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Swimming with Sharks · 1994 — Chapter 8 of 16 · 5'09" · B1

Guy Explains Why He Loves Movies, Explained: Get over yourself

Guy, a film-school graduate, is fetching coffee for a studio boss, and the person questioning him won't let him dress it up — "Would you please sit down?" cuts off his protest. Pressed on why he wants the movies, Guy answers with memories: his first job, his first car, his first kiss, all of them films.

What happens

The scene moves between Guy's conversation with a jaded studio insider and Buddy's phone call. Guy, a recent film-school graduate, is questioned about why he fetches coffee for Buddy Ackerman, then opens up about the movies that shaped his life. Buddy later leaves a demanding message and rants about Dawn's project.

Job interviewTalking to the bossConfrontingTeasingBoss & employeeB1mediumamerican
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Get over yourselfAnything butAss kissingCouldn't ... his way out of a paper bag

00:00 / 05:09
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Phrase of the scene

Get over yourself

stop being so self-important or taking things personally

盖伊看见巴迪难得笑了一下，就试探说也许你并不恨我；巴迪立刻用一句冷话把他堵回去，让他别自作多情，接着才开始讲这一行的忠告。

Get over yourself; not every email is about you.

Also in this scene

  • Anything but

    not at all; used to stress the opposite of what is mentioned

  • Ass kissing

    拍马屁、溜须讨好

  • Couldn't ... his way out of a paper bag

    连钻出纸袋的本事都没有，形容某人无能到了极点

Everything marked in this scene

27 notes across 103 lines

Phrase · C1feel charitableNo, I'm just feeling extra charitable.
Phrase · B2amuse someoneSo, talk. Amuse me. What's your story?
Phrase · B2anything but somethingdisappointed middle-class parents, uh... who had hoped their... their son would have been anything but a writer.
Phrase · C1pray tellWhy, then, pray tell, are you fetching coffee for Buddy Ackerman?
Phrase · B2fetch coffeeWhy, then, pray tell, are you fetching coffee for Buddy Ackerman?
Phrase · B1be in the businessHe... he's one of the top studio executives in the business.
Phrase · C1substitute A with BSo, basically, you're substituting talent with liberal amounts of ass kissing, right?
Phrase · C1ass kissingSo, basically, you're substituting talent with liberal amounts of ass kissing, right?
Phrase · C1character assassinationI've taken just about enough character assassination for one day. Thank you for...
Phrase · B2be time well spentLook, if this time can be spent convincing you to do anything else with your life, to getting out while you are still whole, it is time well spent.
Phrase · C1while someone is still wholeLook, if this time can be spent convincing you to do anything else with your life, to getting out while you are still whole, it is time well spent.
Phrase · B1let me ask you a questionLet me ask you a question.
Phrase · B2form a conclusionAre you gonna form some conclusion?
Phrase · B1for instanceFor instance, my first... job.
Phrase · B2get over oneself

stop being so self-important or taking things personally

Get over yourself.
Phrase · B2much less somethingyou don't have room for a personal life, much less a relationship.
Phrase · B1leave someone a messageLeave me a message.
Phrase · C1at a critical junctureat least for me, which is great, Especially at this critical juncture in our relationship.
Phrase · B2stop offAnyway, tomorrow morning on your way in I need you to stop off and pick up a prescription for me.
Phrase · B1pick up a prescriptionAnyway, tomorrow morning on your way in I need you to stop off and pick up a prescription for me.
Phrase · B2keep it quietIt's some pretty sensitive stuff, so keep it quiet.
Phrase · B2be a top priorityTry not to screw up. It's a top priority.
Phrase · C1atone for one's sinsBesides, I feel a sudden need to atone for my sins.
Phrase · B2have a lot of potentialNow... I think it has a lot of potential. I really do.
Phrase · B2exactly what someone is looking forAnd it could be exactly what Cyrus is looking for, and I was thinking we get somebody really big to direct, maybe... Penny Marshall.
Phrase · B2that hackAltman? that hack couldn't direct his way out of a paper bag.
Phrase · C1not do one's way out of a paper bagAltman? that hack couldn't direct his way out of a paper bag.

Guy Explains Why He Loves Movies, explained

What's really going on

On the surface this is a chat about taste in movies, but it is really a gatekeeping ritual. The questioner keeps stripping Guy's answers down — he says he is not "fetching" coffee, and gets told he is substituting "talent with liberal amounts of ass kissing." When he finally relaxes and lists his memories, the questioner mocks his smile ("Maybe you don't hate me") and fires back "Get over yourself." The advice that follows — "you don't have room for a personal life, much less a relationship" — shows the price the business demands. Buddy's later message makes the same point from the other side: total availability, "Don't fail me."

Theme

AmbitionGuy wants the movies for love, while everyone around him measures it as a career trade — coffee, flattery, and no personal life.
DreamsGuy's reason for the movie business is pure love — a childhood of film memories — not the money or status the questioner assumes.

What you'll learn

  • Use make it in to talk about succeeding.
  • Understand the tone of bullshit and screw up.
  • Use much less for emphatic contrast.
  • Notice how "ass kissing" changes the exchange.
  • Listen for the attitude carried by "ass kissing".
Look, if this time can be spent convincing you to do anything else with your life, to getting out while you are still whole, it is time well spent.

The warning beneath the conversation: the speaker thinks Guy should leave the industry before it wears him down, and considers the effort worthwhile.

Besides, I feel a sudden need to atone for my sins.

Buddy jokes that observing Yom Kippur is convenient, since he has plenty of sins on his conscience to answer for.

you don't have room for a personal life, much less a relationship.

The blunt career advice: to succeed here, Guy must cut out anything private — a relationship is simply not an option.

Yes. All my favorite memories have been of movies.

Guy's real answer to why he wants the business: films are bound up with his happiest memories, so the work is personal, not a career move.

Questions about this scene

Why is the questioner so hard on Guy?

Guy says he wants to work in movies but can't explain why, so the questioner keeps testing whether he is there for the art or just for access.

What does Guy mean by saying his memories are movies?

He means the big moments of his life — his first job, first car, first kiss — are tied to films he saw at the time. It is his way of saying his love of movies is personal, not professional.

Why does Buddy ask Guy to pick up a prescription?

It is a private, sensitive errand, and Buddy makes it clear it must stay quiet and not be botched. It shows how Buddy uses Guy for personal matters beyond the office.

What does Buddy think of Dawn's project, Real Life?

He praises it to Dawn's face, but when Guy suggests a director, Buddy sneers at the choices, calls one a hack, and tells Guy to think of Attenborough, Spielberg, or Lean.

Swimming with Sharks · 16 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 9written all over itBuddy Orders Guy to Bury the Story
Chapter 1sweet-talk someoneBuddy Sweet-Talks Shelley WintersChapter 2End of storyBuddy Berates Guy Over the PhoneChapter 3lose the smileGuy's First Day as Buddy's AssistantChapter 4Humor meBuddy Berates Guy Over Sweet'N LowChapter 5punch below the beltGuy Learns the Rules of Show BusinessChapter 6It's not brain surgeryBuddy Rages Over the Word UnreachableChapter 7give action to get actionAn Apology Becomes a Power PlayWatching · Chapter 8Get over yourselfGuy Explains Why He Loves MoviesChapter 9written all over itBuddy Orders Guy to Bury the StoryChapter 10White knight in shining armorBuddy Offers Guy the White Knight RoleChapter 11on a short leashGuy Is Warned Off the BossChapter 12Hit a home runBuddy Pitches Guy's Ending to CyrusChapter 13make a killingGuy Ditches His Partner to Obey BuddyChapter 14the rat raceBuddy's Rat Race SpeechChapter 15Paid my duesBuddy Defends Himself to GuyChapter 16climb the social ladderDawn Finds Guy Holding Buddy Hostage
Chapter 8 of 16 · about 43 min to go