD’S OFFICE LLOYD enters his office, GOOEY and HOWARD right behind him. The second the door closes: 97. 98. LLOYD You both know our policy on shill biddingHOWARD Shill bid-- What the hell are you talking about? LLOYD There’s no negotiation, I’m sorry. You’re both banned from Christies. HOWARD So a friend isn’t allowed to buy a stone of mine through auction??! GOOEY I do a lot of business here! LLOYD We are well aware of that Mr. Dabba, which makes this even more unpleasant. GOOEY You gotta be kidding me?! HOWARD Proof! I demand proof!!! EXT. CHRISTIE’S AUCTION HOUSE - 49TH ST - AFTER HOWARD and GOOEY leave the building. GOOEY is beyond upset. HOWARD holds a purple wooden box containing the gem. They are immediately approached by JIM and ROBERT. JIM Congratulations Howard! HOWARD (to self) Shit. JIM (to GOOEY) Congrats to you, sir. You mind if we had a minute alone with Howard? GOOEY (storming off) You can have him. HOWARD Ah, come on! JIM Okay, so what’s next? 98. 99. HOWARD Look, shit, I don’t know how to tell you this but, yeah, the bid was disqualified. It doesn’t count. JIM (laughing) Is this a joke? HOWARD I wish. That guy who just left, he’s a friend. We were trying to drive the price up on Amare andROBERT (deadly serious) I don’t want to hear it. HOWARD Wait, wait. Before you jump to conclusions, ask me why I don’t look worried? JIM Cut the bullshit, Howard. I’m not interested. HOWARD I’m not worried because I have the option of selling it to Amare directly. He already offered me 175 in cash for the opal just the other day. JIM You’re telling me you had 175 grand in front of you recently and said no? HOWARD Well, it wasnt that simple. I had an agreement to auction with Christie’s. You have any idea what kind of penalties they charge for a last minute cancellation? JIM Call AMARE. Right now. HOWARD No problem! HOWARD pulls his phone out. Scrolls through his contacts. HOWARD (CONT’D) You saw his people bidding... 99. 100. JIM Put it on speaker. I want to hear him say 175. HOWARD activates the speaker, awaits rings: The call is sent to Demany’s voicemail: the excerpt of Biggie’s ‘Gimme One More Chance’ VOICEMAIL Biggie, gimme me one more chance... BEEP. HOWARD (into phone) Amare! Baruch hashem. Was really hoping to see your face today. As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the gem went to a higher bidder. Turns out, there’s been a mix up and if you want it, it’s yours for 175, just like you offered. I’m telling you it’s yours. Call me immediately. HOWARD hangs up. HOWARD (CONT’D) He’ll call back. When he does, I’ll set this up for tomorrow morning. He’ll come with cash, you’ll have your money tomorrow, I promise. INT. HOWARD’S APARTMENT - BATHROOM - AFTERNOON In a thick steam cloud, HOWARD cleanses himself with a hot shower. It’s all gonna be okay. Everything. SADIE enters. SADIE Howard? HOWARD doesn’t answer. SADIE makes her way to the shower, opens the curtain. HOWARD turns around and sees SADIE naked. HOWARD No, No, no, I don’t want that now. SADIE Please... HOWARD (closing the curtain) I said no! SADIE (O.S.) Fine. With closed eyes, HOWARD starts to massage shampoo into his hair. 100. (MORE) 101. SADIE picks up another shampoo bottle and gets up on the toilet seat, so she can reach over the shower curtain. She waits for HOWARD to start rinsing the shampoo out of his hair. She then proceeds to pour more shampoo onto his head, making it impossible for him to finish rinsing. For the next 30 seconds, he rinses, she pours, until... HOWARD What the fucking-!?! SADIE laughs and squeezes out the rest of the shampoo. HOWARD (CONT’D) Ahhhhh! SADIE laughs louder, HOWARD squints his eyes open and sees SADIE’s hand dangling above him. HOWARD (CONT’D) SADIE! HOWARD rips the shower curtain to the side, still with tons of suds in his hair, though now he has a FULL ERECTION! HOWARD’s cell phone rings from the other room. HOWARD (CONT’D) My phone! Hand me that towel! SADIE hands him a towel coyly. He wraps it around him and hops out of the bathroom. INT. HOWARD’S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS Dripping wet, HOWARD runs into the bedroom and grabs his phone. HOWARD (into phone) This is Howard... Ah, Amare! HOWARD breathes a sigh of great relief and lies down on the bed. HOWARD (CONT’D) I have to say, it brings me great joy to hear from you... I know, it’s all so confusing... Yes, Though I’m really sorry that it played out this way. The bedroom door slowly opens. SADIE enters. Rather than look at her, HOWARD fixes his gaze on the ceiling. She lays down next to him and awaits eye contact. HOWARD (CONT’D) (into phone, still calm) No, this is right. You’re the rightful owner... (MORE) 101. HOWARD (CONT'D) 102. It’s better this way... Do you think you can make it tomorrow morning with the cash... okay, how’s the afternoon for you? 4pm is perfect... SADIE begins to caress HOWARD. He ignores it the best of his ability. She begins to kiss his chest, moving down slowly. HOWARD (CONT’D) (to SADIE, whispering) Stop it. (back into phone) No, I’m well aware of the significance of the number... 175 is Abraham’s number... Well, they say- no, no you’re right, I know... it’s true, he lived to 175... SADIE undoes HOWARD’s towel. HOWARD listens to AMARE, while SADIE sucks him off. HOWARD (CONT’D) (into phone, very calm) No you’re right, like when God told Abraham to leave his land.... we all need to sacrifice... The ‘6’ for the male to the ‘4’ for the female? Overhead shot of bed. EXT. 47TH STREET BETWEEN 6TH & 5TH, DIAMOND DISTRICT - NEXT DAY HOWARD moves through the district sipping from a cup of coffee. As he nears the entrance to his building he notices Jim’s driver MICHAEL and ROBERT standing in the front of a parked Mercedes. HOWARD approaches. HOWARD Hey fellas- So, We’re all set. AMARE said he’ll be here by 4. A back window rolls down, revealing JIM. JIM Yeah we know, my friend Nico is upstairs waiting already. HOWARD You think he wants something? I was gonna go to the deli on the corner for a coffee... This one’s done. JIM He’s good. HOWARD (CONT'D) 102. 103. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - BACKROOM - AFTER BUZZ! The security monitor shows AMARE and BODY GUARD 2 standing in the hallway. HOWARD stands at his desk next to NADAV. A second BUZZ! From the showroom AMARE calls to HOWARD: AMARE Shall I come back there? HOWARD Come on in. How was the shootaround? AMARE Very refreshing. BODY GUARD 2 sits down next to NICO, short, stocky, tough. AMARE heads to the back room. HOWARD You remember my boy Nadav right? AMARE Hello. NADAV Hey. HOWARD starts to close the door. NICO gets up. NICO Keep the door open please. HOWARD keeps the door open. AMARE extends a leather weekend bag to HOWARD. He unzips the bag and sees neatly stacked bundles of cash. AMARE Look, I know what you did at the auction house. I have the upper hand here, but that’s not the way I am. I’m a man of my word. HOWARD (laughing) I’ve learned that. HOWARD turns to his safe, opens the heavy door and grabs the purple wooden box from Christies, extends it to AMARE, who opens it and pulls the gem out. AMARE caresses the gem, feels its weight. 103. 104. AMARE You have no idea what this will do for me. I’ll be a different person on the court tonight. HOWARD I genuinely believe that. AMARE I think I’ve even figured it out. It’s like I was saying on the phoneAMARE begins theorizing about the power of the gem. HOWARD seems to be listening until... A jolt of energy courses through HOWARD’S body. He jerks up, turns to his computer and brings up a betting site. HOWARD Nadav, quick-quick. AMARE falls silent. HOWARD (CONT’D) Transfer all the money into your gym bag. NADAV dumps his boxing gear onto the floor. HOWARD pulls money out from AMARE’S leather bag and shoves it into NADAV’S gym bag. BUZZ! JIM and ROBERT appear on the security cam. They are buzzed into the showroom. NADAV What’re we doing? HOWARD Shhhhh. NADAV now helps HOWARD transfer the money. HOWARD (CONT’D) (whispering) Nadav, listen carefully. Go downstairs, get in the first town car you see and tell him to take you straight to Foxwoods. Okay? NADAV Uh, okay. HOWARD Once you get there, you’re gonna go straight to the sportsbook, when you get there, you’re gonna do a 2 way parlay... HOWARD writes this down on a piece of paper. 104. 105. HOWARD (CONT’D) I’m gonna write it for you: A two way parlay. Amare’s points/rebounds with the spread of the game. You’re gonna put all of the money in this bag onto that bet. HOWARD hands NADAV the paper. NADAV I don’t know how to... IHOWARD Don’t worry. Just take that and this and go downstairs and take a car to Foxwoods. Call me when you get there. You can hand that note to the teller at the sports book and she’ll know what to do. AMARE is genuinely amused. HOWARD (CONT’D) (to NADAV) Don’t say anything to anyone out there when you leave. You’re ‘goin to the gym.’ Understand? NADAV nods, gets up, opens the BACKROOM door, JIM, ROBERT, NICO and BODY GUARD 1 look at NADAV, who averts his eyes. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - SHOWROOM - CONTINUOUS NADAV moves slowly behind the showcases, passing SADIE. SADIE Where you going? NADAV Gym. SADIE Oh, have fun. NADAV moves through the space past everyone and is buzzed out. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - BACKROOM AMARE Okay, I gotta run to medical. AMARE stands, gives a very earnest hug and pound to HOWARD. HOWARD Knock ‘em dead tonight. 105. 106. AMARE You know I will. AMARE exits the backroom. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - SHOWROOM - CONTINUOUS AMARE gives a kiss goodbye to SADIE. AMARE Where’s the other girl? SADIE Joani? She doesn’t come in on Tuesdays. JIM interrupts. JIM Well, there he is! AMARE smiles, and moves out onto the floor. He shakes hands . AMARE How you fellas doin? JIM and CO. gush over AMARE, HOWARD watches on the monitor. EXT. 43RD AND 5TH AVENUE - SAME TIME NADAV hops into a Lincoln Town Car sitting idle on the corner. INT. LINCOLN TOWN CAR - CONTINUOUS The driver’s window falls down. NADAV climbs towards the it. NADAV I need to go to Foxwoods in Connecticut. DRIVER I can’t now. Sorry. NADAV I’ll give you a huge tip, 400$. DRIVER Which way you wanna go? NADAV The fastest way. 106. 107. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - BACKROOM - AFTER JIM and ROBERT, with NICO still in the showroom, enter the backroom. JIM You didn’t want to come out with your boy? Introduce us? HOWARD You’re not gonna believe it! JIM What? HOWARD We’re gonna hit it! He’s got the gem, he’s gonna destroy the money line. JIM What are you talking about? ROBERT picks up the leather bag AMARE brought in. It’s empty. ROBERT What’s going on? HOWARD I sent my boy Nadav to Foxwoods, paying cash, clean. Parlaying the money-line with the over on his points plus rebounds. Odds are 4 to 1!! 4 to 1! I’ll cut you 400 of it. JIM You’re out of your fuckin’ mind, you gotta be out of your mind. HOWARD What’s wrong with you, we’re gonna be rich-I can get us courtside seats for tonight, it’ll be great! JIM Where’s the money right now? HOWARD I told you, it’s on it’s way to Connecticut! ROBERT pulls out a gun. HOWARD all of a sudden grows scared. NICO runs into the doorway, closes the door to the showroom. HOWARD (CONT’D) Guys, look, I’m here, with you right now, telling you about a winning ticket! C’mon I’m not fucking you here. Why would I try to screw you guys? 107. 108. JIM (slowly, forcefully) Call him and tell him to come back with the cash right now. HOWARD (possessed, head down) I can’t do that. I just can’t do that. I’m sorry. I can’t. We’re shoe-ins. Trust me. ROBERT throws HOWARD against the safe behind him and presses the gun up into HOWARD’s face. HOWARD (CONT’D) (insisting) I can’t... JIM I’m not fucking around! Call him right now! HOWARD Why!?! It doesn’t make any sense. ROBERT and NICO rush HOWARD over to the window. JIM opens it. HOWARD (CONT’D) What are you doing? ROBERT and NICO pick HOWARD up and thrust his body out the window. HOWARD braces his arms against the window frame trying to stop them. HOWARD (CONT’D) (screaming) STOP! JIM pins HOWARD’S arms to his body. ROBERT and NICO slide him out the window, hanging him upside down 12 stories above 47th street. HOWARD flails and thrashes. SADIE hears his screams and begins banging on the back room door. SADIE (O.S.) HEY! WHAT’S GOING ON BACK THERE!?! EXT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - BACKROOM - OUT OF WINDOW HOWARD PLEASE, STOP, PULL ME UP! PLEASE!!! JIM You gonna call your boy? HOWARD I’LL CALL HIM! I’LL CALL HIM! ROBERT and NICO dip his body further down. 108. 109. HOWARD (CONT’D) PLEASE, PLEASE!!!!! JIM You gonna listen to me? HOWARD YEEESSSS! JIM backs away from the window. ROBERT and NICO pull HOWARD back into the room. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE- BACKROOM HOWARD’s face is beat red. He looks like he’s going to throw up. SADIE (O.S.) Howie, you ok?! HOWARD (tremulous voice) I’m ok baby. It’s all good, don’t worry about it. JIM stands over the desk, he engages HOWARD’s speakerphone. JIM Dial it. HOWARD sits down. Pause. JIM (CONT’D) Let’s go! HOWARD Will you give me a second to collect myself. My heart. JIM What’s the number? I’ll dial it. HOWARD leans in over the phone, another long pause. He hits a few numbers and stops. HOWARD I can’t do it. I’m sorry, I just can’t. JIM is dumbstruck. A guilty smile unfurls on HOWARD’s sweaty face. HOWARD (CONT’D) (with total sincerity) I’m really sorry about this, Jim. Another pause. JIM nods to ROBERT. 109. 110. JIM (with menacing resolve) Goodbye Howard. JIM, ROBERT and NICO turn to exit the backroom. HOWARD (hopping out of his chair) Jim? Jim! C’mon, we can talk about this. This is more than an opportunity here. HOWARD follows them into the showroom. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - SHOWROOM - CONTINUOUS HOWARD What are you doing? Where are you going? JIM, ROBERT and NICO snake around the showcase and out onto he floor. They approach the front door. SADIE buzzes open the first door. AS soon as all three are in the vestibule and the door closes behind them, HOWARD rushes over to SADIE and grabs her wrist. HOWARD (CONT’D) STOP! STOP! STOP! JIM pulls on the second door. It doesn’t open. He turns around and yells through the thick glass: JIM (severely muffled) BUZZ US OUT! HOWARD walks towards the glass door, riddled with guilt and excitement. He yells: HOWARD JIM, I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY! JIM LET ME THE FUCK OUT HOWARD! HOWARD YOU GOTTA TAKE A HOME DOG, THEY’RE PLUS 275 AT HOME IT MAKES NO SENSE! THEY’RE PLAYING THE FUCKING HORNETS, THE HORNETS ARE 5 AND 10 ON THE ROAD! THE LINE DOESN’T MAKE SENSE! DO YOU KNOW WHAT KIND OF GAME AMARE HAD WITH THE GEM? A 40/20 GAME! HE’S UNDERVALUED BECAUSE OF SHITTY PLAY WITHOUT THE GEM. YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND! 110. 111. JIM (infuriated) NO, YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! YOU ARE GOING TO OPEN THIS DOOR NOW OR YOU’RE DEAD! NICO and ROBERT start pounding on the glass. HOWARD JIM, I’M NOT GONNA LET YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF! JIM OPEN THE DOOR!!! HOWARD NOT TILL THIS IS ALL OKAY. JIM THE SECOND YOU OPEN THAT DOOR YOU’RE A DEAD MAN!!!! JIM spews out profanity. HOWARD yells over him: HOWARD I UNDERSTAND YOU’RE UPSET, I’M SORRY, I REALLY AM. AFTER THE GAME IS OVER WE’LL BE IN A BETTER PLACE AND I’LL OPEN THE DOORS, BUT TILL THEN- I REALLY KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT, IT’S NOT BULLSHIT, IT’S REAL, THIS IS HUGE. I LET YOU GO NOW AND IT’S ALL OVER. ROBERT pulls out his gun points it at HOWARD through the glass. ROBERT OPEN IT! SADIE screams and she and ELAN hide behind the showcase. HOWARD WHAT’S THAT GONNA DO? THAT’S NOT GONNA DO ANYTHING? (to SADIE and ELAN) Sadie, baby everything is fine. It’s bulletproof- Why don’t you guys go wait in the back room? SADIE and ELAN run into the back room. Silence. Inside the vestibule JIM tells ROBERT to put the gun away, though none of their dialogue is audible. From inside the showroom it looks like pantomime. HOWARD watches JIM make a phone call. HOWARD (CONT’D) WHO YOU CALLING? WHAT’RE YOU DOING? 111. 112. Instinctively, HOWARD runs to a phone behind the showcase. HOWARD dials, awaits rings. Talks into phone: HOWARD (CONT’D) Dina, baby, I just got a very scary call from ConEd, they reported a bad gas leak all down 108th. They’re evacuating our block, go to Shiela’s now... No, I don’t know why they called the office... Howard Listens... BUZZ! MICHAEL and ANOTHER MAN (JIM’S MEN) appear on the monitor. HOWARD listens to DINA, watches JIM. JIM (to other door) WE CAN’T OPEN THE DOOR, PSYCHO’S GOT US LOCKED IN HERE! HOWARD (into phone) I don’t want to argue! Don’t ask questions, just grab the kids and do it. I’m very serious, I’m very frightened. (pause) Yes, I’ll see you there. HOWARD slams the phone down. INT. LINCOLN TOWN CAR - SAME TIME NADAV sits with the gym bag on his lap. He looks out the window at bumper to bumper traffic. He checks his phone, it’s 5:45. NADAV (to driver) What’s going on with this? DRIVER It’s rush hour traffic. NADAV Go faster. DRIVER I can’t do anything about this. NADAV I’ll give you an extra $200 if you can get me there before 7pm. The DRIVER looks at the estimated arrival time on his GPS: 735PM 112. 113. EXT. FOXWOODS CASINO, LEDYARD, CT. - 6:55PM. The Lincoln town car pulls up to the entrance. NADAV pops out of the back, runs, slips and falls, gets up immediately and runs into the casino. INT. FOXWOODS CASINO, LEDYARD, CT. - CONTINUOUS NADAV looks around, immediately lost. NADAV (to a STRANGER) Sports? STRANGER is confused. NADAV (CONT’D) Where’s the sports betting? STRANGER That way. INT. FOXWOODS CASINO, LEDYARD, CT. - SPORTS BOOK NADAV runs past a TV broadcasting the pregame show. Shots of Amare in a lay up line. NADAV approaches a FEMALE TELLER at the sports book and takes the paper HOWARD gave him out of his pocket. NADAV (out of breath) I need to do a parlay. Uh. Two way. FEMALE TELLER Why don’t you just hand me that piece of paper. She reads the bet aloud. NADAV confirms it as she types into a computer. FEMALE TELLER (CONT’D) What amount? NADAV $175,000. FEMALE TELLER looks up at NADAV, that’s a big bet. Calls over a SUPERVISOR. NADAV unloads cash from the bag onto the counter. INT. KMA GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE- SHOWROOM - SAME TIME JIM, ROBERT and NICO sit indolently on the floor of the vestibule. They all have their jackets off and there is little talk between them. JIM’s face is beat red and slick with sweat. 113. 114. HOWARD pulls a flat screen TV from the back room and positions it in front of the glass door so JIM can see it. Using a long extension cord, he plugs it in and turns it on. On screen, AMARE greets an opponent center court. HOWARD looks manic, jittery, eager. He looks to the BACKROOM, where we can see SADIE and ELAN idly playing with their phones. HOWARD’s cell phone rings. It’s NADAV. HOWARD (into phone) So? (listens, grows happy) YESSSS! Listen, I’m gonna put you on speakerphone and I want you to repeat it loudly for some people to hear, ok? HOWARD places it on speakerphone. NADAV’S VOICE I PUT THE 175,000 ONTO THE TWO WAY BET. AMARE’S POINTS PLUS HIS REBOUNDS WITH THE MONEYLINE. JIM doesn’t even make eye contact with HOWARD. HOWARD THE BET! THE BET IS IN! An announcer catches HOWARD’s attention. The game has begun! On screen, AMARE tips the ball back to a guard and immediately sprint towards the hoop, rising for an immediate alley-oop. HOWARD howls. HOWARD (CONT’D) AHAHA! That’s 2 right off the bat. ANNOUNCER (ON TV) Amare with the stuff and the steal! AMARE pulls up for a jump shot. ANNOUNCER (CONT’D) And Amare with a 20 footer! Knicks 4, Hornets 0. ANNOUNCER 2 That’s a good sign for the Knicks when Amare’s hitting those elbow jumpers. HOWARD Nice... his shot’s falling. (yells to backroom) Sadie! Elan! Come! JIM, ROBERT and NICO look at the screen. SADIE and ELAN join HOWARD in the showroom. 114. 115. The Hornets are forced into a bad shot. AMARE rebounds. HOWARD (CONT’D) (to Jim) ALRIGHT, THAT’S ONE REBOUND AND FOUR POINTS. THAT’S 5. WE’RE AT 5 AND IT’S NOT EVEN 2 MINUTES! ANNOUNCER This is the AMARE the Knicks need on a nightly basis. Focused and Possessed. HOWARD Exactly, focused. AMARE sprints up-court, engages in a pick and roll and rises for an explosive dunk. Upon take off the image falls into slow motion. The sound maintains. HOWARD watches. In a series of cuts we see AMARE in highlight: each in slow motion. Intercut, we see the Knicks lead build and build. Another series of slow-motion AMARE highlights. HOWARD grows more and more enthusiastic like a man possessed. JIM and Co show no emotion. AMARE swishes through one last turn around jumper, the ball gracefully flows through the net. BOOM, we’re back in real time. 30 seconds left. The score Knicks: 94, Hornets: 83. A shot of AMARE shows him smiling ear to ear joking with another player. A graphic shows his stat line: 34 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists. HOWARD points to the screen. HOWARD (CONT’D) Look at that stat line!!!! He blew the over out of the fucking moon! The Hornets cross the half-court line and dribble out the remainder of the clock. The end horn sounds. HOWARD jumps: HOWARD (CONT’D) (to JIM) SEE! SEE! WHAT DID I TELL YOU?! HUH JIM? WHAT DID I FUCKIN TELL YOU?! JIM, ROBERT and NICO stand up. HOWARD dances over to the showcase and hits the buzzer with his fist. BUZZZZ! ROBERT opens the door into the space and IMMEDIATELY SHOOTS HOWARD IN THE FACE. HOWARD drops to the floor. SADIE (screaming) HOWARD!!! We see HOWARD in a shot from above. The bullet has created a gruesome hole under his right eye. 115. 116. The camera starts to slowly zoom into HOWARD’s face, keeping the hole center frame. SADIE runs up to HOWARD and picks up his head. SADIE (CONT’D) OH GOD! OH GOD! The zoom continues into HOWARD while we hear the following... JIM barks orders with steely composure: JIM (O.S.) SHUT UP... (to ELAN) YOU, TAKE HIM TO WHERE THE SECURITY CAMERAS RECORD TO. ELAN is dragged to the back room. SADIE sobs uncontrollably. Zoom creeps tighter into HOWARD. ELAN (O.S.) There. It records onto that drive. We hear machinery ripped out from a wall. ELAN (O.S.) (CONT’D) PLEASE DON’T HURT ME. NICO (o.S.) OPEN THE SAFE! ElAN (o.S.) I DON’T KNOW THE CODE. PLEASE DON’T SHOOT-LOOK, LOOK IT’S OPEN! NICO (o.S.) FILL THAT BAG WITH EVERY THING. The zoom has reached a close up on HOWARD, keeps moving in. JIM (O.S.) (to SADIE) GET UP! SADIE hysterically falls all over HOWARD. JIM (O.S.) (CONT’D) GET UP AND PACK THE SHOWCASE! SADIE (O.S.) (crying, screaming) FUCK YOU, YOU FAT PIG! We hear a gun shot. SADIE’s no longer heard. ELAN yells from the other room. 116. 117. ELAN (O.S.) Sadie?! SADIE!! The shot has now zoomed into a very tight close up on HOWARD. NICO (O.S.) KEEP PACKING! ELAN (O.S.) SADIE?! WHAT HAPPENED!?! Commotion from the back room. Another gun shot is heard. The zoom closes in on the bullet-hole in HOWARD’s face and continues onward into the wound. Swirls of red, pink and white engulf the frame as we travel through blood, bone and tissue. The zoom pushes through this material plane into a landscape of kaleidoscopic abstract shapes and flickering iridescent light. The diegetic audio in the KMA GEMS showroom decays in a wash of reverb, overtaken by a vast sound-scape of crystal tinkles and warm electronic tones. END CREDITS appear and continue over this visual and aural cosmic journey inside the consummate UNCUT GEM. 117.

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WHO IS THE BOB?

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a collection of American casual dining restaurants specializing in the fusion cuisine of Seattle and South Virginia.

the longest running group of giraffes ever. seriously, they are still running

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