American Hustle
Quotes Page 1 2
Following statement appears before the film begins “Some of this actually happened”
[first lines; April 28, 1978, Plaza Hotel, New York – in his room Irving fixes his hair in a comb over to hide his balding spot, he then leaves his room and walks into another room where a surveillance team is recording the video and audio of another room, Sydney enters and they exchange an angry look which is then interrupted by the entrance of Richie]
Richie DiMaso: What are you doing? Going behind my back, telling people I’m screwing up this operation? I got you a suite at the fucking Plaza Hotel.
Irving Rosenfeld: The shittiest suite at the Plaza Hotel…
Richie DiMaso: What?
Irving Rosenfeld: The shittiest fucking suite.
Richie DiMaso: Based on what?
Irving Rosenfeld: And the food is wrong…
Sydney Prosser: The food is wrong?
[pointing to Richie’s suit]
Irving Rosenfeld: And, what is this?
Richie DiMaso: What is what?
Irving Rosenfeld: What is this, you got like one out of my closet or something?
Sydney Prosser: No.
Irving Rosenfeld: Are you dressing him like you dress me?
Sydney Prosser: No, what are you thinking? This is not about you. You know that, right?
Richie DiMaso: What, are you trying to dress me so that I look like him?
Sydney Prosser: No, you’re not dressed like him.
Richie DiMaso: But I do look….I look like him.
Sydney Prosser: No, he’s in like velvet. Come on.
Irving Rosenfeld: You asked me to show you how this was done. You wanna fuck it up, be my guest.
Sydney Prosser: What the fuck is your problem?
Richie DiMaso: Look, I never laid a hand on her, alright? Is that what this is about?
Sydney Prosser: Well, technically, that’s not true.
Richie DiMaso: Look, we never had sex, okay? I just like, what did I do? I went like…what did I do? I put my hand like this, and then…
[he puts his hand on Irving’s face to demonstrate and Irving shoves his hand off in anger]
Richie DiMaso: Woh.
Irving Rosenfeld: Don’t you fucking touch me. That bothers me.
Richie DiMaso: Oh, it does?
Irving Rosenfeld: Oh, yeah.
Richie DiMaso: That bothers you?
Irving Rosenfeld: Yes.
Richie DiMaso: Well, you know, a lot of shit bothers me too. But I was just trying to help you. If I wanted to bother you, if I really wanted to fucking bother you…this is what I’d do.
[suddenly he messes up Irving’s comb over]
Richie DiMaso: If I was trying to bother, that’s what I would do.
Irving Rosenfeld: You shouldn’t have done that.
Richie DiMaso: How’s that, you bothered now?
[Irving just stands there staring at him in silent anger]
Richie DiMaso: Alright, don’t make a thing of it.
Sydney Prosser: You shouldn’t have touched him, he doesn’t like that.
Richie DiMaso: Oh, my God.
Sydney Prosser: You shouldn’t have done it.
Richie DiMaso: Fix his hair.
Sydney Prosser: No…
Richie DiMaso: Jesus Christ! Don’t make a thing of it. Big fucking deal.
Sydney Prosser: It just…it takes some time, okay? It’s not like just…
[she goes over to Irving and starts fixing his hair]
Richie DiMaso: We gotta get in the other room. Come on. The Mayor is in there.
Sydney Prosser: Yes, I know that.
Richie DiMaso: Should we go to the beauty parlor? Is that what we should do?
[as Sydney finishes putting his comb over in place]
Irving Rosenfeld: How does it look?
Sydney Prosser: You look fine.
[Richie opens up a briefcase full of money, he checks it then closes the case]
Richie DiMaso: Let’s go.
[the three walk into a hotel room and put on friendly faces as they meet Mayor Carmine Polito and Carl Elway, they take a seat on the couch and Richie place the briefcase with the money at his feet]
Mayor Carmine Polito: Look, uh…I think this is face to face, person to person. That’s just who I am, call me old-fashioned, but…
[we see them being filmed on a surveillance video, as Carmine is talking to Carl, Richie shoves the briefcase towards Carmine]
Carl Elway: Hey, hey, what? Excuse me, excuse me. I’ll handle that for the Mayor.
Richie DiMaso: Well, th…it’s for the Mayor. It’d be a sign of disrespect to the Sheikh if the Mayor didn’t take it. It’s for you, Mayor.
Mayor Carmine Polito: What are doing? Carl, what the fuck? What is this?
Carl Elway: I’m gonna take care of it. Everything’s good. I got everything under control.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Woh! Woh! What is this?
[Carmine rises]
Carl Elway: I’m gonna handle this.
Mayor Carmine Polito: What is this?
Carl Elway: I don’t know. I don’t know.
Mayor Carmine Polito: I mean, who are…? I don’t know who…I don’t know you.
[Sydney whispers to Richie]
Sydney Prosser: Just stop this, okay?
[to Richie]
Mayor Carmine Polito: I don’t know what the fuck that is, but it’s weird. You understand?
Richie DiMaso: Misunderstanding. Misunderstanding.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Look, I came here to meet a Sheikh. That’s all I know. I’m very interested in that. But he’s not here apparently.
[he starts to walk towards the door]
Mayor Carmine Polito: You called. You know what I mean? This is not right. Look, I’m very interested in meeting the Sheikh. You let me know when that can happen. Thank you, have a good day!
[Carmine leaves the room]
[after Carmine leaves the room]
Carl Elway: Richie, you better come get him. Go out there and get him, right now. Help me get him back! Get the…!
[Carl leaves the room to go after Carmine; to Irving]
Richie DiMaso: Go get him.
Irving Rosenfeld: I didn’t wanna do this in the first place.
Richie DiMaso: He needs to take this fucking briefcase, Irving.
Irving Rosenfeld: This is your show, you go get him.
Richie DiMaso: No, you have no choice. You have to go get him. Now, go get him so he takes the briefcase by himself. That’s the whole plan, Irving!
[Irving rises from the couch]
Irving Rosenfeld: What were you doing pushing the fucking briefcase, dummy? Huh?
Richie DiMaso: The whole fucking thing was falling apart. Do you know how much this fucking cost? With this Goddamn hotel, that you fucking asked for.
Irving Rosenfeld: Now I gotta go mop up your mess. I’m gonna go fucking mop up your mess!
[Irving opens the door and leaves the room to go after Carmine; to Sydney as they watch Irving walk off]
Richie DiMaso: You understand what I’m saying, right? You understand that he had…it wasn’t working. He was getting upset about the Sheikh and…
[as Irving walks towards the elevator]
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] Did you ever had to find a way to survive and you knew your choices were bad? I learned how to survive when I was a kid.
[in a flashback we see Irving breaking a shop window]
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] My father had a glass business. I would rather be on the taking side than the getting taken side, any day of the week. Specially after I saw how my father got taken.
[we see in the flashback Irving’s father being taken advantage of by his customers]
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] I mean, seeing that scarred me for life. I took it upon myself to drum up business.
[we see young Irving breaking shop windows to drum up business for his father]
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] I became a different kind of guy than my father, I became a con artist for real. From the feet up. I was gonna survive, no matter what. I still had the glass business and a few dry cleaning stores also. And I did some art dealing on the side. Stolen or forged art.
[flashback to Irving going to a pool party]
Pool Party Host: I’m your host. Enjoy! Enjoy!
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] So I go to this pool party, in winter.
[we see the people enjoying themselves at the party]
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] My friends.
[at the party Irving sees Sydney for the first time, she smiles at him then later as she goes to grab some food he grabs her wrist which has a huge bracelet on it]
Irving Rosenfeld: Is that Duke Ellington on your bracelet?
Sydney Prosser: Yeah, as a matter of fact it is. He died this year, you know?
Irving Rosenfeld: I know. I doubt anyone else here knows or cares about it.
Sydney Prosser: Well I care about it. He saved my life many times.
Irving Rosenfeld: Mine too. Which one?
Sydney Prosser: Jeep’s Blues.
Irving Rosenfeld: Jeep’s Blues?
Sydney Prosser: Mm-hmm. Jeep’s Blues.
Irving Rosenfeld: Oh, yeah.
Sydney Prosser: Yeah.
Irving Rosenfeld: You uh…you wanna hear it?
Sydney Prosser: Right now?
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah.
Sydney Prosser: Sure.
[Irving and Sydney are sat in a room listening to one of Ellington’s records]
Irving Rosenfeld: Who starts a song like that?!
Sydney Prosser: It’s magic.
Irving Rosenfeld: It’s magic.
[as she watches Irving]
Sydney Prosser: [voice over] He wasn’t necessarily in good shape and he had this comb over that was rather elaborate. He had this air about him. And he had this confidence that drew me to him. He was who he was. He didn’t care.
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] I mean, she was a very particular person. Like me, she’d come from a place where her options were limited.
[we see flashback of Sydney dancing in a strip club]
Sydney Prosser: [voice over] It actually can feel kind of sexy sometimes. There was a boldness in it. But where would that boldness take me? I didn’t know, but I was gonna find out.
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] Like me, she learned to survive and reinvent herself. She knew she had to reinvent her life and her identity. And like me, she envisioned a better, elegant future for herself. Like me, she knew you had to have a vision. She came to New York. She envisioned it, and just like that she applied for a job at Cosmopolitan Magazine.
[flashback to Sydney having an interview at Cosmopolitan Magazine]
Cosmo Interview Girl: Well you’re obviously here for a reason, let’s get to it.
Sydney Prosser: Alright.
Cosmo Interview Girl: Our cover story right now is on cunnilingus. What do you think about that?
Sydney Prosser: I like it.
Cosmo Interview Girl: Do you have any clerical skills? Can you type?
[we see Sydney working at Cosmo after getting the job]
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] She loved the world, but she was stuck in this clerical job that she was too smart for. I mean, she was a smart girl. I never met any girl like it. She knew her stuff.
Sydney Prosser: [voice over] I was broke, fearless, with nothing to lose. And my dream, more than anything, was to become anyone else other than who I was.
[in another flashback we see Irving showing Sydney one of his dry cleaning stores]
Sydney Prosser: [voice over] He had a chain of dry cleaning stores.
Irving Rosenfeld: I got two in the Bronx, and uh…three in Manhattan.
[to one of his clerks]
Irving Rosenfeld: Hey, Byron. How are you doing? This is Sydney.
[to Sydney]
Irving Rosenfeld: Right, here. Come through here.
Sydney Prosser: [voice over] He asked me if I wanted to come in and upgrade my wardrobe. He said he had a lot of nice things that got left behind by people then forgotten over the years.
Irving Rosenfeld: Hey, you wouldn’t believe the shit that people leave behind here. They’re unbelievable. Come back here.
Sydney Prosser: People leave stuff here?
Irving Rosenfeld: Oh, yeah. They got out for the night, you know? They drink, come here in the morning, put their clothes in and then they forget. They got no idea where they left it.
[as Sydney touches a glamorous dress]
Irving Rosenfeld: Look at that sequence there?
Sydney Prosser: It’s beautiful
Irving Rosenfeld: I know. Is that nice or not?
[takes Sydney to the storage room]
Irving Rosenfeld: I mean, some of this…some of this has been here for years. They’re not picking it up. Someone’s picking it up.
[Sydney goes through some of the clothes on the rack]
Irving Rosenfeld: Do you like it?
Sydney Prosser: I love it.
Irving Rosenfeld: Sydney, it’s yours. You want it, it’s yours.
[Sydney steps out wearing one of the dresses left behind in his dry cleaning storage]
Irving Rosenfeld: Wooh, I like it. You look fantastic!
[she steps out in another dress]
Irving Rosenfeld: You’re a knock out.
Sydney Prosser: Oh, my God! I could only dream about it. These dresses are beautiful.
[showing Irving a jacket]
Sydney Prosser: This. No, it’s beautiful. Put it on, come on.
[reluctantly Irving takes off his jacket]
Sydney Prosser: Come on. Look at that. Please?
[she puts the jacket on him]
Irving Rosenfeld: Really?
Sydney Prosser: Mm, I love it.
[then Irving puts a fur coat on Sydney]
Irving Rosenfeld: It’s for you.
[he holds onto her]
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] I felt like we had a secret, just the two of us. You know, like that thing when you just wanna be with the one person the whole time and you feel like the two of you understands something that nobody else gets. I could just tell her everything about myself. And I’d never had anybody like that in my life before. It felt like finally I could truly be myself, without being ashamed, without being embarrassed.
[Irving and Sydney stand between the dry cleaning conveyors, Sydney takes off his glasses and they kiss]
[Irving shows Sydney his office where he has lots of paintings on display]
Sydney Prosser: What is this place? Do you sell art here?
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah, sometimes. No, it’s my office.
Sydney Prosser: Well I know it’s your office, but you have all these other places. So, what’s this for? Why did you bring me here?
Irving Rosenfeld: This is getting to be my uh…my main business. My growing business. I uh…I help get loans for guys who can’t get loans. You know, I’m their last resort.
Sydney Prosser: You’re their last resort. His interest rates are north of twelve percent and heading to eighteen percent.
Irving Rosenfeld: That’s right, smarty pants.
Sydney Prosser: Fucking Jimmy Carter.
Irving Rosenfeld: Fucking Jimmy Carter.
Sydney Prosser: Well, Fucking Nixon really. The war and the deficit and all that shit, but…
Irving Rosenfeld: Fucking love it, you’re so smart. You are.
Sydney Prosser: Thanks, kid. But how do you get them the money?
[Irving hesitates a moment before replying]
Irving Rosenfeld: Well…
Sydney Prosser: You don’t, do you?
[Irving doesn’t reply]
Sydney Prosser: You don’t.
Irving Rosenfeld: These guys are lousy risks, you know? I can’t get ’em the loan, but I get my fee, five thousand.
Sydney Prosser: Five thousand? You take five thousand, you don’t give them anything?
Irving Rosenfeld: These are bad guys, you know? They get bad divorces, gambling habits, embezzling and all that shit. You know what I mean?
Sydney Prosser: Everybody at the bottom crosses path eventually, in a pool of desperation, and…you’re waiting for them.
Irving Rosenfeld: How about we?
Sydney Prosser: We?
Irving Rosenfeld: Mm-hmm. How about it?
[Sydney starts walking off towards the door]
Irving Rosenfeld: Sydney. Sydney, I’m sorry. That was too much, I went too far. I didn’t wanna upset you. Sydney, please, I’m sorry! I know it ain’t for everybody.
[Sydney leaves and closes the door; Irving shouts]
Irving Rosenfeld: Oh, God! I love getting to know you!
[after Sydney leave Irving walks back to his desk talking to himself]
Irving Rosenfeld: Christ, why did you tell her the truth? Why are you telling the truth?
[looking upset he sits and takes off his glasses]
Irving Rosenfeld: Why did I do that for? Why did I do that for? I fucked it up. I should never tell a woman the truth. But she’s so smart, she’s different. She’s different. God.
[we hear the office door open and then Sydney walks in, she takes off her coat and goes over to Irving]
Sydney Prosser: You said it was nice knowing me. You said it was nice to meet me.
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah.
[she puts on a fake British accent]
Sydney Prosser: Would you like to meet…Lady Edith Greensley.
[she extends her hand towards him and he takes it]
Sydney Prosser: I have royal banking connections in London. I’d love to help you with your loan, but of course I have to be very selective.
Irving Rosenfeld: That was fucking fantastic.
Sydney Prosser: Thank you. Did you like it?
Irving Rosenfeld: I liked it. I didn’t think you were coming back. Thank God you came back.
Sydney Prosser: I wasn’t going anywhere.
Irving Rosenfeld: I fucking love you.
Sydney Prosser: You have me.
Sydney Prosser: [voice over] And so Irving and I began our partnership, in love and commerce.
[we see Sydney is walking in the street with her friend when a man steps out of his house and calls out to her]
Suburban Businessman: Rebecca, hold on. You’re Edith right?
Sydney Prosser: [voice over] He told me to tell my friends I had London banking connections.
Suburban Businessman: She told me you can get me a line of credit. I heard you have banking connections in London, England.
[Sydney pretends to be angry with her friend for telling him and walks off]
Sydney Prosser: [voice over] And after that say ‘no’ a lot. Until the guy is hooked.
[Sydney walks off with her friend and the guy shouts after them]
Suburban Businessman: Rebecca, can you tell her…
Sydney Prosser: No!
Suburban Businessman: Listen, tell her.
Sydney Prosser: No!
Suburban Businessman: I’ve never missed a check.
Sydney Prosser: No.
Sydney Prosser: [voice over] It was almost scary how easy it is to take money from desperate people.
[at a meeting set up by Irving in his office, Sydney shakes hands with a business man and talks in her fake British accent]
Sydney Prosser: Lady Edith Greensley. It’s so good to see you again.
Car Salesman: Lady…your Ladyship. Thank you, again.
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] These are the roles that we were meant to play.
[to the businessman]
Sydney Prosser: We’re very selective.
Irving Rosenfeld: With that strong application, we can talk about it.
[in another meeting with another businessman]
Irving Rosenfeld: I don’t take a deal that I can’t close.
Sydney Prosser: You’re not being aggressive enough in putting up your assets.
Queens Businessman: If you’ve ever been to Queens, If you’ve ever been to Great Nick, everybody knows my dealership.
[in another meeting the businessman holds out a check]
Desperate Businessman: Five thousand gets me fifty, right?
[in another meeting, holding out his check]
Car Salesman: Five will get me thirty-five, is that right?
[another meeting and another check]
Queens Businessman: Five grand gets me fifty?
[another meeting and another check]
Businessman: Five thousand gets me fifty, right?
[Irving and Sydney celebrate in his office with Sydney on Irving desk and him smacking her ass]
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] I was doing so much more business with her, it doubled then it tripled. And I never met anyone, man or woman in business, who was so careful and precise about everything. Every stylistic detail.
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] We kept selling art together too.
[explaining the painting they’ve sold to a client]
Sydney Prosser: Its ‘A Boy and His Dog’. It’s a non-religious painting. Um…
Irving Rosenfeld: Sixteen…
Sydney Prosser: Fifty-five. Golden Age, Dutch painting.
[in another meeting Irving reveals a painting to a client]
Businessman: Before we go any further, is this legit?
Irving Rosenfeld: Well, let’s just say, you know, it’s missing from Spain. Let’s leave at that.
Sydney Prosser: Mm. Don’t show it to any Spanish friends.
[as the client writes them a check for the painting Irving and Sydney kiss]
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] I mean, it just took off. We got a better office, we called it, London Associates, for her accent.
[they celebrate with champagne and enter their new office to have sex]
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] When I was around her I felt joy. Fucking Joy! And alive. That’s what I felt.
[they go out dancing and later that night have sex, then Irving leaves her and drives home]
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] As…as far as I could see people were always conning each other to get what they wanted. We even con ourselves. We talk ourselves into things, you know, we sell ourselves things. When we don’t even need or want, you know, we’re dressing ’em up. We leave out the risk, we leave out the ugly truth.
[Irving arrives home and starts cleaning up in the kitchen]
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] Pay attention to that. Cause we’re all conning ourselves, in one way or another, just to get through life.
[Irving walks upstairs and enters his son’s room]
Sydney Prosser: [voice over] He was married and he had a son.
Danny Rosenfeld: Daddy!
Sydney Prosser: [voice over] He had adopted her son. He was a really good dad. I respected him for that. It was a tough situation for everyone.
[Irving sits with his son on his bed]
Irving Rosenfeld: What did you do today?
Danny Rosenfeld: That kid Donovan is being mean to me.
Irving Rosenfeld: That big kid?
[Danny nods]
Irving Rosenfeld: But I thought Mommy was picking you up so he couldn’t bother you.
[Danny takes off Irving’s glasses and wears them]
Danny Rosenfeld: She was late. And then after we put out the fire and Mommy said to stay in my room with my baseball cards.
Irving Rosenfeld: What…what fire?
Danny Rosenfeld: Did you know they made a lamp that has the sun in it? Mommy got the lamp, she made her special drink and the lamp made a fire.
[Irving confronts Rosalyn about the fire incident, the left side of her face is sun burnt]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: I put out the fire. The fire is out!
[there’s a pause as they look at each other]
Irving Rosenfeld: First time in my life I do the right thing.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Oh, shut up!
Irving Rosenfeld: No, no, no.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Shut up!
Irving Rosenfeld: I save a young single mother and her kid. I marry you, I adopt him.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: You fell in love! Don’t you dare forget that part! We fell madly in love!
Irving Rosenfeld: Yes, I fell in love. My God, I fell in…yes. But you know what I thought? You were mysterious, like my mother, until it turned out the mysterious just meant depressed. Alright? Hard to reach. I mean, I’m dying here! And you need somebody who’s gonna be quite, who’s gonna by shy. You’re young, you’re beautiful, you gotta find somebody else. You gotta go out and get some friends, alright? You sit inside…
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: I don’t like going out, you know that I get anxiety when I have to meet people. You know how hard that is.
Irving Rosenfeld: You cannot just stay in the house with a fucking sunlamp. Alright? And I can’t…I mean look, I can’t trust you with Danny when you’re…the fire and everything. I can’t trust to leave you alone.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: I put the fire out, Irving. There’s no fire. Maybe if you were here more then there wouldn’t have been a fire in the first place.
Irving Rosenfeld: Oh, what? There wouldn’t have been a fire if I was here?
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Just stop with the whole fire thing! God, it was a mistake! I’m sure a million people do that. All the time. Those sunlamps are dangerous. You shouldn’t even have them in the house really. I bet that happens all the time. This was nothing.
Irving Rosenfeld: We’re not happy, alright?
[she looks at him for a moment]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: You know that I could take Danny. You know that most of your work is illegal. And you know that if you try to divorce me, you know that…I’m not saying that I would, but I’m saying that I could. And I’m saying that is why I don’t like divorce, Irving. Women do that in divorces. Women get the children and then the fathers never see them. My mother never got divorced, my grandmother never got divorced. There are no divorces in my family. I am not getting a divorce.
Irving Rosenfeld: Come on, what are we doing here?
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: We fight and we fuck, and that’s what we do. That’s our thing.
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] She’s the Picasso of passive-aggressive karate. She was better than any con artist I ever met, including myself, and she had me like nobody had me.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Irving, come to Mama. Come on.
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] You might say she was my Karma for how I took advantage of people.
[Rosalyn takes off her dressing gown as she tries to seduce him]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Irving.
Irving Rosenfeld: Oh, my God.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Come here. Come on, get in the bed.
Irving Rosenfeld: Alright.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Baby, there’s such good stuff here.
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] I did not wanna leave the kid behind. He’s was my son! She had me. I was her mark.
[Irving and Sydney are doing their usual scam to who they think is a businessman]
Irving Rosenfeld: Now I can’t assure you that your loan will be approved, but I can tell you that any deal I take I close. However, my fee is non refundable. Just like my time.
[we see that the businessman is in fact Richie]
Richie DiMaso: I wanna thank you very much, Irving, for seeing me. I’m sorry, I’m so nervous.
[looking at Sydney and touching his top shirt button]
Richie DiMaso: Is that…am I not buttoned?
[Sydney smiles at him]
Richie DiMaso: I just gotta say, Mr.Rosenfeld, that Lady uh…Edith was um…very adamant that you were top-notch and…
Irving Rosenfeld: That’s correct.
Richie DiMaso: I really need your help, I’m desperate. I mean, I got the house and uh…the two boats, and I-I forgot to mention that I have a little piece of real estate in Long Island.
Sydney Prosser: No, you didn’t mention that. Two lunches and you never mentioned that.
Richie DiMaso: Oh, I was gonna mention it and then the guy with the hat walked in.
Sydney Prosser: The hat?
Richie DiMaso: You remember that?
Sydney Prosser: I do.
Richie DiMaso: I forgot. I totally…
[he laughs]
Richie DiMaso: It was the second time we had lunch.
Sydney Prosser: Yes.
[we see Irving getting visibly jealous as Richie and Sydney laugh and flirt]
Sydney Prosser: We couldn’t see his eyes. It was like he had no eyes.
Richie DiMaso: Did they sell hats like that?
Sydney Prosser: I don’t know.
Richie DiMaso: I mean, where do they come from? Actually, I went to the store and I thought the hat store down the street…I thought maybe he bought it there and I was gonna get you one.
Sydney Prosser: You wanted to get me one?
Richie DiMaso: I was, like a memento…
[Irving looks annoyed]
Irving Rosenfeld: Two lunches?
Sydney Prosser: Yes.
Irving Rosenfeld: Really?
Sydney Prosser: It was two lunches. What’s the big deal?
Irving Rosenfeld: That’s unusual.
Sydney Prosser: Just trying to get him to be more aggressive. On his loan, that is.
Richie DiMaso: You showed me a whole new side of the city I’d never seen before.
Sydney Prosser: Oh.
Richie DiMaso: Yeah, it was…
Sydney Prosser: You’re welcome.
Richie DiMaso: No, thank you.
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah. Right.
[to Sydney]
Irving Rosenfeld: Should I take you there?
Sydney Prosser: Yeah, it’s nice.
Irving Rosenfeld: You liked it?
Sydney Prosser: Mm-hmm.
Irving Rosenfeld: Right. Should I take you there twice?
Sydney Prosser: Stop.
[Irving motions to Sydney so he can talk to her quietly as Richie sits there watching them]
Irving Rosenfeld: Come here.
Sydney Prosser: What?
Irving Rosenfeld: You like this guy?
Sydney Prosser: Yes, I like this guy.
Irving Rosenfeld: Is it messing with your judgment?
Sydney Prosser: No, it’s not messing with my judgment. Don’t be stupid.
Irving Rosenfeld: Hey, hey, hey. Play your part.
Sydney Prosser: Fine. You play your part.
[Richie interrupts them]
Richie DiMaso: Take it to your people in London. Please, take it to them. I got the cashier’s check right here.
[he takes out the check from his jacket pocket and holds it out]
Richie DiMaso: I give you five and you give me fifty back, right? Please. Please, don’t reject me. Give a guy a chance.
[Irving and Sydney look at each other and then Sydney takes the check; Richie picks up one of their business cars from the desk]
Richie DiMaso: Zurich, you got an office in Zurich? Paris? I can call Paris?
Irving Rosenfeld: Will you excuse me for a second?
Yeah, take your time.
Sydney Prosser: Excuse me.
[to Sydney]
Irving Rosenfeld: Let’s go outside.
Richie DiMaso: Do whatever you need to do. Go ahead, take your time.
[as Irving and Sydney go to leave the office the FBI are waiting for them]
FBI Agent #1: Stick around for a little bit. See my friends over there?
Sydney Prosser: I’m not going anywhere, just take it easy.
Irving Rosenfeld: You got the wrong office. You’re gonna be embarrassed.
[as one of the officers goes to handcuff Sydney]
Irving Rosenfeld: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Go easy on her.
Richie DiMaso: I may not have you, Irving, but I have her on fraud. Impersonating another individual.
Irving Rosenfeld: On fraud? On fraud?
Richie DiMaso: Yes. She may not be…she may not be
Irving Rosenfeld: What is that? Identity fraud?
[to Sydney]
Richie DiMaso: You may be from England, but you’re not royal and you have no banking connections. Now that’s a felony.
Sydney Prosser: You don’t have to cuff me up!
Richie DiMaso: How long is it? That’s three to five years.
Irving Rosenfeld: Oh, really? That’s interesting. I-I don’t even know your name.
[Richie holds out his badge]
Richie DiMaso: Richie DiMaso, F.B.I. Nice to meet you.
[to Sydney]
Richie DiMaso: You gotta get away from this guy.
[Sydney is taking to an interrogation room and locked up]
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] He wouldn’t let me see her for three days. Even managed to delay a lawyer. She couldn’t handle it.
[as Sydney is sat on the floor looking despondent, Richie enters with a hot drink]
Richie DiMaso: Chuck, how come the fluorescence is on? Can we kill that please? Jesus Christ.
[the light is turned off]
Richie DiMaso: I put this lamp here for you cause I thought it’ll be better for you. There’s a wires here, they’re scared because people hang themselves, but I know you’re too smart for that.
[he paces around]
Richie DiMaso: Where is the uh…table and chair? There’s no bed here? It’s like a fucking asylum. Joe, is everybody off today? Jesus Christ! It’s scary.
[to Sydney]
Richie DiMaso: Maybe I wanted to scare you, I don’t know. Maybe it was my idea. Maybe I’m a little off the beaten path, you know? I don’t know, maybe. You look dehydrated. Do you wanna drink some tea?
[he holds the cup out to her]
Richie DiMaso: Oh, yeah. It looks real.
[she takes the cup from him]
Richie DiMaso: It’s herbal. It’s my favorite.
[she takes a sip of the tea]
[to Sydney]
Richie DiMaso: I know you think, and look at me. Hey, Edith. I know you think Irv loves you. I know you think you know him. You think he sees the world as this cold dark place, and he cares about nobody but a very few people on a short list. His son, his father and then you, you think you’re on the top of that list. What if you’re not? What if you’re not on that list? What if you’re not on that list at all? He’d be in here right now if he took the check. But, no, you did. God. It’s so clear to me. It’s so crazy clear to me, nut it’s not clear to you. He uses you, Edith, to protect himself, to protect his son, and his wife in Long Island. No? Yes! He put a ring on her finger, he adopted her son. They have huge house, they have two cars. What does she do all day? I’ll tell you what she does. She plays with her nails, she watches TV and she spends your money. The money that you make.
[Sydney just stares at him]
Richie DiMaso: I don’t like that you’re in jail while he’s going free. I don’t like any of that. I wanna help you. All the razzle-dazzle that he does, it’s not good. It’s not real, it’s fake. It’s not real. Who you are is who you are between you and God. You and your soul. That’s what matters, that’s what counts, that’s what I’m about. And that’s what I see in you. Tell me you didn’t feel it the first time we saw each other. Am I crazy? I don’t think so. I am not supposed to be talking like this, but I don’t care. I break the rules. Okay, Edith. Edith, I wanna help you. I like you.
[he puts his hand against his mouth and whispers]
Richie DiMaso: I like you.
[she just stares at him]
Richie DiMaso: I like you.
[Richie walks into the interrogation from the other side of the glass where Irving is standing watching Sydney in the room]
Richie DiMaso: Been in there three days. It hasn’t been so good for her.
[Irving just watches Sydney through the two-way mirror glass]
Richie DiMaso: How does it make you feel, her in there? That check was for you, right? But you knew something was off. Because you’re good, you’re like the best at what you do in the whole country, aren’t you? Yep. But you know, if the country were run by people like you, Irving Rosenfeld, we’d be living in Eastern Europe or Guatemala. You ever been to Guatemala? You ever been in jail in Guatemala? You ever try to get a telephone or an apartment or anything in Guatemala? That’s what this country would be like if we let people, liars, like you run this country.
Irving Rosenfeld: Who made you God and judge? Huh?
Richie DiMaso: My grandmother lived to be ninety-three years old and never lied in her life.
Irving Rosenfeld: Congratulations.
Richie DiMaso: Thank you. I’m proud of that too. Does that make her another good person? Isn’t that something to strive for?
Irving Rosenfeld: Why are you breaking my balls? Huh? Get to the point.
Richie DiMaso: I see something in you, Irving. I get very excited. I think that we have a lot of potential here. Now, look, I came up with the idea, it’s all from me. I wanna change things. I wanna go after white-collar crime. Irving, you’re very skilled and I want you to teach me, and we can do this. I want four people to do what you do. Fraudulent investments, fake certificates of deposit, stolen art, fake art. You get me four people and you’re off the hook.
Irving Rosenfeld: Four busts, and you’ll leave us alone? We don’t have to testify?
Richie DiMaso: They get caught and you’re done, anything you want. But if you run, then your life’s over, you’re gonna be hunted. It’s gonna be very difficult for Rosayln and your kid to live in this country.
[after being released, Sydney is in her apartment with Irving]
Sydney Prosser: We need to leave. We need to run and we need to do it now. Right, we’ll go to Estonia or Romania, I don’t care. But we’ll take the cash from the bed and get out of here, alright? We talked about it a hundred times.
Irving Rosenfeld: What about Danny?
Sydney Prosser: What about Danny?
Irving Rosenfeld: I adopted him, I gave him my name! I’m not leaving him with Rosalyn! She’s unstable!
Sydney Prosser: That is a manipulation. Rosalyn will never let you go. She’ll use Danny against you because she’s too messed up to let you leave.
Irving Rosenfeld: I can’t leave him, I love him, alright? He’s my son.
[Sydney looks at him with tears in her eyes]
Sydney Prosser: Richie said you’d say that.
Irving Rosenfeld: Richie?
Sydney Prosser: Yeah.
Irving Rosenfeld: What, the cop? You’re on first name basis with him?
Sydney Prosser: Yes, I am. I’m not even on your list, am I?
Irving Rosenfeld: What list?
Sydney Prosser: Your list, your short list, your long list. I’m not even on any one of your fucking lists.
Irving Rosenfeld: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Sydney Prosser: I thought you loved me.
Irving Rosenfeld: I love you!
Sydney Prosser: I thought we had something.
Irving Rosenfeld: We do have something! It’s perfect!
Irving Rosenfeld: What are you saying? We’re gonna go to Romania. Is that what you’re saying?
Sydney Prosser: Yes. Yes, that’s what I’m saying.
Irving Rosenfeld: Really?
Sydney Prosser: You, me, Danny. Yes.
Irving Rosenfeld: Well you never said that before.
Sydney Prosser: Well, I’m saying it now. We are us. We can make it an adventure, like we did. We can make it an adventure, like we make everything, alright?
Irving Rosenfeld: Alright.
Sydney Prosser: Okay? We have to go now, alright? Trust me. We have to leave right now.
Irving Rosenfeld: I can’t leave Danny, I’ll lose custody.
Sydney Prosser: No, you have to take me away. We have to leave.
Irving Rosenfeld: I can’t.
Sydney Prosser: No, what are you saying? What are you saying?!
[she starts lashing out at him and pushes him down on the bed]
Irving Rosenfeld: Hey, what are you doing?
[she turns and storms out of the room, Irving follows after her]
Irving Rosenfeld: Babe, will you pull it together?
[Sydney begins to cry]
Sydney Prosser: I can’t believe this is happening.
[she paces in the living room crying]
Irving Rosenfeld: Don’t say I don’t love you, that’s bullshit.
Sydney Prosser: This is bullshit! We are bullshit! You were bullshit. You were bullshit.
Irving Rosenfeld: Please, don’t do this.
Sydney Prosser: I just never thought that you were conning me.
Irving Rosenfeld: I could never con you. I love you. Please don’t say this.
[Irving walks over to Sydney, who’s now become subdued, and kneels down in front of her]
Irving Rosenfeld: Hey.
Sydney Prosser: No, I’m done.
Irving Rosenfeld: Don’t say that.
Sydney Prosser: I’m gonna do these four busts, these four cons, to get us out of this. Not just me, but us. And I’m gonna get really close with Richie, the cop, in case we need to use him if we need another move.
Irving Rosenfeld: We don’t need another move. We need four busts, then we’re done.
Sydney Prosser: We are gonna need another move, trust me. And you’re gonna be thanking me. The key to people is what they believe and what they want to believe. So I want to believe that we were real.
Irving Rosenfeld: We are real.
Sydney Prosser: And I want to believe that a man could want me. And I’m gonna take all of that heartbreak, and all of that sorrow, and I am going to use it. And I’m going to make Richie think that I want him and that I like him. And I’m gonna be very, very convincing.
[she strokes his face]
Sydney Prosser: And I’m pissed at you.
[suddenly she hits him]
Sydney Prosser: Cause I’m pissed at you!
[Irving looks at her in confusion]
Sydney Prosser: Maybe I do like him. Maybe I like him a lot.
[she shrugs her shoulders]
Sydney Prosser: From the feet up, right? Baby.
[she gets up and starts walking to her room then turns to face Irving]
Sydney Prosser: Quit your bellyaching and come up with something to get us out of this. And you’re right, I am in no state to deal with this. So what’s it gonna be, Mr. Mastermind?
[she turns, walks back to her room and slams the door shut]
[Irving, Sydney, and Richie are in an art gallery with a man in a Sheik’s clothes standing near them]
Richie DiMaso: An Arab Sheik? What do we want an Arab Sheik for?
Irving Rosenfeld: How do you think this works, stupid?
[Sydney speaks in her fake British accent as Richie still doesn’t know her real identity]
Sydney Prosser: If you could not call him stupid, which he isn’t. He’s smarter than you. Last time I checked, he’s in control and we work for him now, so be nice. Okay?
[Irving looks at her in confusion]
Irving Rosenfeld: Okay.
[Richie looks suspiciously from Sydney to Irving]
Irving Rosenfeld: To set this up, to bust a con artist, we need to make the honey pot to attract the bees. To attract the bees, we need to offer them a wealthy individual who they can take advantage of. Someone special, someone new, someone amazing. And those guys are gonna wanna sell fake bank CDs to that guy. Take the Sheik’s money, see?
[they begin to walk with the man dressed as a Sheik following closely next to them]
Sydney Prosser: Only they can’t get into his money unless they know someone and that someone is us.
Richie DiMaso: Oh, that’s good. So if you want to get somebody like your uh…con artist friend, Carl Elway, you get him to want to buy…
Irving Rosenfeld: Keep your voice down.
[Richie lowers his voice]
Richie DiMaso: …or sell fake art or stolen art on a fake certificate deposit, he needs…who does he need? He needs a rich Sheik guy. There you go, we can pinch him.
Irving Rosenfeld: That’s right. That’s right. But I don’t call my Sheik, I wait for him to call me. The art world is a small world, and one of Elway’s acquaintances is clocking us right now.
Richie DiMaso: Where?
Irving Rosenfeld: Don’t look. Don’t look.
[Richie turns his head and sees someone a man following them on the balcony above them]
Irving Rosenfeld: Did you have a good look?
Richie DiMaso: How do you know the Sheik?
[referring to the man dressed as a Sheik standing next to Irving]
Irving Rosenfeld: This is my friend Al from Queens.
[Al leans in and says quitely]
Irv’s Sheik Plant: I do aluminium siding and roofing.
[Richie looks impressed]
[Irving takes Richie to another part of the art gallery to show him a painting]
Irving Rosenfeld: I wanna show you something. This Rembrandt here, people come from all over the world to see this.
Richie DiMaso: Yeah, it’s good. Yeah.
Irving Rosenfeld: It’s a fake.
Richie DiMaso: Alright, what are you talkin’ about? That’s impossible.
Irving Rosenfeld: People believe what they wanna believe. Cause the guy who made this was so good that it’s real, to everybody. Now who’s the master? The painter or the forger?
[Richie is still looking at the painting in shock]
Richie DiMaso: That’s a fake?
Irving Rosenfeld: That’s the way the world works. Not black and white. Like you were saying, extremely grey.
[at that moment Carl Elway’s friend approaches them]
Arthur: Irving, could I?
Irving Rosenfeld: Arthur, how many times I gotta tell you, we can’t meet the Sheik alright?
Could I just meet him?
Irving Rosenfeld: No, you can’t meet him. Not yet, another time.
[Sydney walks over to them]
Sydney Prosser: Arthur, hi. Edith.
Arthur: Edith, hi.
[they shake hands; referring to Richie]
Sydney Prosser: Yes, I wanted to introduce you to Robert Spencer. We’re advising the Sheik together.
Richie DiMaso: Robert Spencer, advisor to the Sheik. Yep.
[Irving meets Carl in Carl’s office]
Carl Elway: What’s this about a Goddamn Sheik? Why are you leaving me out of this? Huh? I gotta hear it from my friends?
Irving Rosenfeld: It ain’t for you, Carl.
Carl Elway: What do you mean, it ain’t for me?
Irving Rosenfeld: No, it ain’t for you.
Carl Elway: What are you talkin’ about? We got certificates of deposit, I can print as many as you need.
Irving Rosenfeld: Alright? I got my associates.
Carl Elway: What do you mean, guys?
Irving Rosenfeld: Come on, this is not one man operation.
Carl Elway: Look, I can get other guys. What are you talking about, Irving? I can get you other guys…
Irving Rosenfeld: Can you tell me if you can get four guys to sell fake certificates of deposit to my investor within a week?
[we see that Irving is wearing a small microphone under his collar]
Carl Elway: Yes, I can make that happen. Carl Elway can do what he says he’s gonna do.
Irving Rosenfeld: That’s interesting, but you know, I got other guys lined up, I gotta meeting.
[at that moment Carl’s assistant enters with Richie and Sydney behind her]
Irving Rosenfeld: These are my associates, I gotta run
Carl Elway’s Assistant: Carl, his associate are here. He’s got a meeting, he has gotta go to.
Irving Rosenfeld: I gotta run.
Carl Elway: Listen, don’t go. No, don’t go.
Irving Rosenfeld: I gotta go.
Carl Elway: No, don’t go…
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] The crazy thing about people, the more you say no, the more they want in on something. It is so stupid.
[after Carl tries to persuade him to say, Irving finally gets up to leave]
Irving Rosenfeld: I gotta run! Come on, I’ll tell him. Don’t worry, I’ll tell him.
[he walks towards Sydney and Richie]
Irving Rosenfeld: Hey, you know what Carl just told me? He said he could do this whole thing with four guys within a week. Alright?
Carl Elway: We could do something much bigger.
Richie DiMaso: Something bigger? Yeah, my guy deals with hundreds of million of dollars. How much bigger?
Carl Elway: Hundreds of million…? I knew you were holding out on me, Irving! Hundreds of millions of dollars, like much bigger.
[he goes over to Richie]
Carl Elway: Like, I’m talking about, we can say never the fuck mind to CDs. And we can have some complete access to something huge.
[Irving watches Richie with annoyance at him taking over]
Richie DiMaso: Huge, like what? Robert Spencer, I’m advisor to the Sheik.
Carl Elway: Carl Elway. I want you to think of the most under valued asset in the state of New Jersey today. The rebuilding of Atlantic city.
[Richie looks over to Irving and Sydney]
Carl Elway: Look, maybe they…maybe they legalized gambling a year ago, but nothing’s happening.
Irving Rosenfeld: Hey…
Carl Elway: No licenses…
Irving Rosenfeld: Quit while you’re ahead, Carl.
Carl Elway: I know the guy, I know the right people that are gonna help you out.
Richie DiMaso: Who’s the guy?
Carl Elway: The guy is Carmine Polito.
Richie DiMaso: Who’s Carmine Polito?
[at the FBI headquarters after Richie has told his boss his plan]
Stoddard Thorsen: Carmine Polito? Carmine Polito, No.
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] My boss started proceeded to tell me that Carmine Polito was the most quietly powerful person in the state of New Jersey. A lifetime native of the very racially mixed Camden, which had become a ghetto, and where he had been Mayor for ten years. A very beloved guy. A guy who never gave up on his people. His father had immigrated from Italy and had stoked coal. A big family guy with five kids.
[we see a Carmine meeting people in Camden and then we see him at his home with his family]
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] They even adopted some other kid, a black kid, from the boys and girls club who’d lost his family. I mean his house hold was a joyous place. And his wife Dolly, well she was the apple of his eye, and the center of the household. I mean everyone loved this guy. And he had a huge heart.
[Carmine is giving a speech]
Mayor Carmine Polito: The WPA employ craftsmen to painters during the depression. Why can’t we employ people today to do work like this in rebuilding Atlantic City?
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] He worked with all the unions, he was the leader of the state assembly and he had just gotten gambling legalized in New Jersey to create jobs. But he couldn’t get the funds to rebuilt Atlantic City, and that was his problem. So, with our help he was about to have his hand in the wrong pocket at the wrong time. And to me, that meant corrupt.
[back at the FBI, Richie is sat in his boss’ office]
Stoddard Thorsen: You said grifters, con artists. We’re not going after some politician. This is…this is a bad idea, Richard.
Richie DiMaso: Ssh. Look, it’s really simple. All you need is to put two million in a Chase account.
Stoddard Thorsen: What?!
Richie DiMaso: Under the Sheikh’s name.
Stoddard Thorsen: Whose two million dollars?
Richie DiMaso: Shh, just listen. Two million dollars, under the Sheikh’s name in a Chase account, that we control. Carmine calls up on the telephone, calls the bank, and he sees that the Sheikh is real and he has a real account. Five days.
Stoddard Thorsen: I’m not taking tow million dollars of the tax payers money, putting it anywhere for five days. I don’t care if we control it the whole time.
Richie DiMaso: Stoddard, let us do what we need to do to rule out corruption and to get rid of the payoff guys that are ruining this country. That’s my dream. Don’t smother it, please.
Stoddard Thorsen: You know, Richard, I understand your eagerness. I really do. You know I’m from Michigan, right? Let me tell you a story about me and my dad and my brother. We used to go ice fishing every November. Ice fishing, that’s all anybody…that’s what we lived for.
Richie DiMaso: Holy shit.
Stoddard Thorsen: Just listen to me. It’s beautiful. You have a little stove, you…you huddle around, you keep each other warm, you drop a line and you just wait. One year my brother says, “Let’s go in October.” He wants to go ice fishing in October. My Dad says, “No, the ice is too thin.” My brother says…I love my brother, he said…
Richie DiMaso: I understand what’s happening is that your brother went on the ice, the ice was too thin, he fell through the ice. He went into the water cause he was too eager and you’re saying I’m too eager. Is that what you’re saying?
Stoddard Thorsen: No, that’s not what I’m saying.
Richie DiMaso: What are you saying?
Stoddard Thorsen: You know, we’ll finish the ice story another time, young man. For now, no Carmine Polito. Go do your job.
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] Stoddard shot the whole thing down.
[to Stoddard as he looks at him with disdain]
Richie DiMaso: Boring.
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] But Edith was a genius. She somehow found this woman who controlled the wire room. A woman I never even heard of.
[Sydney takes Richie to meet the woman in the FBI wire room]
She’s amazing. She’s in charge of all the wire transfers. She’s…
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] Way back in a dorm buried in the bureau. This cat lady no one ever even talked to, and Edith met her in the ladies room. Yeah, became friends with her.
[as they approach Brenda’s office]
Sydney Prosser: Brenda.
Brenda: Oh!
Sydney Prosser: Hi, how are you?
Brenda: Hello!
[they enter Brenda’s small office]
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] This lady handled all the wires, and now, she was working with us. She was excited to be included in an operation instead of just being on the other end of a memo. It was beautiful.
[Sydney gives Brenda a bottle of Pimm’s]
Brenda: Than you so much.
Sydney Prosser: You said you liked exotic food. That’s from England.
Brenda: This is from England?
Sydney Prosser: Yeah, it’s great. And I brought you some tea as well. I know how you liked those.
Brenda: Oh, thank you so much! I mean, nobody ever talks to me.
Sydney Prosser: I know.
Brenda: They just say, “Brenda, do the clerical wiring stuff and don’t ask questions.”
Sydney Prosser: You need to tell Richie about your cats. He loves cats.
Brenda: My cats? My cats?
Sydney Prosser: Yes.
[showing the photo’s of her cats stuck on her office wall]
Brenda: Well, that’s Perry. Look at him, standing up. Isn’t that sweet? And that’s Wendy, she’s a rascal. But Barnaby, that’s another story. Barnaby plays the piano.
Richie DiMaso: That’s impressive.
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] We got her to wire two million dollars to an FBI controlled account at Chase. It’d be there for five days. And if Polito called? He’d see that the Sheikh was real. And by the time he Stoddard caught up to us, Edith made sure his boss was impressed by my idea. So before he even knew it was happening, his boss was calling to congratulate him.
[we see Stoddard’s boss calling Stoddard to congratulate him]
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] Anthony Amado. He had a major hard on to make a name for himself. I mean, this guy loved the idea of being famous. And Stoddard had to say it was his own idea or he’d look stupid in front of his boss.
[Richie is sat in Stoddard’s office again]
Stoddard Thorsen: You made me accept praise from my boss for thanking me for something that never should have happened! Something that I didn’t approve.
You should be happy. There’s imaginative things happening in this office. Alright? We’re not just working in a box.
[Richie draws a shape of a box with his fingers then gets up to leave]
Stoddard Thorsen: Punk.
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] We got the two million to put Carmine and the Sheikh together. I liked being on this side of the line, but someone had been left out.
[Richie and Sydney are in Irving’s office]
Irving Rosenfeld: We succeed because we stayed small. I got you Carl Elway, he bought the stolen art, sold fake CDs. That’s enough, that’s one. I get you three more and no politicians.
Richie DiMaso: You’re gonna do this because you got no choice, you work for me.
Irving Rosenfeld: Now you keep changing the rules. Now you’re getting a little power drunk, Richard.
[looking at Sydney]
Irving Rosenfeld: You know, you wanna tell him any of this? You wanna wake him up?
Sydney Prosser: Oh, no. I said we shouldn’t do any of it, Irving. You know I said that. So now I support Richie. He’s got vision. Do it heavy, or don’t do it.
Irving Rosenfeld: What does that mean? He’s the one ruining America not me.
Richie DiMaso: How the fuck am I ruining America?
Irving Rosenfeld: Because people just got over Watergate and Vietnam, alright? And you’re gonna shit all over politicians again? Just because you wanna be a big shot, get a promotion?
Richie DiMaso: No, I’m thinking big. Alright, this is gonna be fantastic. We’re doing video surveillance. I’m doing this from the feet up!
Irving Rosenfeld: You will never do it properly because you got too much government attitude to be small and sleek. I’m like the fucking the Viet conman, alright? I’m in and I’m out. I was there the whole time. You don’t know it, alright? That’s the fucking art of becoming somebody who people can pin their beliefs and their dreams on. You can’t do it.
Richie DiMaso: How about a suite at the Sheraton Hotel?
Irving Rosenfeld: For Carmine Polito and rebuilding Atlantic City?
Richie DiMaso: Why not?
Irving Rosenfeld: You need a luxury hotel for the Sheikh.
Richie DiMaso: Oh, come on! Carmine does back door dealings all the time. We don’t have a guy…we don’t got a budget for that, Irving.
Irving Rosenfeld: We are gonna knock the Mayor, the speaker of the State Assembly, you gotta knock him off of his fucking feet. Alright? He’s gotta feel like he is out of his league. What you’re offering, this deal, I mean, this is unheard of in the state of New Jersey, maybe even the whole fucking country. Alright? A Sheikh worth hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild Atlantic City? Are you fucking kidding me? That’s gigantic, alright? And the Mayor, he’s gonna wanna see cash, he’s gonna want to see it in an account, he’s gonna want to see it right now, and he will check. And that’s why this meeting isn’t happening. Because to get millions, you need millions.
[Richie looks at Sydney who smiles]
Sydney Prosser: We already did it.
Irving Rosenfeld: What?
Sydney Prosser: We got the Bureau to park two million dollars for three days. We’ve got the account numbers.
Irving Rosenfeld: We, meaning you and him?
Richie DiMaso: Yeah, we did it.
[looking at Sydney]
Irving Rosenfeld: Really?
Sydney Prosser: Yeah, me and that guy.
Richie DiMaso: She showed me.
Irving Rosenfeld: You showed him our thing? You did that without me? Are you kiddin’?
Sydney Prosser: What are you gonna do?
[Irving shakes his head, turns and leaves the room]
[after Richie leaves the room]
Richie DiMaso: You playing me? Are we doing this? Or are you playing him? It’d be very bad for you if you’re playing me.
Sydney Prosser: You’re gonna have to decide for yourself, kid. I just laid everything on the table.
[Richie walks over to Sydney who’s sat on the table seductively]
Richie DiMaso: It’s all very exciting.
[he stands between her thighs and leans close to her]
Richie DiMaso: I didn’t know life could be like this.
[she leans in closer to him]
Richie DiMaso: You’re pretty wild. You know we’re taking down like a…
[he puts his hands around her thighs and pulls her closer to him]
Richie DiMaso: A very important politician.
Sydney Prosser: Mm-hmm.
[he takes her hand puts it on his face, they almost kiss when Richie suddenly pulls back, holding just her foot he takes a few deep breaths, then walks away from her to get his jacket and walks out of the room leaving Sydney looking shaken with passion]
[Richie talks into the surveillance video showing a briefcase filled with cash]
Richie DiMaso: This is agent, Richie DiMaso. I’m placing seventy-five thousand dollars in this briefcase for Mayor Carmine Polito to procure casino licenses and building permits for Atlantic City.
[then we see the scene from the beginning of the film, with Richie pushing the briefcase towards Carmine which makes him suspicious and leave the hotel; outside Irving runs after him]
Irving Rosenfeld: Mr. Mayor? Please, stop, listen. I apologize if that prick offended you. I really apologize.
Mayor Carmine Polito: I’m alright. Thank you. I’m okay.
Irving Rosenfeld: No, no, no. I’m fucking embarrassed to be associated with that guy at all.
Mayor Carmine Polito: It’s okay.
Irving Rosenfeld: Can I just say something to you, please. Don’t lose this opportunity to fucking Florida, alright? Just because of some…bullshit from that punk adviser, alright? With his “diploma”, alright? Who could never get into the school that we come from. Don’t loose that opportunity.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Where are you from?
Irving Rosenfeld: From the Bronx. Grand Concourse, 164th Street.
Mayor Carmine Polito: I got a lot of friends who live up there.
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah?
Mayor Carmine Polito: Yeah, I got a Tomasso’s on uh…
Irving Rosenfeld: Tomasso, yeah.
Mayor Carmine Polito: You know Tomasso on Arthur Avenue?
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah, I know their clams there.
Mayor Carmine Polito: The clams, the spicy clams! Oh, those are fucking to die for, those things.
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Yeah, I haven’t been there in a while, I like that place.
Irving Rosenfeld: Well, you know what? Carmine…can I call you Carmine?
[Carmine nods his head]
Irving Rosenfeld: You know, Carmine…hey, my fucking heart is goin’ from running down those stairs. I’m not used to running.
[they both laugh]
Irving Rosenfeld: There’s a lot of green grass in that hotel room up there. Alright? And all the deals will flow through you. You’ll get…you’ll get a serious piece on both ends, alright? You do with that what you will, man. I live in the real world, alright? I’m a family man, I got mouths to feed and everything like that. But, you know, you got…we just…we gotta grease you directly. No middle man, no bullshit, it’s the Arab way. That’s it, that’s it.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Alright. Yeah, look I understand. It’s a…it’s a great opportunity. You understand, it’s just I got a little thrown by going into meeting with somebody and them not being there.
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah, listen, I was thrown as well. I was thrown as well.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Yeah, look, I understand. I’ll…I’ll deal with you directly. I don’t want any middle man, or any of that bullshit.
Irving Rosenfeld: Done!
Mayor Carmine Polito: I’ll deal with you directly.
Irving Rosenfeld: Done. You and me.
Mayor Carmine Polito: I like you. Eye to eye. We can do business together, that’s fine.
[walking back into the hotel together]
Mayor Carmine Polito: How long have you known this guy? You work with this guy before?
Irving Rosenfeld: I gotta work with him, it’s the Sheikh. Alright? You know?
Mayor Carmine Polito: But I still need to meet the Sheikh.
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Okay?
Irving Rosenfeld: Done.
[as they reach the hotel doors]
Irving Rosenfeld: After you.
Irving Rosenfeld: I’m going out for dinner with Carmine and the wives in Camden.
Richie DiMaso: Who?
Irving Rosenfeld: Carmine and myself and the wives.
[Sydney looks visibly upset at hearing this]
Richie DiMaso: What? Without me?!
Irving Rosenfeld: He doesn’t like you. What do you want from me? Yeah, I got him to come back and take the money. You got him on tape. Alright? I mean, I can’t make him like you. I did my job.
Richie DiMaso: Did you tell him that you were working with me and that I’m the Sheikh’s associate?
Irving Rosenfeld: I just fucking told you, he doesn’t like you. I mean, let him have a nigh out with a human being for fuck’s sake. Alright? He is going to jail soon, you’re done with him. You got him on tape taking a bribe.
Richie DiMaso: Carmine has got to deal with me, Irving. We’re gonna use Carmine. Yeah. No, no, no. We’re gonna use Carmine. We’re gonna use Carmine and get other people, that’s what we’re gonna do.
Irving Rosenfeld: What? Like who?
Richie DiMaso: Carmine is gonna use the Sheikh to pay off people.
Irving Rosenfeld: You fucking nuts? What are you say…? Are you fu…?
Richie DiMaso: We’re gonna let Carmine show the Sheikh Atlantic City, how he’s gonna renovate hotels and see who shows up! And whoever the Sheikh pays off for licenses and casinos, that’s who we’re gonna go after! We’re gonna go after all of ’em!
Irving Rosenfeld: And more politicians?
Richie DiMaso: Yeah.
Irving Rosenfeld: You realize how fucking dangerous that is? There’s no fucking reasoning with you. Alright, Edith and I were so successful for so long because we kept it just small enough. You are taking us to a very fucking dangerous place with very serious numbers!
Richie DiMaso: If you’re that successful, how come you wound up in this room with me, right now? Taking orders from me?
Sydney Prosser: You’re taking your wife out to dinner? Your fucking wife, did I just hear you correctly?
Irving Rosenfeld: That’s the one thing you heard me say?
Sydney Prosser: I just find it rather shocking, that’s all.
Irving Rosenfeld: I get to handle two wives with one dinner. Alright? I take Rosalyn out, she keeps her mouth shut, she sees that my work is legitimate. I get to keep my kid and I get to keep…
[pointing to Richie]
Irving Rosenfeld: …that fucking wife happy. Both wives happy.
[later at home, Richie is sat in the bathroom eating with pink curlers in his hair when his mother calls out to him]
Richie’s Mother: Richard, what are you doing? Richard, don’t eat in the bathroom! I’ve told you so many times! And Diane brought Napoleons. Come out of the bathroom and pray.
[Richie opens the bathroom door and his girlfriend is standing outside holding a box of pastries]
Richie DiMaso: Oh, my God! What did you do?
[he enters the dining room]
Richie’s Mother: Richard, the filter is broken in the fish tank. It’s a problem.
[Richie goes to fix the fish tank]
Richie DiMaso: See, your job is to do the filter, Mom, mine is to do the grub. When you don’t do the filter right, you get all the fish die. See?
Richie’s Mother: I can’t that top on the filter, that thing on there.
Richie DiMaso: I’ve been over this a hundred times, Mom.
[Richie, his mother and girlfriend are sat around the dinner table praying]
Richie’s Mother: And please help Richard to marry Diane so that I may have grandchildren, and the Pope may have more followers.
[suddenly the phone rings]
Richie’s Mother: And please bless this food that we are about to eat.
[Richard goes to answer the phone]
Richie’s Mother: Richard!
[he picks up the phone]
Richie DiMaso: Yeah, hello?
Sydney Prosser: Hi.
Richie DiMaso: Who’s this?
Sydney Prosser: It’s Edith.
[Richie moves goes into the hallway with the phone in his hand]
Richie’s Mother: Sit down and pray properly!
Richie DiMaso: Are you alright?
Sydney Prosser: Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. I’m just, I’m alone, you know? Irving’s out with Carmine.
Richie DiMaso: Oh, yeah. That’s right. He went out with Carmine and his wife. Yeah, you must not feel so good about that.
[Sydney hears Richie’s mother yelling in the background]
Richie’s Mother: Richard, sit down!
Sydney Prosser: Wait, who’s there? Who are you with?
Richie DiMaso: Oh, no. It’s just people.
Richie’s Girlfriend: People?! I’m your fiancé! Richard!
Sydney Prosser: Oh, you’ve got a fiancé. You’re engaged.
Richie DiMaso: Well, I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t have a fiancé. I don’t know. I don’t know.
Sydney Prosser: You don’t know? You don’t know if you have a fiancé?
Richie DiMaso: I don’t, no.
[Sydney hears his mother in the background again]
Richie’s Mother: The fish filter is broken.
Sydney Prosser: Hm, interesting.
Richie DiMaso: Anyway, you wanna get together?
Richie’s Mother: Richard, do something about the fish tank!
Sydney Prosser: 54th street?
Richie DiMaso: Okay, 54th street.
Sydney Prosser: Okay, great.
[as Richie puts the phone down from talking to Sydney he turns to his mother and puts his hands on her face]
Richie’s Mother: That’s what that phone call’s about. Everybody thought, “Oh, Richie DiMaso is gonna stay in the office, pushing papers.” That’s not gonna happen, Mom. I’m outside on the field, I got people working for me. My ideas, I’m running the show, I’m the quarterback and I’m not gonna settle for no one, Mom.
[he looks at his mother for a moment before kissing her on the cheek and getting up to leave]
[Irving and Rosalyn meet Carmine and his wife, Dolly, for dinner and they enter the restaurant]
Dolly Polito: Rocco, how are you?
[as they sit at the table]
Mayor Carmine Polito: Rocco, you know, we’d like the uh…the chicken very thin, right? Very thin. Really thin. Look, the way you dress the chicken with the red sauce. Right? With the red sauce and the lemon. They’re so good. Oh, here it is right here! Here it is! This is it. This, right here, this right here! Look at this. You see that?
[the chef has brought the chicken to show them]
Mayor Carmine Polito: This is so good. So good.
[we see Rosalyn looking uncomfortable, then it cuts to them having dessert and wine]
Mayor Carmine Polito: Thank you, Rocco.
Dolly Polito: Thank you, Rocco.
[later Irving chats to Carmine]
Irving Rosenfeld: I believe that you should treat people the way that you wanna be treated.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Mm-hmm
Irving Rosenfeld: Didn’t Jesus say that, or something?
Mayor Carmine Polito: He may have.
Irving Rosenfeld: I think also, always take a favor over money. I think Jesus said that as well.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Well, I don’t know if he said the second one. But he might have said the first one.
[Irving laughs]
[as Irving and Carmine are chatting Rosalyn shows Dolly her nails]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: I chipped them moving furniture, it’s my new obsession. Moving, redecorating, it makes me feel better, like, exercise. But there’s this…
Dolly Polito: Oh, yeah.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: But there’s this top coat that you can only get from Switzerland, and I don’t know what I’m gonna do because I’m running out of it. But I love the smell of it.
Dolly Polito: Oh, I can get it for you.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: I can’t get enough of it.
Dolly Polito: I can get it for you.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: That would be amazing.
Dolly Polito: Of course.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: There’s something…the top coat, it’s like, perfumy. But there’s also something rotten?
[she starts to laugh]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: And I know that sounds crazy, but I can’t get enough of it. Smell it, it’s true.
[she holds out her nails for Dolly to smell, Dolly smells them and laughs]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Dolly…
Dolly Polito: Oh, my God. Yeah, it smells disgusting. It’s true.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Historically the best perfumes in the world they’re all laced with something nasty.
Dolly Polito: Stop! Stop!
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: It is true!
Dolly Polito: It feels true.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: It’s true.
Dolly Polito: It feels true.
[Rosalyn extends her hand towards Irving across the table]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Irving loves them.
Dolly Polito: Oh, my God.
[Irving takes a sniff of her nails]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: He can’t get enough of that smell.
Irving Rosenfeld: Mm. I can’t get enough.
[Rosalyn extends her hand towards Carmine]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Carmine.
Dolly Polito: Carmine, smell her nails.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Sweet and sour.
Dolly Polito: Smell the nails.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Rotten and delicious.
[Carmine smells her nails]
Mayor Carmine Polito: It smells…it smells like flowers.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Flowers, but with garbage. Yeah.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Or like flower with flower.
[they laugh]
Mayor Carmine Polito: You know what that is for me? It’s coriander for me. It’s coriander for me.
[she extends her nails to Irving again and he takes another sniff of her nails]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Oh, Irving loves it, he can’t get enough. That’s what hooks you. He always comes back for it.
Dolly Polito: Mm.
Irving Rosenfeld: I can’t stop.
Dolly Polito: Yeah.
[Dolly laughs; referring to Dolly and Rosalyn]
Mayor Carmine Polito: Look at them having a good time. Look at her.
Dolly Polito: Oh, she’s so nice.
[referring to Irving as he talks to Carmine; Rosalyn leans to Dolly and says quietly]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: He’s gonna say…he’s gonna say, “We have to talk business.”
Dolly Polito: Oh.
[she holds up her hands and counts down with her fingers]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: In Five…
Rosalyn and Dolly: Four, three, two, one.
[at that moment Irving turns to Dolly]
Irving Rosenfeld: Dolly…Dolly, can me and the man talk about business here?
[Dolly and Rosalyn burst out laughing which makes Rosalyn falls off her seat, the waiter and Carmine come over to help her up]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: No, no, no! Don’t do that! It makes me look more drunk than I am.
Dolly Polito: I got you. Okay.
[Dolly, Carmine, the waiter help her up]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: I’m not this drunk. No. Just because I’m laughing…
[Irving comes over to give them a hand]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Irving, please don’t make me go. I was just starting to have fun. I was just starting to have fun.
[Carmine and Dolly help walk her out]
[meanwhile Richie and Sydney are out on the town]
Sydney Prosser: Didn’t your fiancé want to come out tonight?
Richie DiMaso: Yeah. No, uh…I don’t…yeah. No. No, I don’t know.
[he stops walking and turns to look at her]
Sydney Prosser: Oh, God. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. We don’t have to talk about it.
Richie DiMaso: That’s alright.
Sydney Prosser: I was just teasing you. I’m not…
Richie DiMaso: It’s alright. You ever think, like, how did I end up here? Like, how did my life become this? Do you ever think that?
[Sydney nods her head]
Richie DiMaso: And you wonder, like, am I ever gonna get out to a better place or is this it?
[Sydney nods her head]
Richie DiMaso: You feel like that?
Sydney Prosser: Yeah. Yeah, I do.
[she touches his face]
Sydney Prosser: I definitely know that. I’m sorry, we don’t have to go dancing. We can go have coffee, or talk, or something, or just…
Richie DiMaso: No, no, no, no. No, no. I need this. Please, I need to go dancing with you. Please.
[he takes her hand]
Sydney Prosser: Okay, baby. Let’s go dancing.
[they end up dancing at a club getting very close, they end up kissing on the dance floor, then Sydney walks off, Richie follows her and they cut in front of a long line of women in the bathroom, they enter one of the stalls making the women angry]
[inside the bathroom stall, as the women yell at them to get out, Richie starts to touch Sydney very intimately but pulls away]
Richie DiMaso: I really fucking like you.
Sydney Prosser: Yeah. Yeah, I like you too. I wanna live. Alright? For real. No more fake shit. Right? We’re gonna wait until we decide to go for a love we achieve for real. That’s when we fuck. Right? Not till then. Okay?
Richie DiMaso: Okay.
Sydney Prosser: Alright?
Richie DiMaso: Yeah.
Sydney Prosser: No more fake shit.
Richie DiMaso: No more fake shit.
Sydney Prosser: No more fake shit.
Richie DiMaso: No more fake shit.
Sydney Prosser: No more fake shit!
Richie DiMaso: No more fake shit.
[outside the stall there’s a long line of women, the first one bangs on the door yelling]
Girl Outside Stall: Fuck me! I gotta piss!
[inside the stall Sydney and Richie kiss passionatley and then she stops and smiles]
Sydney Prosser: Get out. Get out. Get out.
[she opens the stall door and pushes Richie out, he yells excitedly at the women in the bathroom, whilst inside the stall Sydney screams out laughing]
[later that night Carmine and Irvine bond by singing along to a song, then later Carmine introduces Irving to his friends]
Mayor Carmine Polito: Boys, this guy right here, Julius? This guy, Irving Rosenfeld, you know what he’s gonna do? He’s gonna bring the Sheikh to Atlantic City, that’s what he’s gonna do. Where we can rebuild all those resorts there, put everybody back to work. He’s gonna get this community, he’s gonna get this state, back on its feet to where it belongs. Isn’t that right? He’s gonna grow our tax base, and create thousands and thousands of jobs for everyone. Do you understand that? Do you know what that means?
Julius: To Irving.
[Carmine’s friends raise their glass]
Carmine’s Friends: To Irving!
Mayor Carmine Polito: Come on, this guy right here, he’s got a big heart.
[Carmine sits next to Irving, who’s now starting to look guilty, and pats Irving’s chest]
Irving Rosenfeld: I’d just hate it if it didn’t work out.
Mayor Carmine Polito: What do you mean? Of course it’s gonna work out. Alright? Guys like you and me? Come on, man. Right? We dream and we build. We never give up, we never quit.
[the next morning as Carmine and Irving are eating breakfast at a diner]
Mayor Carmine Polito: Hey, can I ask you a question?
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah, sure.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Is the Sheikh black?
Irving Rosenfeld: He’s uh…he’s an Arab.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Well, that’s…that’s black, isn’t it?
Irving Rosenfeld: No.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Right, I know, maybe it’s a dumb question, but I was just wondering.
Irving Rosenfeld: Why…why are you asking?
Mayor Carmine Polito: I would like to arrange the Sheikh to see Camden, to see the people of Camden. The people I serve, the people I love, who are mostly black and Puerto Rican. Irv, I really want him to see how good this is going to be for the community, how ready we are for this opportunity. And he can see how far his dollar will go. You know what I mean? What do you think?
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah. Yeah, we can do that. Yeah.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Yeah?
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah, he can see Camden. Yeah.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Ah, good. Oh, hey! I got something I wanna give you. Come on.
Irving Rosenfeld: For me?
Mayor Carmine Polito: Yeah, I got…I got you a gift. Let’s get out of here. The girls are gonna kill us.
[they leave the diner]
[Carmine and Irving walk to Carmine’s car and he opens the trunk]
Mayor Carmine Polito: There you go.
Irving Rosenfeld: What is it?
[we see that it’s a microwave]
Mayor Carmine Polito: It’s a Microwave. It heats up everything. Pasta, lasagna, meatballs, whatever.
Irving Rosenfeld: Really?
Mayor Carmine Polito: It’s science. Yeah, it’s how it heats up the food. It’s scientific.
Irving Rosenfeld: And you specifically bought this science oven for me?
Mayor Carmine Polito: Yeah. A new friend.
[Irving, touched by this gesture, looks guilty again]
Irving Rosenfeld: Thank you. Thank you.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Don’t put metal in it. Come on, let’s get out of here.
Total Quotes: 110
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