A tip about a mysterious film canister?Zodiac · 2007 — Chapter 28 of 30 · 5'03" · B2
Graysmith Meets the Theater Owner, Explained: get it in your head
A reporter traces a tip about a mysterious film canister to the owner of a movie theater. The man deflects the questions, insists the handwriting on the poster is his own, and invites his guest into a basement — an unusual thing in California. "Not many people have basements in California."
What happens
Graysmith visits a theater owner to test whether a screening of The Most Dangerous Game inspired the killer. The owner says he drew the posters himself and that the handwriting nearly matches, then leads him downstairs to see his private collection of original one-sheets, a tour that grows steadily more unsettling.
Listen for
get it in your headtake any more of your timecome to a matchcheapo knock-off
00:00 / 05:03Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it
Phrase of the scene
get it in your head
to become convinced of an idea
格雷史密斯承认，正是这条线索加上那张海报，让他脑子里认定里克就是十二宫。
He got it in his head that everyone at work was against him.
Also in this scene
- take any more of your time
to keep someone any longer
- come to a match
to end up matching after comparison
- cheapo knock-off
a cheap imitation of an original product
Everything marked in this scene
32 notes across 41 lines
to become convinced of an idea
This tip is how you got it in your head that Rick is the Zodiac?how-clause
This tip is how you got it in your head that Rick is the Zodiac?to end up matching after comparison
The handwriting is the closest that we have ever come to a match.superlative with present perfect
The handwriting is the closest that we have ever come to a match.liaison
The handwriting is the closest that we have ever come to a match.Mr. Graysmith, I do the posters myself.to keep someone any longer
I won't take any more of your time.Why don't I just go and find out when we played that film?why don't for suggestions
Why don't I just go and find out when we played that film?liaison
Why don't I just go and find out when we played that film?It's not a problem. They're just down in the basement.Not many people have basements in California.liaison
Not many people have basements in California.The original studio one-sheets, I always kept for myself.a cheap imitation of an original product
The cheapo knock-offs like you brought today I end up tossing into the back alley.The cheapo knock-offs like you brought today I end up tossing into the back alley.end up plus gerund
The cheapo knock-offs like you brought today I end up tossing into the back alley.The cheapo knock-offs like you brought today I end up tossing into the back alley.So, that would be about nine weeks before the first Zodiac letter, correct?would for tentative estimate
So, that would be about nine weeks before the first Zodiac letter, correct?Do you think he saw the film in our theater and was inspired?Are you sure there's nobody else in the house?Would you like to go upstairs and check?would you like for offers
Would you like to go upstairs and check?Thank you. Thanks for everything.You're welcome.Two killers. Got to be two killers. One has the...You've got five minutes.stress
You've got five minutes.Did you get my note?-What's this about? -Zodiac.Graysmith Meets the Theater Owner, explained
What's really going on
The scene runs on politeness that never quite covers the menace underneath. Graysmith is chasing a fact — did the film play here before the first letter — and the owner answers every question while steering it somewhere else, even noting that "not many people have basements in California." The line is a boast and a warning at once. In the basement, surrounded by his private posters, he offers the reporter a look upstairs, and the invitation sounds less like hospitality than a test. Nothing threatening is said, and that is what makes it work: the film lets the audience sit in Graysmith's unease without giving it a single reason he could take to the police.
Theme
SecretsA genial host answers questions while keeping the most unsettling parts of his home to himself.
DeceptionThe owner deflects a tip about a film canister and talks around what the reporter really wants to know.
What you'll learn
- Rick left a canister never to be opened, then took it back in 1972.
- The poster is the closest handwriting match—and Vaughn says it is his.
- He keeps original one-sheets and tosses cheap knock-offs into the alley.
- Most Dangerous Game ran in May '69, about nine weeks before the first letter.
Listen for
- come to a match — liaison
- go and find out — liaison
- basements in California — liaison
- You've got five minutes — stress
Not many people have basements in California.A casual line that lands as a warning, since a basement is exactly where a private, hidden space would be.
The handwriting is the closest that we have ever come to a match.The one piece of evidence that makes the tip feel real, so close to a match that it keeps the theory alive.
Would you like to go upstairs and check?An offer that flips the power in the room, inviting the nervous guest to prove his own suspicion.
Are you sure there's nobody else in the house?The reporter's fear spoken aloud, testing whether the man he is alone with will admit someone is hidden there.
Questions about this scene
Why does Graysmith visit the theater owner?
A tip about a mysterious film canister and the owner's poster point to him, so Graysmith wants to know when the film played and what the man knows.
Who really drew the poster?
The owner says he draws the posters himself and that the handwriting is his, which undercuts the theory that tied him to the case.
Why is the basement detail unsettling?
The owner mentions almost no one in California has a basement, and he does, so the private, hidden space makes the visit feel dangerous.
Does Graysmith find proof at the theater?
No. He only confirms a screening date roughly nine weeks before the first letter, which is suggestive but not evidence he can use.
Zodiac · 30 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 29the date that didn't endLinda Recalls the Painting Party
Chapter 1creep someone outDarlene Ferrin's Last Drive
Chapter 2I wouldn't kid youThe Zodiac Confession Call
Chapter 3shed light onZodiac's Cipher Reaches the Chronicle
Chapter 4get any ideasZodiac Attacks the Couple at the Lake
Chapter 5a hell of a get-upZodiac's Lake Berryessa Attack
Chapter 6flag a cabThe Presidio Cab Murder
Chapter 7did inZodiac Claims the Taxi Murder
Chapter 8skip townPolice Bicker Over the Zodiac Case
Chapter 9at a moment's noticeZodiac Calls the TV Talk Show
Chapter 10crack the codeBelli Tries to Catch the Zodiac
Chapter 11What's your angle?Graysmith Cracks the Zodiac Cipher
Chapter 12the more the merrierKathleen Johns Escapes the Zodiac
Chapter 13come out of the woodworkGraysmith Finds the Zodiac's Source
Chapter 14in my gutGraysmith Talks Zodiac on a Date
Chapter 15beat the bushesRiverside Investigators Compare Notes
Chapter 16lost in the shuffleThe Informant Describes Leigh Allen
Chapter 17the whole pointPolice Question Arthur Leigh Allen
Chapter 18greener pasturesPolice Question Leigh Allen's Mother
Chapter 19home turfPolice Build a Case Against Allen
Chapter 20tore out of herePolice Search Allen's Trailer
Chapter 21holding the bagBill Transfers Out of the Chronicle
Chapter 22fade into a footnoteGraysmith Pitches a Zodiac Book
Chapter 23yesterday's newsGraysmith Talks His Way In
Chapter 24more than just a coincidenceGraysmith Follows the Birthday Clue
Chapter 25tread lightlyGraysmith Chases Rick Marshall
Chapter 26blow overThe Letter That Framed Toschi
Chapter 27put yourself out thereGraysmith Chases the Case at Home
Watching · Chapter 28get it in your headGraysmith Meets the Theater Owner
Chapter 29the date that didn't endLinda Recalls the Painting Party
Chapter 30cancel each other outRobert Confronts Dave About AllenChapter 28 of 30 · about 10 min to go