01x05 - The Chronicles

[bunniefuu]

Can you read this?

Oh, no.



Why not?

I'll tell you over there.

I mean, I made damn sure

that this couldn't
be traced back to me.





Turn the sound down, because
this is gonna get pretty loud.

Queenie, you ready
to sing for daddy?

Okay.













Good girl, Queenie.
Good girl.

Good girl, Queenie. Good girl.







They're out on bail.

They're off to The Bahamas,
and the mob blows up the boat.

Oh, okay.
Yeah.

All right.
Yeah.

Yeah.
Exactly.

So that didn't happen,
but it will.

It will in this.
Yeah.

Yeah.
Yes.

So they're dead
as far as we know.

And so this is their funeral.

And, you know, of course, uh,

I thought about who should come
to her funeral,

and of course
it should be all her girls.

Exterior.
A cemetery day.

Audrey's funeral.

Young girls with short,
skimpy dresses

and cleavage everywhere
are in attendance.

Paul, this may not
be the best time,

but we've got some
good news for you.

What's up, Alan?

You're a very wealthy man.

What are you talking about?

The IRS froze
her bank accounts.

They took the taxes out.

How much did they find?

They found 2.5 million
and took 2.5 million.

Really?

Yeah.

And you get 30% from
the whistleblower program.

The check is at my office.

Wow.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Paul turns and walks away.

He leaves the grave site
walking along a winding path.

As he gets to the street...



Daddy!

Get in.



And so begins
"The Chronicles."



The thing in Hollywood today
is franchise.

"Batman" franchise.

"Star Wars."
"Star Trek."

I want to create
a "Duplicity" franchise

and write some
fictional sequels

to the non-fiction "Duplicity."

I had Paul and Johnny
be kidnapped by the mob,

which would leave it open
for "The Chronicles"

to take over.

But what am I gonna do?



I thought back to chapter 22
of "Duplicity,"

about Royce's international

human trafficking
organization.

Holy sh*t!

When I discovered a picture
of a young Asian girl

in Royce's trash,
the conclusion I drew

was that Royce was bringing
in girls to join the ring.

So I wrote the
"Paul T. Goldman Chronicles,"

where Paul goes to London
and Paris and Moscow

and on and on fighting against
global sex trafficking.

Fiction whose origins
are non-fiction.

This is a huge ring.

We're talking Royce,
Borelli, lots of girls.

So "The Chronicles" are like,
"Hello, Mr. FBI.

Get your people
to-to bust this ring."



Johnny, what happened?

They took me from
the school playground.

Hey, put these blindfolds on.

First your son then you.

What the hell do
you want with us?

Man, that's one question
I can't answer.

But my guess is you meddled
in someone else's business.

Yeah, Johnny, you don't
want to see these guys.

Hey, shut up.

Unless the Royals
can clench that division

with a win over the Angels,

last night's one nothing
streak gave the Royals...





Get up.
Go on. Get up.

Go on.
Move.

Get in the room.
Get in there.

Get in the f*cking closet.



Paul, there's no time
to explain.

You have to believe me.

I'm here to get you and
Johnny out of here to safety.

We gotta get outta here now.
Move.

Lead the way.



Johnny, I want you
to keep your eyes closed.

Close them tight till we get
through the garage, okay?

Keep 'em closed.

So you're not a cop,
and you're certainly not

with the guys who kidnapped us.

Who are you?

You can call me Dan.

Dan Hardwick.

Me and my boss can help you
bring these guys down.

Who's your boss?

In due time.

In due time.

Right now, I want you
and Johnny to focus on

getting your cover story
straight.

Is he cool or what?

Yeah.
Yeah.

How we doing?

Did you like my last line?
Did you hear it?

At the end, I turned
to Johnny and said,

"Is he cool or what?"

I'm just expressing about Frank
what everybody is thinking.

Yeah.
'Cause he is.

He is cool.
Yeah.



Yeah. Yeah.



Frank's the best.

That's all I wanted to say.

I knew that Paul T. Goldman
could not be the author

of "The Paul T. Goldman
Chronicles."

That's like James Bond writing
the "James Bond" books.

So that's when I met
Ryan Sinclair.

Hi.
Sorry.

I just happened to notice the
papers with the big FBI on it.

Are you with the FBI?

No, I'm not. No.

I just happened to go through
a really crazy experience

with my second wife
in the last year.

What kind of experience,
if you don't mind my asking?

Is it okay if I--
Yeah. Yeah. Have a seat.

Have a seat.
Ryan Sinclair.

Paul Goldman.

In real life,
who is Ryan Sinclair?

Real life?

There is no real life
in "The Chronicles."



But the books are written
by Ryan Sinclair.

Hi.
I'm Ryan Sinclair.

I met Paul T. Goldman
on a Wednesday morning

at the Starbucks
on Thayer Street.

I just picked up
my Frappuccino

and was searching
for a place to sit down.

There was something about
this mild-mannered guy.

I could sense some kind
of inner strength.

So who is Ryan Sinclair?
Oh, I'm Ryan Sinclair.

Ryan Sinclair's my pseudonym,
my second pseudonym.

My first pseudonym
is Paul T. Goldman.

Oh, thanks.

Paul is now working
to bring down

the international
human trafficking ring

that his ex-wife

and her pimp/boyfriend
Royce Rocco are a part of.

I volunteered to help Paul
in his mission.

My part would be to focus
the light of public outrage

onto those c*ck who are
abusing the world's children.

Certainly,
it could be confusing.

I understand that.
Yeah, no sh*t.



So you--you created
my character like it was--

You're a gung-h*
investigative author.

Yeah.
Okay.

Josh, you wanna try
one more like Paul?

Be more like Paul?
Yeah. Yeah.

'Cause he's an extension of you
kind of.

Yeah, let's see what happens.
We'll try it.

He's like a mirror, you know?

Action.

Hi.

I just happened
to notice the paper,

especially the one
with the big FBI on it.

Are you with the FBI?

No, I'm not with the FBI.

It's just that
in the last year,

I went through
a crazy experience

with my second wife, and I'm
turning my notes into a book.

What kind of...

experience was it,

if you don't mind my asking?

No, it's okay.

Um, my lawyer subpoenaed
her cell phone records

and her bank statements,

and we discovered that my wife

was leading
a secret double life.

Can I just say something?
Sure.

I'm an investigative author.

If there is anything
that I can do for you...

Ryan Sinclair.

Nice to meet you, Ryan.

Good luck.
Thanks. Thanks.

That was the best.
Absolutely.

That's the tone.

Ryan Sinclair and I
have declared w*r

against global
human trafficking,

starting with the ring
I uncovered

in chapter 22 of "Duplicity."

Tweet.

Right now, there are five
"Chronicles" on Amazon.

Each is about 40, 50 pages,
ends with a cliffhanger.

Well, how am I gonna
market these?

So I create a Twitter page,
creating some tweets,

talking about
"The Chronicles."

But you gotta have followers.

So I did a search
for true crime readers.

You can follow up to 1,000
people on Twitter a day.

They would follow me back.

Sales started picking up.

Then I did a search for
anti-human trafficking groups

and following these followers

and sales started
picking up some more.

My little book, "Duplicity,"

became number one
in its true crime category.

That was amazing.

This person and 126 others
followed you.

This person mentioned me
in a tweet that they sent out.

What did they say?

Oh.

I can't tell you,
because it's in, uh--

I don't know
what language this is.

Person by the name of Who Got.

"Good afternoon
to all our new allies.

"You are allies, not followers,

because we are all
in this together."

And that one is posted.

Next.

"With your help, we will
increase public awareness

"of sex trafficking,
and we will bring down

criminal organizations."

Well, I created
a whole bunch of tweets.

Some for morning.
Some for afternoon.

Some for evening.

The-the themes are the same.

Talking about
"The Chronicles"

then giving a link
to the Amazon page

if people wanna learn more.

Next tweet.

"Phase one, make 'Duplicity'
a bestseller.

Phase two, get the movie made
based on 'Duplicity.'"

Done.

This is not spamming.

This is talking about
"Duplicity"

in a variety of ways.

Many ways.

Now, does Twitter let you
tweet the same stuff?

Well, you don't wanna
be a scammer.

That's why I avoid that

by changing one character
in the tweet.

And I usually give about
a minute between tweets

so people can have time
to read it.



That's good enough.

Tweet.

And there we go.

My contact at the DHS
gave me this report, Paul.

Now, as you can see,
it mentioned you.



Whoa.

Royce, Munson,
and co-conspirators

may be a cell of group X.

Royce's frequent phone calls
to England,

as well as his involvement in
ill*gal immigration from Asia,

suggest a high level
of international involvement.

Oh, wow.

I can't tell you, Dan,
how good it makes me feel

that somebody is finally
taking this seriously.

Well, I was wondering

if you'd like
to come work for me.

Oh. Me work for you?

I'm just a small businessman.

Actually, the investigation
of Audrey that you did,

it showed me that you have real
intelligence gathering talent.

Oh, speaking about that.

Your report,
it's a little dated.

Audrey and Royce, they're dead.

k*lled in a boat accident.

Royce is alive.



What?



He survived the expl*si*n
and fled the country.



Damn it.
That changes everything, Dan.

Yes, it does, Paul.

My employer and I
have had our eyes on you

for quite a long time, Paul,

and you've shown
a lot of smarts.

I got the proof
of her frauds.

And a lot of guts.
Objection.

Sustained.

How would you like
to help take down

Royce's international
organization?

I still don't think
I have the skills.

Now, all that takes,
better training,

and the guts
to put yourself in harm's way.

Now, I know you got the guts.

I'm willing to give you
the training.



I headed to the Black Hills

for a week of training
at Dan's cabin.

I won't say much about that,
except that I learned

some vital things
about protecting myself.

I learned to watch a guy's
hands if I didn't know him.

Elbow to the face.

I spent days
on target practice

in the field behind the cabin.

Off the wood.
Off the wood, Paul.



Somebody has to turn Paul
into James Bond.

Paul is just a schlemiel.

Schlemiel.
There's a word.

Eh, well, you know.

Yeah, something to put on
to match.com

as I continue my search
for a decent relationship.

Yeah.
You and me both.

I was married.

So now is the first time
that I've ever been--

that I've ever dated.

It's the worst.

Yeah.

I mean, I'm having a--
kind of a fun time, but...



Ooh!

No, don't sh**t!

Sorry, pal. You're dead.

Line this side up.

Hey.
There you go.

One. Two. One. Two.

Bam! Yes!

Proud of you.



Queenie, look.

Queenie, look at the ducks.



I'm not Paul T. Goldman
of "The Chronicles,"

because I'm not
a secret agent.

But I am like Paul T. Goldman
of "The Chronicles,"

'cause I'm now, hopefully,
gonna start fighting

against human trafficking
as spokesperson

for "The Chronicles."

I think there'll be a demand
for me to be a public speaker.

People might be interested
hearing the story

right from the horse's mouth.

We have a great stable
of people.

Hopefully,
it's gonna include you.

We represent a lot
of celebrities,

Nobel Peace Prize winners,

Mikhail Gorbachev,
and Dan Rather,

and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
and lots of others.

People that have changed
the world in some way, and--

Your company sounds
just a great fit for me,

because I hope
to change the world too.

Well, that's good.









Hello, everybody.

I have an interesting

and all-true story to tell you.

I got a catalog in the mail
from Russian brides.

So I started corresponding
with Svetlana.

Things were going well,

but then they weren't
going so well.

So I met this girl, Talia.

Wasn't much of a marriage,
so I won't go into that.

So Audrey Munson.

We got engaged.

Through becoming
a public speaker,

you can influence
a lot of people

and do a lot of good
in this world.

Ten calls a day every
single day to this one guy,

Royce Rocco.

Think about this.

Governments triple
the money they're spending

against human trafficking,
and one girl is saved.

It's a win-win situation.

There he is.

There's our sex trafficker.

It's the calm before
the storm, I believe.

So that's it.

That's basically the story,
and yeah.

So now we're gonna do
a five-minute Q&A.

Anybody has any questions, he's
got a microphone right there.

Quick question.

Aren't mail order brides
a form of sex trafficking?



I don't--I don't think
the sex traffickers

have it in mind
to marry the girls

that they're bringing over.



Here you go.
My pleasure.

You can keep tabs on my
progress at my website,

www.stop-child
sex-trafficking.org

First page
is "Duplicity" on the left,

a few reviews underneath
talking about it.

The link's up at the top
to the Amazon page.

What's...

Is there anything on the site
about child sex trafficking?

You know, there isn't,
and you're right.

You're right.

We should probably
start doing that too.

That's a good idea.

Yeah.



The next lead I had
was to England.

Inching through the traffic
of London's crowded streets,

I thought that I needed
someone to know the truth,

someone I could trust,

and that someone
was Ryan Sinclair.

Terry had told me
I had to be careful,

so I stepped into
a small storefront

and picked up a postcard.

This way,
someone beside Dan

would at least know
where I was.

I received this postcard
from him.

He said he was in London.

He explained to me what had
happened to him since we met.

As a special bonus to
the first thousand people

who download
"The Chronicle,"

I will scan and email you
Paul's postcard from London

that I received.

Paul's trip to London,
that is based on the phone bill

from Royce's trash
making calls to London,

probably having to do
with the sex trafficking.

So you're basing
fictional stuff,

again, on something factual.

We're in London.

Jolly Old London.

Cheerio.
Cheerio and all that rubbish.



The next evening,
I found myself

sitting in a café in London

with $1,000 cash
in my pocket

and a p*stol in my briefcase

waiting for a prost*tute,
probably underage--

no place
I ever expected to be.

Hey, sport.

Long time no see.

I understand
you don't wanna pay

before you've seen the goods.





You look very young.

Do you really want
to be doing this?

Oh, yes.

I love spending evenings
with handsome businessman.

No, that's not what I mean.

If you could go home
to your family,

if I could get you
out of England tonight,

would you go?

All right, you w*nk*r.

Are you a copper
or some kind of missionary?

I'm not a w*nk*r, you piece
of sh*t, and I'm not a copper.

I'm just curious. That's all.

I like to talk to the girls
a little bit before we--

hey, look at me, look at me!

I'm thinking of adding,
"Buzz off."

I love it.

Just curious.
That's all.

I like to chat a little bit
with the girls

before I, you know.

Are you gonna leave me alone
so I can enjoy my evening

with this lovely lady?

Buzz off, pal.

I'm afraid we aren't
gonna be able to help you.

It's been great
catching up with you.

Have a lovely time in London.

We must fly.

So good to meet you.

That's when I saw it.

An address.

Paris.



Ryan, this is Paul Goldman.

Remember me from the coffee
house a few weeks ago?

Of course I do.
I was hoping you'd call.

What's up?

You won't believe what
has happened since we met.

I feel weird
dumping all this on you

after only meeting you once,

but I'm also not sure
what to do.

I think I probably should
go to this address in Paris.

What do you think?

Paul,
I know what I would do.

I would go to Paris.

I said,
"I'm here now with the producer

"who will make 'Duplicity.'

"They've been filming me
all morning.

It has been a blast."

Tweet.

What's the best way
to increase public awareness

of any problem?

A movie.

Erin Brockovich, she had
a thing happen to them.

They had the movie.

And, uh,

has she done a lot of good
in the world?

I think so.

I noticed up on
the top of Twitter,

it had the hourglass thing.

You could search.
So I searched film directors.

Then I started
direct messaging

all these film directors

to see if they might
be interested

in making the movie.

And once in a while,
I got a bite from, you know,

these independent directors
saying,

"Well,
if you have $1 million,

I'll direct your movie."

Well, that didn't do me
any good.

So I kept on it,
and several months later,

I got an email out of the blue

from a director named
Jason Woliner who said,

"I read everything
that you wrote,

and I'm interested
in making the movie."

And the rest,
as they say, is history.

What is this?

It's this scene
they're sh**ting tomorrow.

Oh, this is the stuff
you wrote for me?

Yeah.

I don't know that I should
be a character in this.

You're chickening out
on me, eh?

I don't know that it makes--
I don't--

yeah, I just think I shouldn't
be the one doing it.

I think, like--I think
you should be the person

who is you, and the rest--
everyone else in the show,

like Terry,
everyone else should be actors.

And so we'll just get
a guy to do my stuff,

and we'll see how it goes.
Yeah, fine.

Is that okay?
That's okay with you?

Yes.
Okay.

Hey.
You know,

nobody can play Jason but you.

I don't want to do it.

I don't want to do it.

It's just
one little line here.

I have the other guy
waiting though.

Hi.
Hi.

So you'll start here.

Okay, great.
And that's it.

Yeah, let's just run it
a few times.

Sounds good.
Okay, cool.



Camera and action.

When I got a tweet
from Paul asking me

if I would be interested
in directing the movie

based on his book,
the first thing I did

was call Paul and arranged
a lunch meeting with him.

I read your book.

Audrey, her double life,
the sex trafficking,

the cops, the press,
the FBI, Interpol,

the story goes on and on.

Is it true?

It's all true,
just how I wrote it.

I wanted to be as honest
and genuine as Paul was

regardless of what I thought

the reality might
or might not be.

It happened.
It happened to me.

That's amazing.

I gotta get it on tape.

Hey, can I bring a film crew
to your place next week?

And can you tell
the whole story?

You bet.

Awesome.
Great, Paul.

Any notes or anything?
No, it's great.

Well, you know,
what about if you come over

and you sit in Jake's place
and run the lines?

Paul seems
to be good heartedly,

actively trying to get me
removed from this project.

You know,
he's better than this guy.

Yeah.
Just that this guy's voice

is just like a squeaky tin can.

Yeah.
Yeah.

You wanna do
the scene with me?

Mm-hmm.

Um, yeah, we can do
a take like that.

Yeah, I'll need to change
and get Mike to direct.



I can do that.

All right.
I think I'm leaving.





Okay, cool.

Look.

All right.
How do you want me to do it?

Say anything you want.

First, you know what
my first question is.

Okay.
Very quiet please.

Of course
you know what my--

okay, of course you know what
my first question is.

Audrey, her double life,
the sex trafficking...

Of course, you know what
my first question is?

The double life,
the sex trafficking,

the cops, the press, the FBI.

Is it true?

It's true.
It's all true.

Just the way I wrote it,
it all happened to me.

Amazing.
I gotta get it all on tape.

Can I bring a film crew
to your place next week?

And can you tell
the whole story?

You bet I can.



All right.
All right.

I think we--I think
we got enough there.



You wanna make
a blockbuster movie?

You wanna make a franchise

that will be the equivalent
of "James Bond"?

Paul T. Goldman is an action
hero for the 21st century.

That was 2012.

And so delays and delays
and more delays

in finding investors
and this and that.



I don't think you f*cking
know who you're talking to.

Do you understand
what I'm saying?

This is my forever marriage.
You know that, right?

Bye.

Today was one of the most
exciting days of my life.

Paul, wait up.

What's up, Jason?
Did I forget something?

Uh, I forgot to get you
to sign something.

It's a contract.

It's about signing the rights
to your story over to me.

Oh, okay.
I'll sign it.

It isn't exactly
as how smoothly it went.

I remember--didn't you
negotiate for months?

Oh, do you want to--

But you didn't wanna
give them up, right?

When they gave me
the contract,

they wanted everything.
Of course.

And I said, "Absolutely not."

And so I hired
an entertainment attorney

who went over their
contract line by line,

read it out and changed things
and added stuff for me.

All right, let's roll camera.

They refused everything.

It's okay.
I signed it.

Okay, sure.

I'll sign it.

So this is acceptable?

Of course.

I have no desire
to go to anyone else

but you, 'cause we're a team.

We're brothers,
compadres, fraires.

I think people
will have mixed feelings

about Jason Woliner.

Is he using someone,

or is he offering something
to someone?

Like, he gets to sort of
make that choice.

Is he abusing the trust
of this person,

or is he going to honor his
story in whatever way he can?

There we go.

That was great. Um...

Okay.

I think we should get
the other guy to do this.

No, this is great.

Cut. Done. Print.

I think we should
get the other guy

to just do a pass on it.

It won't be the same.

My feelings won't be the same.

How can I talk to that guy and
say what I just said to you?

But he's here.
We brought him in.

We don't have to use him.
It's done.

It's already done.
You've been filmed.

It's done.

Take five minutes.



And action.

I'll sign it.

After this, it's gonna
be you and me, right?

Yes, it's gonna
be you and me.

We're in this together.

Paul, we're gonna
be collaborators

until the day we die.

I feel the same way too.
Hug it out.

Hug it out. Yeah.



Okay.
Great.

What did you think?

Thought it was good.

Go get it.
Lunchtime.

Lunchtime.

And of course, anything
that drops is Queenie's.

Do you know, uh, Hulu?

Of course.
Hulu wants to do it.

Hulu wants to do it.

This story, it's not just
a two-hour movie anymore.

It's more than that.

It's gotta be a series.

Are they going to be
generous this time?

On the movie, I was
planning to make $2 million.

You were?

A movie grosses
$200 million.

You were banking on
it making $200 million?

This is Paul
with the general.

Can I help you?

And then we shot the pilot,
which was absolutely amazing.

How many people get to--
get to have their life

on the screen, right?

It's incredible.

The crew called this
my badass outfit.

I call it the warrior.

So what do you think?

There are no words to express

how--how incredible this is.

I was firmly convinced that
Hulu was gonna pick it up.

You're calling me.
This must be good news.

Well, it must be news.

Hulu said, uh, no.

I'm shocked.

I am shocked too.

So we had to start again.
Back to scratch one.

Did you think,
"I'll try a different way.

I'll just keep writing them"?
Like...

Um, I would nag Jason.

Really?

You did? Yeah.

What's a Quibi?

Uh, have you heard
the name Jeffrey Katzenberg?

Wasn't he partners
with Steven Spielberg?

Right.

And he's starting up
a new network,

and he's commissioning
series for people

to watch on their phones
through the Quibi app

when they're in line
at the bank or the store.

Nice.

Also, we have a meeting
next week with Jeffrey

and the top executives.

Wanna say hi to Jeffrey, Meg,
and all the people at Quibi.

What you're looking at is a
photo taken by my private eye

of my ex-wife meeting
with her girls

for over three hours
right here in Sandsprit Park.

We've got hookers,
we got p*mps,

and we got Paul T. Goldman.

Jeffrey Katzenberg
loved the idea.

Our series will do for Quibi

what "House of Cards"
did for Netflix.

Quibi is shutting down
six months after launching

its short-form
streaming service.

Quibi had a great idea,
but they had really bad timing.

No one was going to the
store, the bank, the office.

They were all
locked down at home.

We had to start from scratch.

The good news was by 2021,

there were a bunch of new
streaming networks to pitch.

And here we are on Peacock.
The journey continues.

And cut.

Everything that's going on
is because of you...



This much, and me this much.

Well, that's not true at all.

Okay, let's call it--
I don't know what to do.

It's you and me
in this together.

You are my brother.

I don't give a sh*t
about anybody else.

We're a team.

Beyond words, the connection

that you and I have
for ten years.

women: Fast as you can,
slam the man.

We get a hug.
That's when...

Hey, Paul. How are you?

Oh, everything's just fine.

We're gonna come back
down there and interview you

one more time
if you're up for it.

Neat.

So what can you tell me
that I don't already know?

Um...

Beautiful.

You're good.

So you might not love
where this goes.

I jolted, awake, choking.

My right side was bruised.

My left eye swollen
and painful to touch.

My ribs were tender,
maybe even broken.

There was dry blood
on my shirt.





Clouds of black smoke were
bleeding into the night.



The Parisian sky was bruised.



The building was being
consumed before my eyes...



Along with the people inside.

Okay.
Let's lie down again.



One more.

And...action.

Ah!

Ugh. Ugh.

Ugh!



Let's unfold history now.

And then he got me--
makes me dangling off the roof

of a two-story building.

Oh.

Can you come that day?

I don't know.

Do they allow you?
I don't think so.

No?

Well, you know,
I might just--

I might just have a little in
with the director.



Ah.

He's like Tom Cruise.

There's only one
unforgettable experience

of this--of this
whole three weeks.

And that's meeting here.
Aww.

I feel the same way. I do.

This is tru--
like, truly meaningful.

Thank you.



















Royce.
He had to be behind this.



Yeah, we're ready.
Okay. Let's slate it.

Camera. Talk right to me.

Okay.

Who are you?
Tell us who you are.

My name's
John Cadillac McDaniel.

Is there another name
you might be known by?

Cadillac's the only name,
really,

that most of my friends
know me by,

but there was
another name for me.

Royce Rocco.