WinkLingo
Log in

Auto Focus · 2002 — Chapter 11 of 16 · 2'17" · B1

John's Wild Idea and Bob's Big Call, Explained: Run it by me

A gleeful confession turns into a dare: John has been using Bob's name around town and wants the two of them to go bigger. Then a phone call changes the temperature — Disney wants Bob — and he coaches his agent hard: "Don't blow it. I want this job."

What happens

John bursts in with a story about his night out and a wild pitch for their next project, dropping in that he had to use Bob's name. Before they finish, the phone rings: Disney is offering Bob a movie. Bob, thrilled, makes his agent repeat the details and warns him not to let it slip away.

Phone callsSmall talkTeasingSuggestingFriendsB1slowamerican
IMDb ↗

Listen for

Run it by meblow thiscatching Zsdo what you gotta do

00:00 / 02:17
Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it

Phrase of the scene

Run it by me

tell me about it so I can check it

伦尼在电话里给出迪士尼的邀约，鲍勃不敢相信，用 Run it by me again 让他把条件再复述一遍。

Run the plan by me one more time before we pitch it.

Also in this scene

  • blow this

    ruin this opportunity

  • catching Zs

    睡觉、打个盹

  • do what you gotta do

    该做的就得做，别无选择

Everything marked in this scene

21 notes across 45 lines

Phrase · B2catch some ZsWhile you were catching Zs,
Phrase · C1one's loyal musketeerI, your loyal musketeer,
Slang · B2the porn theaterwas out at the porn theater shooting a copy of Deep Throat
Phrase · B1can do thatYou can do that?
Phrase · B2use someone's nameI had to use your name.
Phrase · C1pick up somethingI picked up some swing magazines.
Phrase · A2just do it- We should just do it. - What?
Phrase · C1a big-budget filmJust make a big-budget sex film.
Phrase · B2get a big starYou know, get some, uh... get some big star like, uh...
Phrase · B1never do itShe'd never do it.
Phrase · B2pay someone enoughOh, yeah, if you pay her enough. She's an actress.
Slang · C1my dick- Look at my dick. - Hm?
Phrase · A2Look closer.Look closer.
Phrase · B1be supposed to sayWhat am I supposed to say? It's bigger?
Phrase · B2a day wasted...is a day wasted.
Phrase · B1be kidding someoneHey, Lenny. You're kidding me.
Phrase · B2run something by someone

tell me about it so I can check it

Run it by me again.
Phrase · B2have commitmentsNo, no, no, no, no. Just tell them I've got some commitments.
Phrase · B2blow something

ruin this opportunity

Don't blow this, Lenny.
Phrase · A2need a jobI need this job, okay?
Phrase · B2Guess who's playing ...Guess who's playing Superdad.

John's Wild Idea and Bob's Big Call, explained

What's really going on

The scene runs on the difference between appetite and ambition. John's pitch is pure appetite — fun, reckless, and happy to borrow Bob's name to get it. Bob plays along, but the phone call reveals what he actually wants: "Don't blow it. I want this job." The repetition — "I want this job," then "I need this job" — shows a man who has decided a project matters before he has even heard the terms. Meanwhile the little aside about catching Zs frames the whole friendship: Bob is the one asleep, and the schemes happen around him. It is an early image of a life starting to run on pleasure, with something real at stake underneath.

Theme

AmbitionBob's fierce insistence that he needs the job shows how much he wants a mainstream career win.
FriendshipJohn borrows Bob's name and drags him into schemes, a bond built on shared appetite rather than judgment.

What you'll learn

  • Guard a chance with don't blow this
  • Ask someone to run it by you
  • Hear catching Zs as sleeping
Oh, yeah, if you pay her enough. She's an actress.

A cynical aside about stars: the right money makes almost anyone say yes, even a famous name.

What am I supposed to say? It's bigger?

A baffled response to an awkward show-and-tell, too blunt to be polite.

Don't blow it. I want this job.

A blunt order to the agent: this opportunity matters, and a mistake here would cost him.

I need this job, okay?

He repeats the demand, more anxious than commanding, making the stakes personal.

Questions about this scene

What big offer does Bob get?

Disney offers him a movie, Superdad, while he is on the phone with his agent. It is the mainstream role he has been chasing.

Why does Bob tell Lenny not to blow it?

He is desperate not to lose the Disney offer. He repeats that he wants and needs the job so his agent will treat it seriously.

What does John do with Bob's name?

He uses Bob's name to get access and copies around town without asking first, a favor that shocks Bob more than it angers him.

How does Bob react to the news?

He is stunned at first, asking the agent to repeat it, then quickly turns serious and tells him not to mess it up.

Auto Focus · 16 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 12word gets aroundLenny Warns Bob About a Scandal
Chapter 1a career-killerLenny Pitches Bob a SitcomChapter 2get the messageAnne Confronts Bob About the MagazinesChapter 3always been my thingBob Meets the VTR SalesmanChapter 4copaceticBob and John's Party NightChapter 5light years ahead ofBob Crane's New Video CameraChapter 6clear enough for youBob Catches John on TapeChapter 7pull a stunt like thisThe Demo Fails SpectacularlyChapter 8what went downJohn Carpenter Repairs Bob's VTRChapter 9go around onceBob's Wife Accepts an Open MarriageChapter 10dead airBob's Party and Career BlowupWatching · Chapter 11Run it by meJohn's Wild Idea and Bob's Big CallChapter 12word gets aroundLenny Warns Bob About a ScandalChapter 13a complete professionalBob Goes Too Far on Live TVChapter 14get in circulationBob Asks His Agent for WorkChapter 15take it for grantedBob Visits His SonChapter 16lower the boomBob and Carpenter's Falling Out
Chapter 11 of 16 · about 11 min to go