Bowfinger (1999) - full transcript

Bowfinger International Pictures.

Hi, this is Cherisse from AT&T.

We're wondering if your payment

for $543 has gone astray.

Could you call us?

Just a reminder. We no longer need

access to your residence...

to disconnect your phone.

Wow. Great script.

Great script.

Betsy, it's now or never.

We are gonna make a movie.

- Bowfinger International Pictures.

- It's Carol.

How do I say this? I have an offer

to go to Edmonton to do Cats.

It's a small role, but

I've got to take it.

- You keep promising me...

- No!

- But it's been eight months.

- Carol, don't take that job.

We are going to make a motion picture.

I promise you that.

- But you've promised before.

- I know. I know.

- Just be here tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.

- But I can't afford...

- Please!

- But you always...

This is Dave. Beep comin'.

Dave, can you get me

a Mercedes tomorrow?

And I want you to find out when and

where Jerry Renfro is having lunch.

Just do it. Don't think about it.

Just do it.

You're my buddy.

Come on.

Hello?

Afrim? It's Bowfinger. Great script.

It is?

You wrote a great script.

Your accounting days are over.

Ha! He likes my script!

Afrim? Afrim?

- Just be here tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.

- Yes, boss

10:00 a.m.

- Slater.

- Who is this?

- Bowfinger. Don't hang up.

- Bye.

- Just be here tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.

- Ah, man, that's early.

Big meeting, 10:00 a.m. Please?

You believe in me, don't you, Betsy?

First of all, thank you for coming.

Now, I know things have

been a little slow.

- Very slow.

- Slow and low.

Let him speak.

We are not the big guys.

We are the little guys.

We never had muscle

before, but now we do.

Because last night I

read a screenplay...

that every studio in

town is going to want.

And how did we get this screenplay?

Because Afrim here...

is a damn fine writer, as well as

accountant and part-time receptionist.

I said, "Afrim, if you can write

as well as you can add..."

Well, I didn't even have to finish

my sentence. Twelve days later,

he hands me this... this masterpiece.

- Oh, thank you, boss.

- All right.

Tell 'em the title.

- "Chubby Rain."

- What?

"Chubby Rain." Tell 'em why.

You see, the aliens come down

to Earth in the raindrops.

Yeah!

Making the raindrops chubby.

Aliens in the raindrops. Chubby rain.

I mean, at the end of this movie...

when our hero, Keith Kincaid,

looks up at the alien antenna and says,

"Gotcha, suckas!"

I mean, that is a moment.

Man, I don't know.

Just give me till this afternoon

to close the deal.

If I don't, you can

go anywhere you want.

Come here. Come here, come here.

See that FedEx truck?

Every day it delivers important papers

to people all over the world.

And one day, it is going to stop here...

and a man is going to walk up...

and casually toss a couple

of FedExes on my desk.

And at that moment, we...

And by we, I mean me...

will be important.

- Wow.

- Now, today...

I have a very important meeting

with Jerry Renfro.

If it goes the way I

think it's gonna go,

I will see you at the Oscars.

Good job, Dave. Great work.

You've got to have this

back in 45 minutes.

I'm supposed to be washing it.

Has Renfro left yet?

Left 15 minutes ago. He should be

getting to the restaurant by now.

Listen Dave, this meeting goes like

I think it will, I'm making you cameraman.

Do you know what that means?

Means you'll be living

up to your promise?

That's right.

And, if this movie gets made,

I'm giving you my van.

It is my van.

Could you seat me next to Jerry Renfro?

Thank you.

Hey, Tony, how are you?

Uh-huh. No. Send the deal back.

Uh-huh. Net, net?

If I'm gonna put $85 million

into an avalanche movie,

I gotta know where the snow is.

- Uh-huh.

- And it better be Aspen.

And I want to know

what asshole's gonna direct.

We gotta get a director.

- Who's my star?

- You just get me a list.

- He's got to be international.

- I need an international star.

- Who's my star?

- How about Kit Ramsey?

Kit Ramsey is the hottest,

sexiest action star in the world.

When I think of Kit Ramsey

in this avalanche movie,

I get very comfortable.

Well, I'm not gonna get into

a bidding war with...

because you know, even if

Kit Ramsey's interested,

you know we might not want Kit Ramsey.

Can you believe this?

Now they try to tell us

who's gonna be in our movies.

Yeah, get me Kit.

Get me Kit right now.

You don't put me on hold,

I put you on hold.

Put me on hold and you're a dead man.

Hey, Jerry, how are you?

Bobby Bowfinger, Bowfinger Films.

We worked together on that thing

you know, a couple years ago.

What thing?

The, uh, famous movie?

Hey. Oh, hi, Kit. How are you?

My man! How's Dolores?

Good. Well, you are first in line

for the script, Kit.

You can't be more first than first.

- Can I talk to him?

- Huh?

- Can I... can I talk to Kit?

- Absolutely. Kit. Hey, Kit?

Got a surprise for you.

Kit? Kit? I'm losing you...

Got a bad line there?

Yeah. These cell phones are so bad.

You know, Universal is

begging me for this script,

but I don't want to give it to 'em.

Because they screwed me once.

You really oughta take a look.

Let me see.

Yeah, take a look at it.

- It starts nice.

- It does, doesn't it?

- All this. Yeah.

- Right.

"Gotcha, suckas!"

Wow, that is a catch phrase.

Isn't that good?

I just saw the poster.

Let's be risky today. Huh.

I'm gonna go with this.

You know, you bring me this

script and Kit Ramsey,

and you got yourself a

"go" picture, Bobby.

Uh, okay. Thanks.

Thanks.

I love what you do. Here's my card.

Oh, just keep that.

What was that?

A "go" picture! A "go" picture!

You don't know anyone

who knows Kit Ramsey, do you?

Damn it, Hal! I'm the biggest black

action star in the world!

- Where's my "Hasta la vista, baby"?

- What are you talking about?

My "Hasta la vista."

If Arnold Schwarnzencracker is

gettin' to say lines like that,

you better make sure that Kit Ramsey

has shit that's equally well-written.

- The script has that moment.

- When?

You say, "I enjoyed meeting you, Cliff."

Then you push the guy

right over the cliff.

That's too much for the audience

to think about.

They have to know the

guy's name is Cliff,

that he's on a cliff, and that Cliff

and cliff are the same.

It's too cerebral. We're trying

to make a movie here, not a film.

Damn! You're supposed to be the agent!

I tell you what, you better

find me a line as good as the time I

told Tommy Lee Jones,

"Fuck y'all," and blew his brains out.

Hey yo, Kit.

You know what's happenin' here?

This is just another example of the white

man takin' all the best catch phrases...

and then givin' them

to Arnold or Stallone.

Exactly.

And Jackie Chan and Van Damme.

And they can't even speak English good.

And I tell you what, there's some

covert stuff goin' on.

There's some covert shit I

just found out the other day.

Come inside. I'm glad you're here.

Come in here.

C'mon, right now, everybody. Come here.

- What you talkin' about?

- Look at this. Just for fun...

I scanned in the computer

the script to see how many times...

the letter "K" appears in the script.

The letter "K" appears

in this script 1,456 times.

That's perfectly divisible by three.

- So what're you sayin'?

- What am I sayin'?

"K-K-K" appears in

this script 486 times.

Kit...

- The sickness is deep.

- They playin' you.

- I've been played.

- That's really not the case here.

This is a great script.

Look, it's not Shakespeare, but...

- Hey, what'd you just say?

- I said, it's not Shakespeare, but...

It's not Shake... It's not Shake...

Did you hear...

did you hear what he's doin'?

Yeah. I know he's doin' something.

I just can't put my finger on it.

Yeah. What's he doin'?

- Shakespeare, Freddy, Shakespeare!

- Shakespeare.

- Shake-a-spear. Spear-chucker.

- Shake-a-spear!

- I'm a spear-chucker now.

- Kit!

- Call me a spear-chucker, huh?

- Kit, that's not what it means!

It's my imagination, huh?

It's all my imagination.

Oh, I suppose they didn't put a computer

chip in LaToya Jackson's brain.

She just acts like that, huh?

I suppose Teddy Kennedy

ain't one-sixteenth black, huh?

Teddy Kennedy?

He's not like other Kennedys.

Look at him! He's different!

Listen, I...I got some calls to make.

Yeah, go make some calls.

Go call Arnold and Sly!

And Van Damme and Jackie Chan.

Tell 'em the spear-chucker said hello!

Get my door just as fast

as you get Tom Hanks's!

- Yes, Mr. Ramsey.

- Wait, wait, wait. Who are you?

They just buzzed me in.

Script delivery from Paramount.

I ain't expectin' no

script from Paramount.

I mean Universal.

- Maybe so. Come on.

- Gotta have you sign.

I ain't signin' shit.

It's all good. It's all good.

This script is "buttah."

- What?

- Buttah, buttah. This stuff is buttah.

It's uh, it's uh, it's uh... It's...

it's all good. It's a jiggy baby.

Wait. How you know

it's all good and jiggy baby?

I was reading it on the way over.

Hope you don't mind.

- You read my script?

- Yes

You know what I loved about this script?

It's a twist on the usual.

It's science fiction,

which we know sells...

You shut up. You shut up.

Let me tell you something.

I'm gettin' ready to whip your ass.

Let me tell you something. You don't

be readin' my stuff, all right?

Now get off the property!

I just got a little excited.

It's okay.

I gotta get over to my

MindHead meeting anyway.

MindHead?

- MindHead?

- MindHead! You need a lift?

- MindHead. I can't believe that!

- Yeah! Come on in.

- Oh, yeah. Thank you very much.

- What a coincidence!

- Who's your guy?

- Terry Stricter. Who's yours?

- Ray.

- Ray? Oh, Ray!

You know, it's people like you

that give MindHead a bad name!

You lyin' sack of shit!

Read the script.

I'm really a big-time producer

with clout.

Welcome to MindHead.

Welcome to MindHead.

Welcome to MindHead.

Welcome to MindHead.

Welcome to MindHead. Welcome...

Seems as though you're

doing much better.

- Yes. Yes.

- Your paranoia...

is definitely under control

since you came to understand...

Happy Premise Number One.

Happy Premise Number One:

There are no aliens.

Happy Premise Number Two.

Happy Premise Number Two:

There is no giant foot

trying to squash me.

Happy Premise Number Three.

Happy Premise Number Three:

Even though I feel like I might ignite,

I probably won't.

So what do we do?

Keep... it... together.

Keep it together. Keep it together.

Keep it together. Keep it together.

Keep it together.

And what is it we don't do

under any circumstances?

- Aw, man!

- What is it?

I have to show it to the Laker Girls.

You cannot show it to the Laker Girls.

Keep Mr. Weenie in the pants.

Always in the pants.

I know you want to show it

to the Laker Girls,

but you must never show it

to the Laker Girls.

- Well?

- What did he say?

Betsy, come here.

Come here. Come here.

Sit! Come.

Sit!

Good girl! Come here, come here.

What a good girl.

Is she amazing? Considering

you get her from the pound...

What did he say?

All right.

Okay. So, all right.

So, I'm at the meeting with

Jerry Renfro, and it's going very well.

But, I'm looking at him and I'm thinking,

you know, I don't need him.

What I need is someone

like a Kit Ramsey.

Kit Ramsey makes this a go picture.

- So, I went to see Kit at his home.

- Oh, my God.

And what did he say?

- What did who say?

- What did Kit Ramsey say?

What did Kit Ramsey say? Okay. So.

I'm meeting with Kit at his home and...

By the way, he knew who I was.

Big fan. And I gave him the script,

and he looked through the script.

And I said, "So, so what do you think?

Are you interested in doing this movie?"

And... Kit looked at me,

and he said...

Kit just...

said...

yes.

Kit Ramsey said yes?

Kit Ramsey is doing this movie!

You told 'em we're

gonna make this movie?

That's right, I did.

That's what I did.

- You're gonna have to tell 'em.

- Tell 'em what?

We're not gonna make the movie.

What do you mean?

Dave, I made them a promise.

How you gonna make the movie

with Kit Ramsey? He said no.

You don't think I thought about that?

You don't think I worked that out?

We're making this movie

with Kit Ramsey, except...

Except what?

Except he won't know he's in it.

What?

We secretly follow him

around with a camera.

We have our actors walk up to him

and say their lines.

And he's in our movie,

and we don't have to pay him.

What's he gonna say?

What difference does

it make what he says?

It's an action movie.

All he's gotta do is run.

He runs away from the aliens,

he runs toward the aliens.

He runs away from the aliens, he runs...

C'mon. I wanna show you something.

Got this all worked out, I think.

There are six major scenes with Kit.

Those are the ones in red.

He's not in any of the other scenes,

so we just shoot those

with our own actors on our own time.

And, bingo... we've got a movie.

- That's crazy.

- Yeah.

But we're desperate.

Why don't you wait till you get a star

who wants to be in it?

Dave, I'm 49 years old.

Admittedly, I could get away with 44,

41, maybe 38.

But when you hit 50,

they don't hire you anymore.

It's like they can smell 50.

What's that?

When I was ten years old,

I knew I wanted to make movies,

but I knew no one was

going to give me that.

So I started putting away

one dollar every week of my life.

If I missed a week,

I made it up later, from age ten on.

And now, you're looking

at enough to get us started.

$2,184.00.

But movies cost millions

of dollars to make.

That's after gross net

deduction profit percentage...

deferment ten percent of the nut.

Cash? Every movie costs $2,184.00.

Where do I go to be an actress?

Okay. That was nice.

We have your photos,

and we'll call you when we decide.

- I have... I have some new photos.

- No, these are good.

- You hated me, didn't you?

- No, you were good.

You were very good.

She was good.

She had the personality

of a zip code in Kansas.

She was good, but she didn't have "it."

What do you mean, "it"?

"It" is a special quality.

No matter what is going on,

you cannot take your

eyes off that person.

Every word they say,

every gesture you're interested in.

Do I have "it"?

I'm sorry. I wasn't listening. What?

Do I have "it"?

Yes, you do.

I thought I did.

Next. Who's next?

Is this where I go to be a star?

This is where you go to sacrifice,

learn your craft and work hard.

Does that take more than a week?

Because I've given myself one week.

That's this, this office.

Alright. We'll take a chance, see

what's up, see if you have "it."

See if you have a special quality,

see if you have the

illusion the first time.

Um, where do I pay? It's $25, right?

- A check?

- I have I.D.

I'm sorry. Maybe a less solid

movie company could take a check,

but we can only take cash.

But I don't have any cash on me.

I mean, I have cash, but just not on me,

and the banks aren't open.

There, there, there. There.

There's the door. I'm sorry.

We can't let you audition.

- But I drove in from Ohio and...

- I'm sorry.

- Well...

- I'm sorry. There.

There you are. Good-bye.

She looked pretty good,

like she could act.

Yeah, she had something.

But if they don't pay to audition,

it could be dangerous.

How?

Well, let's say she gets the part.

Then she might want to be paid.

She had "it" maybe!

Look, I didn't make the system!

The system is bigger...

All right. If you want

the responsibility, fine.

So I talked it over with the man.

Says he'll take a check.

- He will?

- Yes.

- He listens to you?

- Yeah.

"I could never be with you, Todd.

"I'm loyal to Keith. I'm loyal to him.

I could never, never kiss you."

Okay, that was good. Very good.

Let's try it one more time.

Slater, this time without the erection.

Thank you, Mr. Bowfinger! Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you, Mr. Bowfinger! Thank you!

Afrim, we gotta get a crew,

and I wanna get the best

damn crew we can afford.

¡Ándale, muchachos!

In here. In here.

Come on. In here. Buenos

días, buenos días.

Welcome to America. Welcome to America.

I'm so happy to meet you.

This is gonna be great.

I can tell you know what you're doing...

Thanks for making the trip.

Glad to have you aboard.

Guess what. We just closed Kit's deal.

- Oh.

- Typical typical deal points.

Name above the title.

We get only one take with Kit.

One take?

And, he doesn't want to see the camera.

- How come?

- Well, it's just his way of working.

He's so into his character,

that if he sees the camera,

it breaks his concentration.

When do we start?

Well, we've got the contract,

so we start tomorrow at 7:00 a.m.

What is it?

I wish you could see what I see.

What do you see, boss?

The most promising group of young

professionals I've ever worked with.

Hey, Cliff.

Morning, Dave.

- Good camera.

- Yeah.

I gotta have it back in every night,

or it's a felony. Years you'd get.

You'd get. Daisy, Daisy, come on.

Bobby, what if Daisy said "it's a tough

world" instead of "it's a rough world."

That's good. You got that inside.

You got that briefcase?

Would she really bring his briefcase

if she was so worried?

The briefcase is a... is a metaphor

for the entire relationship.

The briefcase is a symbol.

- Shouldn't I be in this scene?

- Yeah, let me put that in the hopper.

I could be lurking behind a bush.

You know what to do.

No, no. ¡Ándale, ándale!

Okay, this is it. Places, everyone.

Like this. Roll! Speed! Marker!

Remember, don't let him see the camera.

And... action.

Come on, Daisy, go.

Back to Daisy.

Keith, you forgot your briefcase.

Keith, you forgot... You're upset.

One slipup in your tough,

crime-filled world and you could die.

Keith! Keith!

Keith. Your name Keith?

No, I'm Jimmy.

But thanks for askin'.

And... cut!

- We got our first shot.

- Yeah, yeah.

Okay, here it comes.

Come on. Work, baby, work.

Keith, you forgot your briefcase.

Keith, you forgot... You're upset.

One slipup in your tough,

crime-filled world and you could die.

Oh my God, it worked. It looked like

Daisy was coming out of the house.

This movie's gonna work!

Hey, Dave, did you wash my car?

Workin' on it.

Okay, one scene down.

Yeah?

Bowfinger, okay here's what I got.

Kit and his agent will be at the

Rodeo Grille tomorrow at 12:45 p.m.

- Are we gonna be there?

- Better believe it. You're a genius.

Can you see over there?

- What do you see? Do you see Kit?

- Yeah.

Am I trying for you or not trying?

You're trying, but I want

at least the same...

I know I ain't gonna be treated

like Mighty Whitey in this town.

I put in 25 years in the theater

before coming to Hollywood.

- Carol, we are almost ready.

- My darling,

I still don't see why I can't meet the

man I'm going to be working with.

Well, I just spoke with Kit.

He wants to impress you so much

with his acting, and he needs

his total concentration.

- Oh, that's just young!

- I know.

I wish just once I could work with

someone who had honed their craft.

Right. But right now we

need that scene, Carol.

You'll get your scene.

He may not be a professional, but I am.

Oh, Carol.

White boys get all the Oscars.

It's a... it's a fact.

- We know that, but look, look.

- Did I get a nomination?

No. And you know why?

'Cause I ain't played none of them

slave roles or get my ass whipped.

That's when you get the nominations.

Black dude play a slave role, get his

ass whipped, he gets the nomination.

White boy play an idiot,

they get the Oscar.

Find me a script as a retarded slave,

then I get the Oscar.

Oh. I'm gonna schmooze.

I'll be right back.

Yeah. Go find that script.

"Buck, the Wonder Slave."

Okay, here we go.

Sound.

Lights!

Roll her.

When you left Phoenix,

it wasn't because you

wanted to raise soybeans.

You had to get away. Why?

Why? Was it because you wanted me

and it burned inside of you?

- I beg your pardon?

- Come back to Phoenix.

Stop this madness.

Let me in on whatever mission

this is that you're doing.

- Do you know who I am?

- Of course.

You're Keith Kincaid.

You've come down from Wyoming...

with your damn U.F.O.'s.

You bastard! Bastard! Bastard!

- Because you, you prefer alien love!

- Alien love?

- Why'd you say "alien love"?

- I must get my umbrella.

- You triggered the voices.

- Oh!

Freddy!

Take me to Terry Stricter! Now!

We got it.

I'm telling you, strange people are

coming up to me on the street...

and they're speaking in Jupiterian

or Venutian or something.

Okay, now.

Strangers come up to you,

and you don't understand

what they're saying.

- What is that?

- Maybe they're fans.

Crazy fans.

Well, they talk to me.

They speak to me...

only they speak in some... some secret

white language that I can't decode.

It's horrifying!

What do these crazy people, who

speak to you and make no sense, say?

They talk about things I never heard of.

They talk about people I don't know.

Somebody named Cynthia,

somebody named Keith.

And aliens, sex and umbrellas.

I see.

Kit?

Do you think you can keep it together?

Yes, I can keep it together.

I'm keeping it together. I'm K-I-T,

Kit. I'm keeping it together now.

Keeping it together.

Keeping it together.

I'm keeping it together.

- Don't I look together?

- Have you heard any more voices?

No.

Every now and then I hear a voice.

I haven't heard voices.

I have heard a voice now.

What did this one voice say?

As I stand here before you today,

the Laker Girls cheerleading squad...

needs to be taken down a peg or two.

You know last night...

was really special.

It was. I've never done

it lying down before.

- Hmmm. You know next time?

- Yeah?

Next time I think

I'd like to do it with just two condoms.

Well, if I was in the movie more, yeah.

You see, if I was in the movie more,

then we could be equals,

and I could trust you more.

- We have lots of scenes together.

- I love our scenes.

Our scenes are the best,

but I should have more scenes with Kit.

If I had more scenes with Kit,

then that would really

pump up our scenes.

You know, Afrim would

be in charge of that.

He's the screenwriter.

- So the writer's in charge of that?

- Yeah.

Huh.

- Boss, I've got those pages.

- What pages?

The pages. The new pages.

You see, I think if Daisy had

more scenes with Kit,

it would pump up the scenes with Slater.

So I wrote more scenes

for Daisy and Kit, some hot scenes...

where there is... heat and chemistry.

- But, I don't think we need...

- I think you will see.

These new hot scenes, the ones in which

Daisy exposes her breasts,

will increase sales in Thailand.

Daisy agreed to this?

That is the case, although

I haven't talked to her.

- Baby.

- Hi.

Hello.

"A vixen in stretch pants.

What man wouldn't want a hot virgin?"

Okay. You'll do this?

If I have to. If it's for the movie,

and you really really want me to.

And if it's not just

about nudity, but if it's

artistic and says

something about reality,

and if it's in character

and if it's for the scene,

and if it's not

just a body that...

Right, right, right.

Bowfinger International Pictures.

How may I direct your call? What is it?

I tracked Kit to MindHead.

He could be coming down any time.

All right, all right. All right.

Kit feels he's ready

to shoot the parking lot scene.

I just love the way this guy works.

Keep it together. Keep it together.

Keep it together.

Oh, sh...

And... cut!

- Did you get that?

- Nice.

- What'd you see? Fear?

- Fear. Mostly fear.

- Some insane looks.

- Insane looks. You saw insane looks?

Oh, Betsy, you were such a good girl.

You were such a good, good girl.

All right, let's get Carol

out of her trailer...

and shoot the other side

of this masterpiece.

- He's brilliant.

- He is.

His fear is so real.

It's like it's actually happening.

- We work really well together.

- That's what he was saying.

Bastard!

Darling.

Excuse me, my darling.

Darling, I respect Kit's way of working.

You know, the no rehearsal,

no contact off screen.

But it's just so traditional

to actually meet the person

that you're working with.

No, no, you...you should not

meet Kit because...

we're not doing anything

traditional here.

We're working in a new style.

We're working in cinema nouveau.

Cinema nouveau.

It felt so good today to quit my job.

I told them, "I'm a screenwriter now."

They said, "Afrim, you have

eight brothers and four sisters.

How will you earn your money?"

I said, "This is more important.

Bobby Bowfinger has given me a chance,

and I'm going to take it."

You are a great writer. You really are.

I love my new scenes.

They're so great. Are they going in?

- That's up to Bowfinger.

- It is?

Yeah, that's sharp. Do the thing.

Yeah, I'm gonna look good

in that. That's bad.

Take care of that.

Send it up to the house for me.

Mr. Ramsey, the store would be happy...

to offer you these clothes

without charge...

if you'd come back Friday,

let us take a picture for...

L.A. Style magazine

of you wearing the clothes.

Oh, I can do that.

It'll cost you $1,000.

I'll be here Friday, 4:00.

- I'm sure that could be arranged.

- Alright. Hundred-dollar bills.

Right.

I know that, I'm not

supposed to be doing this,

but I just want you to know...

that you were so real

in your response to the aliens.

I mean, I wasn't even sure that

I could be a pod person,

but now of course I'm enjoying it

because you made the aliens come alive.

It was like they were

living inside of me.

At first I was nervous

about us having sex,

but now I think it's a

good idea as long as

we do it in a completely

professional manner,

and, of course, you know, there'll be

a lot of people watching.

I won't bother you anymore.

He's in the grotto.

And what did this alien want from you?

She wanted to inhale my gonads!

- Say again?

- My gonads! My gonads!

What they do is. They come down,

they shake your hands

the aliens pretending to shake your

hands, but they're not.

They inhale your gonads

and take 'em back for special research.

I see.

Oh, I did like you said.

I got rid of the Sports Channel.

I'm not gonna have no more

encoded gamma beams from Jupiter...

messin' with my mind.

Keep it together. Keep it together.

Kit, maybe you should

stay with us for a few days...

in our special celebrity

relaxing quarters.

You think I need that?

I do.

Hey, go get my checkbook.

Keep it together.

- Can't find Kit.

- What do you mean you can't find Kit?

He's one of the most famous faces

in the world. You can find him.

You can find...you can find him.

No, we can't find him.

We staked out his house,

MindHead, everywhere.

- He's vanished, gone.

- Where is the guy?

We can't shoot our movie

without our star.

Actors have no work ethic these days.

They keep his movements secret.

That cult thing? They control him.

Okay, okay. There must be

a lot of guys who look like Kit.

We'll round up look-alikes

just for the long shots.

We'll shoot 'em from behind

and not show his face.

And look, Kit has shown his ass

in eight of his last ten films,

and eight of his last ten films

have been hits,

so we need a guy with a fabulous ass,

and mine is the wrong color.

Then I studied at the

Moscow Arts Theater for two years...

and did a year at the

National in London.

I'm currently doing a midnight

production of...

Waiting for Godot here in L.A.

And are you in the union?

Yes. Yes, I am.

Currently, I'm packing fries

at the Burger King on Douglas.

Do you have any experience

in motion pictures?

Oh, yeah. Quite a bit, actually.

Quite a bit of experience.

I'm an active renter at Blockbuster,

and I attend the Film Du Cinema...

as much as possible.

Weekly, biweekly,

inter-week, intermediately.

Would you be willing to cut your hair?

Yes, but it's usually better

if someone else does it.

I've had a few accidents.

Uhm. Can you see

without your glasses?

Oh, yeah.

I can see.

I don't really see well, but I can see.

Do you have contacts?

I have...I have contact lenses.

I can wear contact lenses.

That'll...that'll help.

- Can I put my glasses back on?

- Sure, put your glasses back on.

I'm getting a little headache.

Would you be willing to...

show your naked rear end in a movie?

Yeah, I guess so. Yeah.

- This is hard.

- Just one more question.

In addition to being a major

star in this film,

would you also be

willing to run errands?

Oh, gosh, I'm...I'm really hoping

to get a career running errands.

That'd be a major boost for me.

- What did you say your name was?

- Jiffrenson.

- Jiffrenson?

- Jiff. My friends call me Jiff.

Well, Jiff, welcome aboard.

Here's your wardrobe.

All right! All right.

Awesome. Awesome.

All right.

- How do you feel?

- I feel kinda strange.

- You look good. You look tough.

- I do?

Yeah, like an action star.

Look like an action star.

Yeah, shoulders out.

Take a good, deep breath.

Suck it in. That's good. Okay. Now look.

In this scene, you're hurting inside.

You're hurting inside.

You're not sure who to trust.

You wanna run. You wanna run into the

arms of your beloved.

- Hi, I'm Daisy.

- Hi. How are ya?

When I yell "action," you are gonna

run from point "A" over there...

to point "B" over here.

That seems kinda hard.

Well, think of it as an errand.

Your errand is to run across the

freeway until I yell "cut."

Oh, I get it.

But doesn't that seem

a little dangerous, though?

Oh, no. We have professional

stuntmen doing the driving.

So you'll be completely safe.

Oh, professional stuntmen.

That's how they do it!

I was wondering, how they did that.

- Stunt drivers.

- Okay, you ready to do one?

Sure. They're going really fast!

And... action!

Come on, Jiff!

Action!

Action!

Keith! Keith! I love you!

Action!

Cut!

Heavenly Father! Heavenly Father!

That was so great! You were fantastic!

Wasn't he great?

Congratulations! That was so good!

- I don't wanna do this anymore.

- What are you talkin' about?

I don't wanna do it.

I just wanna run errands. Heavenly God!

What are you talking about? Not many

people can do what you just did.

The stunt drivers were really impressed.

- Weren't they?

- Really?

Guess what? We got an errand

we want you to do.

- Really?

- We want you to go to Starbucks.

Get coffee for everybody,

a really complicated order.

I would love to just go get some coffee.

And you're the only

person who can do it.

I wanna get the coffee now.

Okay, but first, let's

do this one more time.

Heavenly God! Heavenly God!

Heavenly God!

Bueno trabajo, guys. Good work.

Good work.

Ah, Mr. Bowfinger, Bob...

Can I talk to you about the new scenes?

I haven't decided about

the new scenes yet.

Can I talk to you about them?

- Okay.

- I mean tonight?

Okay.

I'll be right there.

Gets so tiring going out.

I thought we'd eat here.

- I know the maître d' at the Ivy.

- Well, that's so trendy.

- Do you like Vienna sausages?

- Yeah. Do you smell burning hair?

This wine is so good.

You can drink all you

want and not get drunk.

Oh, yeah.

A big local hit in South Dakota.

What are some of your favorite TV shows?

Oh, I love The Flintstones.

Oh, I love The Flintstones too!

That's so good. Do you like that?

- Okay. Do you like walks in the park?

- In the rain!

Oh, God! You know what, I want you

to see The Music Man because...

- I've seen that! I love The Music Man.

- Isn't Robert Preston good?

He's so good.

Do you love Smashing Pumpkins?

Are you kid... I love to do that.

Have you ever had a shiatsu massage?

- I love you so much!

- I love you!

I'm so alive!

That's the word. Alive!

I've never been alive until now.

Never till now.

But I worry about our age difference.

- What is age? It's a state of mind.

- That's the way I feel.

Who cares if when

I hit my sexual peak you'll be 70?

I know! It's Bogey and Bacall.

Who?

I promise to never play

mind games with your head.

You are so today.

- I wanna make love to you!

- I do too!

- Oh, God! I want you so much!

- I want you!

- But I worry.

- Our love is bigger than worry.

- I worry about the scenes.

- The scenes?

If we're gonna shoot the new scenes.

It's so hard to make love,

to give yourself to a man.

Because it's the woman who's entered,

the woman who's violated.

I so understand that.

To know that the man

inside you is part of you,

and that he would not prevent the

added scenes of yours from being shot.

- We're doing the scenes.

- We are?

We're doing the scenes because

I love you, and you're brilliant,

and I want you in this movie...

and this movie is your movie.

Let me just go get ready.

I'll never use you.

I will never abuse your trust.

Thank you, Daisy.

Not at all, not at all.

All right, people, are we almost ready?

Yes.

Now what are you seeing?

Are you seeing the fireplace?

We should light the fireplace.

This is a good mark?

Ah, Daisy, my sweetness.

Hi, how are you?

- Hi.

- Are you okay?

Now do you wanna relax little bit first?

Do you wanna shoot?

- Shoot.

- You wanna shoot?

You have such a good work ethic.

I so admire that.

Now, here's your mark.

I think these marks are a little small.

Will you be okay...

- Mr. Bowfinger?

- All right, yeah.

We have a very important scene here.

This is one of the hot scenes

that is about heat and, and...

- Chemistry.

- Chemistry.

Oh, so it's the artistic

portion of the film.

That's right, so just

give her a little room,

react normally, be sensitive above all,

because in this scene

Daisy's gonna take off her blouse.

Okay, all right. There's your mark.

Now you understand the scene.

You're not sure if you still love Keith,

but you're offering yourself

to him in order to save the planet.

Okay, Jiff. Right up here.

Now, we're starting here.

Pan up.

And roll sound.

- All right, let's go.

- Speedy.

- Mark.

- You're not sure if you love him,

but you want to save the planet,

and... action.

Keith, I don't know

what's right anymore.

All I know is I have feelings

that make me need you.

Need you now!

Awesome!

You're doing great!

You're gonna be a star.

And... cut.

How's this, boss?

What's going on with him?

We gotta do the aliens arriving

from Wyoming scene,

and Kit hasn't called in.

Someone must know where he is.

I know where Kit Ramsey's

going to be this afternoon.

You do?

Yes. At 4:00 he's going to be

at Max's clothing store for a photo.

Every day I get an offer on this thing.

It's the only one in L.A.

It's a beauty.

There's not a scratch on it.

It's an award-winner.

- Sold three cars to get this.

- You have a great eye for cars.

My wife tried to take it in the divorce.

That would have really hurt.

- Who got the kids?

- Ah, she did.

Wait here a minute.

- Manager in?

- No, he's home today.

Oh, that's odd. We have a permit

to shoot here today.

Weird. Well, we'll just start loading

in the equipment.

- You want me to call him?

- No, I'll call him from the cell phone.

There's a guy in there who's vacuuming.

Tell him you're from the studio.

- Who's in charge here?

- I am.

Do you people have a permit

to film here today?

Oh, yeah.

May I see it, please?

Can I talk to you for a second?

Did you ever think about acting?

- This is it. Roll it.

- Mark!

And... action!

Man, Freddy, that time away

really helped calm my ass, you know?

Thought I was startin'

to crack up there for a while.

You ever think, there

are no conspiracies?

That maybe there's no aliens,

nothing like that?

Everything's just as it seems.

Being alone, by myself, in a chamber...

That was really helpful to me.

So helpful... Freddy?

Where the hell Freddy?

- Hey, Freddy!

- Hey, you!

- Kincaid!

- Freddy!

- You heard me, Kincaid!

- Freddy, don't play with me, man!

Nice try, Kincaid.

Don't act dumb. Where's the plutonium?

Listen, that plutonium is mine.

It's been registered to be used

for religious purposes.

- You actually have some plutonium?

- He's got plutonium?

Freddy, don't play around, man.

Freddy's about to have his guts

replaced with alien hardware.

Aliens?

Oh, my God, Keith!

They told me you were dead!

And now you are dead!

Hey!

Keith, you know,

whenever you kill a pod person,

another one takes its place!

- You won't take me in your spaceship!

- I love you!

Keith! Keith! Keith!

Keith, I love you!

Stay with him! Stay with him!

Oh, hi! I came down because

I wanted to see them shoot you today.

- Shoot me today?

- Keith!

My darling! Please, Keith!

Let me love you! My darling baby!

Come with me!

Stay with him.

Oh, Keith!

He's coming in here!

Cut!

Lyle, you might have

won an Emmy last year,

but that doesn't mean anything here.

I need to see the moment

where you realize he loves you.

He's embroidering for you.

Doesn't that affect you

in your heart somehow?

- Doesn't that make you...

- Kit Ramsey!

Hey, yo! Over here, man.

I got the car running.

- Freddy, show me your guts!

- What you talkin' about?

- Show me your guts right now!

- What?

There are pod people all over the place!

Pod people? Run! Run!

Come on. We're gonna shoot scene 35!

Keith! Keith!

Who the hell is Keith? Open the door!

Keith!

Go, go, go, Freddy!

And... cut!

You know, I must say,

I am becoming more and more impressed

with Mr. Ramsey's acting style.

I'm learning a lot from him.

I haven't felt like I have

been doing much of anything.

What are you talking about?

You look like Kit Ramsey. That's talent.

There are people who couldn't look like

Kit Ramsey if their life depended...

Robert DeNiro, could not

look like Kit Ramsey.

He annoys me anyway.

If I go to the store

to get some coffee for somebody,

I know that I'm the one

who'll get the coffee for somebody.

I'm the one that's doing it.

I'm the one that got the coffee.

I got it from point "A" to point "B."

I made sure the napkin was in the bag.

I made sure there was cream in the bag,

there was sugar in the bag.

I did it. Me! You know?

It's weird for...

To get credit for lookin' like somebody.

What is...what is that?

That's a gift!

I don't know how much of a gift it is.

I mean, I am his brother.

And that's what's so great

about working with you guys.

The story of my life.

Whenever someone finds out

I'm related to Kit Ramsey,

they want me to introduce them

to him, and I can understand that.

But it gets too...

It feels good to have somebody

like you for you, you know?

It's great. I feel great.

- You get along with your brother?

- Oh, yeah.

We haven't seen him in a while.

He's been so busy lately.

He's crankin' 'em out, back-to-back.

He didn't even come home

for last Christmas, man.

- Oh. I'm sorry, darling.

- That's okay.

I'm here with this

fantastic group of people...

who accept me for who I am,

just a poor, stupid brother of

some guy that everybody loves.

So, are you from a show-business family?

We're screwed. We luck into the

biggest thing of our life,

the brother of the

world's hottest movie star,

- and it turns out I have a conscience.

- Don't be so hard on yourself.

Did you hear him? He's an innocent.

He told us how much he loved us.

I just can't do it.

I gotta take the camera back.

You'll work it out.

I can't do it.

- A mi me gusta el Citizen Kane.

- Muy buena película.

Muy Buena. Apocalypse Now.

The Godfather. Dr. Strangelove.

- Stanley Kubrick.

- A Clockwork Orange.

Mr. Bowfinger.

Mr. Bowfinger, I got

something to tell you.

I have something to tell you.

Come over here.

- Can I talk first?

- All right, all right.

I wanna tell you something.

Being Kit Ramsey's brother,

sometimes it has its

fringe benefits sometimes.

How do you mean?

You'll never guess

who I had intercourse with in the van.

Isn't that cool?

She gave me the works, man.

She is the most inventive girl.

- Can I see you in my office?

- Yeah, sure, man. She's so strong.

She's pure power and speed. Real hot.

Okay, listen. I got an errand for you.

Listen, I want you to go to Starbucks.

Go to Starbucks and I want

you to get some coffee.

- Go to Starbucks, and get some coffee.

- Bring it back here.

Bring the coffee back.

But, you're gonna need napkins,

enough for everybody.

That's perfect. I got that.

Ok, then I want you to call

your brother, find out when he's

leaving his house next and

find out where he's going.

Find out when my brother's leaving his

house next, and find out where he's going.

Right. Then I want you

to go to a stationery store

and I want you to pick up some pencils.

Pick up some pencils from the store.

- Then you sharpen them.

- Make sure the pencils are sharp.

- Okay, you got it?

- Yeah, I got it.

Coffee, napkins, stationery,

find out when my brother's leaving.

- Ride like the wind.

- I'm gone, man! Gone!

I wanna see you.

- We are finished. We are over.

- How come?

- You had sex with Jiff.

- So?

- I never thought of it that way.

- I'll see you tonight?

- What time? Okay.

- 8:00.

There's someone who thinks

he should talk to you.

He says it concerns Kit Ramsey.

This is Bob. He is a level six.

He's been with us for four years.

There's something he wants to tell you.

Hey, Jack, just takin'

her out for a wash.

Okay, Dave.

And we still have this one last scene,

the big ending,

or we don't have a movie.

- I know what else we don't have.

- What?

Permission.

Did you know Tom Cruise

had no idea he was

in that vampire movie

till two years later?

Hello?

Hi, Jiff.

He's leaving his house

at 4:45 to go to MindHead.

Great work, Jiff. Great work.

Now, we really need those

pencils, buddy. Okay.

- I will see you at the location.

- Good.

Alright, we are about to shoot

the final scene in this movie.

I just got off the phone with Kit.

He is very excited.

So know your jobs, please.

Don't screw up. Come on. Let's go.

We have one hour to get there.

Come on. Let's go.

Make sure Slater has finished painting

that car! Come on. Let's go!

Oh, Daisy, Daisy, good.

Can I talk to you about the scene?

Sure.

Alright. Good, now listen.

This is a very difficult scene for Kit.

He is probably not gonna want

to get in that car with you.

In fact, he'll probably really really

resist because of his

character, I think.

So you have to be very,

very persuasive because...

Because he doesn't know

he's in the movie.

I know what's going on.

I may be from Ohio, but

I'm not from Ohio.

I'm not mad.

- I'm working, aren't I?

- But...

But... Who told you?

We're packed and loaded.

Oh, hi, honey.

Hi, sweetie.

Will you make sure my

makeup case is in the van?

Let's hit it!

Hey, yo! Anybody want a Frostee Freeze?

I look like I want some

damn Frostee Freeze?

Holy shit!

- Hey, reverse it! Reverse it!

- I got it.

Hold on!

What the hell?

It's the dead guy!

Oh, please. Oh, please don't let me die!

This is awesome!

It's going down!

Right now it's going down.

I'm so glad y'all here.

Okay!

- I'm Kit Ramsey!

- Whatcha doin'? That's Kit Ramsey.

You know who I am?

You know who I am, right?

I wanna make a report.

Please, one at a time. I can't hear you.

Hey, come on now.

I'm number 13 on Premiere's power list.

What are you doin', man?

Uh, tough guys like you

don't get far in this world, mister.

We've been gettin'

pursued by alien forces!

Ah, aliens!

I knew I should never have slept with

the alien life-forms...

from the star system Neon!

Oh, shit!

My gonads! My gonads!

Keith, there's only one way

out of this. Follow me!

Kiss you? Now?

Keith, danger really turns you on!

Get in the car.

We've got to get to the alien antenna

before the summer solstice!

You best hurry! I'm Keith.

That way, Carol. This way.

Hi, Bill, we're here!

Put the tripod there. All right, ready?

We gotta eat, Keith. How we could

know if we're starving?

I needed love, love so strong,

but the alien embryos had already...

Hit the lights! They're

coming up the drive.

Action.

Get out!

There's the alien antenna.

That's where you must go

to say, "Gotcha, suckas!"

If you don't, we will

all become pod people.

Cut! Let's move the camera.

Already impregnate everyone,

including the C.I.A. and the F.B.I.!

Soon as you're set,

start rolling on the stairwell.

In here!

They're all aliens

worshipping their false gods.

- Come on! Come on!

- No! No!

Keith, keep running

since you're the one person...

I got 'em.

Oh, shit!

Cut to the stairwell.

Then I realized it was you

I loved and I thought about you...

Okay, the roof is your next shot.

Bastard! Bastard!

- No, no, I'm Keith!

- Bastard!

Stop it right now!

Stop it!

Oh, shit!

She was from the planet Neon!

Am I stupid!

Don't bring that shit over here!

Put that down!

And cut! Okay, outside.

Drop that shit!

We must run.

We have only 40 seconds

before the ax will come down!

Okay, this is it. We only need one shot.

Only one thing can stop them now.

- If you say, "Gotcha, suckas!"

- What?

- Okay, put your hands right here.

- What?

Go! Cue the pyrotechnics.

Hey! Shit!

Oh, my God! It's time!

Look into the sky and

say, "Gotcha, suckas!"

Kincaid!

- G... G...

- Gotcha, suckas!

Come on, say it.

G... G...

Come on, say it!

Well!

It seems the paranoid...

are sometimes actually being followed.

This film is only for

Madagascar and Iran,

neither of which accept

American copyright or trademark law.

Terry! Hi! I'm Keith Kincaid.

I saved the world.

I saved it.

I have eight brothers, and four

sisters, and no job! I'm screwed!

There's no movie! I mean,

I can't believe there's no movie!

You know, I wasn't looking for work,

'cause I thought I was working.

I showed my breasts on film. For what?

I'm a felon.

My friends, I have a

cousin who's a lawyer.

I say we take action. We sue. Sue! Sue!

Carol, what do you think?

I think...

I think it was a beautiful lie.

It could've worked.

Boss, what you want me

to do with this stuff?

- What is it?

- It's the film.

I told him to follow Kit around

and get some random shots.

We never know. We could've used it.

The trash is outside.

- I wanna take a look at it.

- Why hurt ourselves?

We need Kit Ramsey's

permission, remember?

Why didn't someone bring

that up to me at some point?

Hold up, hold up, hold up. Serve.

Useless.

A tennis-playing alien fighter.

Nice work, guys.

Thank you, Mr. Bowfinger.

We used a Pro-Mist,

and tried to open up the aperture

so we can give him a rim light.

What's he doing?

I think we just got our permission.

Hey, Laker Girls.

It's not funny!

You realize there's not a court

in the country...

wouldn't consider this blackmail!

You know what?

I don't know anything about blackmail...

'cause I'm just a guy, a guy

with a great film in the can.

All I really need is a shot

of Kit saying, "Gotcha, suckas"...

and a couple of close-ups.

Or we've to tag our film with a shot of

Kit wagging his thing at the Laker Girls.

Which is a great ending.

I mean, who wouldn't wanna see that?

Although technically,

it's not such a good ending for Kit...

because it could sort of

stop his money flow...

and possibly make that family film

he's about to do, just pff-ff!

We'll have to think about it.

I mean, we'll have

to think about it... for Kit.

Well, now that you've

had time to think about it,

what do you and the other fellows

here at MindFu... Head think?

- Give it up for Kit!

- Yeah!

Hey, good to see you.

Sir? This way.

Not bad seats. Not bad seats at all!

C.I.A. operative, Todd Delmonico,

drove his '53 Buick to

meet Keith Kincaid.

Kincaid!

It had rained that day.

But was it normal rain?

Or was it Chubby Rain?

- Freddy!

- You heard me there, Kincaid.

Hey, Freddy?

Freddy's about to have his guts

replaced with alien hardware!

Gotcha, suckas!

Oh, yeah!

A hit. A hit.

Hey, you guys!

I want you to meet somebody.

Everybody, this is Farrah.

Farrah and I met at the premiere.

Farrah's one of the

most powerful lesbians in Hollywood.

Bravo!

I can't talk to you right now.

It's an offer to direct a movie in

Taiwan starring Kit Ramsey's brother.

- Oh, my God! Are you serious?

- Bravo!

We're goin' to Taiwan!

Jiff! Jiff! Jiff!

Good to see you again, brother.

Ching-haya-shaka-lay, suckas!

I saved the world!

I saved it.