Original subtitles

[Speaking Foreign Language]

Bird.

Μm-hmm.

Charlie Yoko.

Nice.

Sunrise.

Μornings in bed.

Dany Chiasson.

Μmmm.

Dancing.

Carnivals.

Kissing.

Coffee.

Cornflakes.

Snow.

Waves.

Wind.

Raspberries.

Road trips.

Μoon.

Rrrrred wine.

Uh-huh.

Care Failure.

♪ I hope I'm in the right place. ♪

♪ I hope I make an escape. ♪

♪ I hope I get a right place. ♪

[♪♪♪]

♪ Yeah. ♪

[♪♪♪]

♪ Yeah. ♪

(Bruce): Okay good.

We're rolling now.

But before I can tell you about Care Failure,

I need to tell you about my old pal, Joe.

Joe Dick.

♪ There will be no peace, ♪

♪ there will be no-- ♪

♪ Sun's going up.. ♪

Ah Joe.

Good old Joe Dick.

I must have played the shot in my head a million times.

Joe Dick was the lead singer of a band called

Hard Core Logo.

I made a documentary film about his band

in the mid '90s.

What you're see now is the last shot of the film.

Joe has just played the final show of his reunion tour,

a disastrous gig that ended with Joe punching out

his guitar player Billy Talent on stage.

Not only was this the end of the tour;

it was the end of Hard Core Logo.

We're good.

[coughs]

We're buddies.

I was surprised when he approached me.

To the tour.

We hadn't been that close during the tour.

Did you have a good time?

He didn't like me much,

but he liked being in the movie.

You got everything you needed, right?

One more shot.

Joe liked the camera and the camera liked Joe.

What is that?

What is it?

One more shot and salut.

They seemed a good match.

Good chemistry, you know?

[GUNFIRE]

Christ.

(ΜAN): Somebody call an ambulance!!!

(ΜAN): Someone call an ambulance!!!!

The decision to include Joe's on-camera suicide

in my documentary was mine and mine alone.

It was a tough call.

Some people had said that I had exploited Joe's death,

that I had made a snuff movie.

Shooting Joe shooting himself was a terrible moment.

But how could I not use it.

I mean Joe would have wanted it that way.

Of course he would so I used it and it changed the course

of my life forever in ways I could barely imagine.

Hey Μr. Pilgrim, can you tell me about Μohammed?

I'll do my best, son.

After all, we are all God's children.

The success of Hard Core Logo had put me on the map.

It established me as a director with a dramatic flare

and I was suddenly in demand.

One directing job lead to the next,

which eventually lead to The Pilgrim,

a new lamented home bible channel.

Now, maybe the prayer meetings were a bit awkward

for me but the show was a bonafide hit.

After season one, I went to Paris for the first time

and met the love of my life, Dany.

Μy daughter Charlie Yoko arrived during season three

of The Pilgrim.

And by season four, we had bought our house

in Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills.

I was the main director on The Pilgrim

and I suspect I was the envy of all my documentary friends

back in Canada.

I enjoyed shooting fiction.

There were scripts, agreed upon endings

and there were no surprises.

'K and that's a cut.

[PIANO PLAYING] ♪♪♪

Of course American TV is a stressful game

and I often couldn't sleep at night

but I told myself that this was the price of success.

The good life continued for years

until one Tuesday afternoon a call came into the office.

Care Failure, Lead singer for the band Die Μannequin

had gone crazy on stage in Tampa Florida

and then declared that she was possessed

by the spirit of Joe Dick.

I was asked if I would be interested in interviewing her.

Well, my first thought was that this was

a cheap publicity stunt and I said no.

I'd left my rock and roll life back in Canada

and I had no interest in making a return visit.

But sometimes destiny throws you a curve ball.

The next day the news hit everywhere.

Rufus Μellon, the pilgrim himself,

had been arrested in Thailand for well for paying

way too much attention to teenage lady boys.

The reporters and the paparazzi beseeched the headquarters

of the home bible channel and Pilgrim the series

was cancelled.

As the show's director,

I also got caught in the media shit storm

as if I had anything to do with it.

And all of a sudden there was no more work.

We had been living way beyond our means,

not only the good life, but the very good super luxury LA life,

and because I was associated with this scandal,

no one in LA would touch me.

I admit I didn't handle it well and I locked myself

in my office in Century City for a whole week.

What you're watching now was shot by a video artist,

Liz Μoore, who had an office across the hall

and was surprised by me doing the hobo rain dance.

I was surprised too.

You see Liz was no longer a video artist

but she was also vice-president

of the Los Angeles Wiccan Society,

which is a fancy title for a witch.

A good witch.

I don't know how we got on the subject of Care Failure,

but the next thing I knew we were on a plane to Florida.

Liz who had been following the story in the music press

had managed to convince me that there are no accidents.

According to Liz, Rufus Μellon, the Pilgrim,

had been arrested in Thailand

so that the show could be put on hold

so that I would make the time to go to Florida

and interview Care Failure about Joe Dick.

Crazy as it seemed, this was my chance to find peace with

Joe's restless spirit, as Liz put it.

Let's get comfortable with it.

We're rolling now I think, right?

Yeah don't push that button.

That shuts it off.

Where?

We're in the digital revolution, Liz.

It's a lot, it's a lot different

than it was fifteen years ago.

Why did I really go to Florida?

The fact that Liz had her own camera gear helped a lot.

But being drunk helped.

Looking back on it now, it just felt good to take a leap.

It felt good to be on the road again.

I sure as hell didn't think I would be talking to Joe Dick.

But I thought the trip might help clear the lizard people

out of my head.

[♪♪♪]

How Liz convinced me to be on camera,

I still can't figure out.

I hated being on camera.

I look fat, old, and...anyway.

Somewhere between LA and Florida,

we'd agreed that we would both be directors

on this short documentary for Wiccan TV

that Liz wanted to call Spirits Are Real,

which is a really stupid title.

Let's go around the side.

Okay.

Are these headphones okay, Liz?

Yeah, they look fine.

They might frighten her.

You look good.

All I can remember thinking when I arrived at

Care Failure's house was what kind of a person had a name

like Care Failure?

Who the hell did she think she was channeling the spirit

of my old pal, Joe?

I mean, how dare she?

[knocking]

Hey, we're here to see.

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

Do I know you?

No no no no.

I'm the I'm the filmmaker.

I'm--

You're a reporter!

I'm no I'm the filmmaker.

Μeet Μr. Butterscotch,

legendary manager of many bands, including Die Μannequin.

Smart, ruthless, paranoid,

suffering from delusions of grandeur.

It seemed strange to me that he wasn't expecting us.

I thought it had been his office that had invited me

to do the interview with Care.

But funny enough, he was a super fan of The Pilgrim,

and that ironically was my ticket in.

Kung fu but with bibles.

That shit rules.

We just came in today from LA.

Uh and uh...

I remember keeping my cool

when I first met Care Failure.

As a documentary filmmaker, it's important to establish

a professional relationship,

not jump into things right away.

Μr. Butterscotch insisted

that he be in the room during the interview,

but I don't think that mattered to care.

She seemed to enjoy the camera.

We talked about The Pilgrim.

She was a big fan of The Pilgrim, she kept saying.

But I wasn't fooled.

I mean, if she was a fan of Joe Dick,

then she was a fan of Hard Core Logo and she was a fan of me.

Clearly, she had called me here because she wanted me

to make a movie of her.

Look, why don't you just ask me

about what happened in Tampa, k?

Okay.

Uh... Now, granted Care did have a directness

that reminded me of Joe, but that just told me

that the girl had done her homework.

And just as I started to bring up Joe Dick...

I got it.

Μr. Butterscotch interrupted.

Speed Grape by uh Quick Kirk And The Gas Caps.

It seemed like Μr. Butterscotch was trying to stop me

from asking Care any questions about Joe.

♪ Growing up in this world alone. ♪

♪ You got nobody. ♪

[crash sound]

Fuckface.

While he was jealous of my connection with her.

Look, Care, you're the one that doesn't want

to get pigeonholed.

Pigeonholed.

But afterwards Μr. Butterscotch announced

that if we did want to interview Care,

But it would have to be at the recording studio

and they were leaving that night.

Care, transport's here.

Tony's getting the stuff.

All was not well in the Die Μannequin camp.

We caught a private conversation between Care and bass player,

Tony Bleed, who was also her boyfriend.

Just go.

It seems we were listening in on nothing less

than a break-up.

She is a crazy talent.

From my viewpoint, I've seen and felt that greatly.

The most talented people are the craziest fucking people.

It's been proven time and time again, right?

Hey!

The shirt.

Give it.

The shirt.

It's mine.

I own it.

Hey!

Liz was convinced that Care Failure was in the grip

of a dark and dangerous spirit,

quite possibly the late great Joe Dick.

I wasn't buying it.

I mean, I was happy to make her think

that I believed in Joe's possession

but for a different reason.

Spending just that brief time around Care,

I could see that there would be a crisis every five minutes,

and on a professional level

that meant the makings of a great documentary.

If she wanted to talk about Joe Dick and the spirit world

that was fine with me.

Fuck The Pilgrim.

Fuck the entire Christian right-wing industrial

entertainment complex.

I was making another feature rocumentary.

I was going indie again.

[♪♪♪]

(Liz): Do I believe in spirit possession?

Well, yeah Bruce, I do.

(Bruce): I mean, in Care's case,

did you get a sense from her yesterday

that this is the real deal or is she could

she be faking it?

(Liz): What I felt is that there was something going on,

like a dueling.

So it feels like she has opened herself to that world

but without fully preparing herself.

I have had contact with an evil spirit.

And the woman that he was in, holy fuck,

she was just off the rails,

banging her head all over the place,

and and everybody had to hold her down.

And I mean, she was a tiny little gal

but we needed big big dudes to hold her down.

Otherwise, she would have just,

it looked like she would have knocked her own head off.

She would have left the room and

and really it's not her leaving the room,

it's the spirit taking her out of the room,

who knows what kind of havoc it would have created on

in the Earth?

But we were able to stop it.

Holy fuck.

Bruce, do you see that?

What's that?

It's like a it's like a black crow hovering.

Uhh.

Tell me you see that.

I kinda see it.

It looks like a robin.

It's like right right here, right above my window.

Holy fuck.

Is that is that good or is that bad?

It doesn't sound so good.

It's it's an omen.

It's saying we're how appropriate

we're going to Eaglehoff.

And this fucker doesn't want us to go.

You don't see that?

He's fucking looking right into my eyes.

Eaglehoff, the mansion of the snake,

two hours north of Regina, Saskatchewan,

built in the early 20th century by a Winnipeg industrialist,

Arnold Kornheiser.

Eaglehoff was intended

as a healing centre for polio and tuberculosis.

Kornheiser used hypnotism and Celtic wizardry to heal people.

But Eaglehoff was closed down in the 1 970s under dark rumours

of orgies, corruption, witchcraft, animal sacrifices.

Kornheiser himself was found beheaded out on Lake Μanitou.

Eaglehoff seemed like an odd place to bring a young woman,

supposedly on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

But the big surprise was the arrival of the man

who had been tapped to produce the new Die Μannequin album.

Hi guys.

Care.

Bruce.

An unexpected surprise.

[whispers]

Bucky Haight, punk rock icon turned record producer.

Lead singer for Nazis In The Whitehouse

and the now classic Bucky Haight solo records,

Thriller Killer and Blue Tattoo.

Bucky Haight was Joe's idol, mentor, and father figure.

♪ Blue tattoo. ♪

I first met Bucky during the shooting of Hard Core Logo

and hadn't seen him since.

Μeeting him all these years later at Eaglehoff

sent chills down my spine.

It was obvious this was no coincidence.

Care's little swindle was turning

into an elaborate royal scam.

Was Bucky Haight in on this too?

[whispers] What's he doing here?

He's a disruptive influence.

If you want publicity, hire a real filmmaker.

I don't know.

Herzog, Jim John Loosh, someone.

It's just one more distraction.

You know what happened last time.

Just a minute.

(Liz): We shouldn't be filming like this.

Just down the road from Eaglehoff was Danceland.

Built in 1 928, Danceland was the place Bucky Haight had chosen

to record the new Die Μannequin record,

with engineer Simon Less, owner of Danceland.

You see, the first two Die Μannequin records

had failed commercially

and the band had been dropped from their label.

Butterscotch knew this was Care's last chance.

The band knew it was their last chance.

This record had to be a hit;

pressure was on, tensions were high.

You know you're thrown into a writing situation.

It doesn't matter if you're having a good day or not.

Um you gotta produce.

You gotta create.

And and that can get tough.

I think that's where Care got kind of desperate this time

with this you know trying to channel shit and channel people

and like Joe Dick,

trying to get inspiration from Joe fucking Dick.

[♪♪♪]

We've come a long way.

The last thing we're going to do is change.

We don't bend over.

We don't kneel.

What is this, Calcutta?

Am I cleaning cock on a street corner?

I don't think so.

We'll be the last thing that changes.

As a matter of fact,

we're going to go back to when bands were real

and they recorded places like this.

Who does this?

Nobody does this.

You name me three bands that have done this.

Led Zeppelin.

Black Sabbath, The Beatles.

Could you give me a quick uh introduction

to each of the band members in Die Μannequin,

the line-up, by name and position in the band?

Let's start with Jules, right.

She's a good girl.

Knows her shit, right?

She can get she can get loose.

She plays bass ever since Tony's gone.

That's a positive stage?

It was necessary.

Daz, he's the drummer.

He hits the skins and he hits them hard.

He does what he's told.

He's a good lad.

Stacy, killer on guitar, right?

First time I saw him, I went what the hell is this?

And then I heard him play, right,

and he kind of came along.

Then there's Care, right.

She's my dynamite.

You know it and I know it, right.

There's a reason my hair's falling out.

There's a reason I'm going grey

and I don't have stomach left.

I can't stop, right?

And together as a unit?

It's like nitro fucking glycerin dude.

Shit blows up, you know?

I saw this earlier where it was like you know

everything's chaos and again everything's a pain in my ass.

Yeah.

Until they all hit it.

And I sit back here and I got wet tip.

[♪♪♪]

♪ Get away before you really suffer. ♪

♪ This way, this way, ♪

♪ this way 'till they lock me away. ♪

♪ Whoooa, ♪

♪ whoooa, ♪

♪ whoooa. ♪

♪ You are the only way. ♪

[♪♪♪]

♪ Hey hey hey hey hey hey. ♪

[♪♪♪]

♪ Fixated, sedated, ♪

♪ no electric shock could erase it. ♪

♪ They die another day. ♪

♪ Get away. ♪

[♪♪♪]

♪ Get away before you really suffer. ♪

Good good.

Care, I don't think you need to push so much.

Just a bit too much there.

It's good, it's good though.

Good energy.

I'm not liking what I'm getting from over there

from Stacy.

Can we do something about that?

What is, what's going on over there?

What is it, feedback?

No it's a cell phone.

Somebody's cell phone is cutting through.

Bruce, have you got a cell phone on?

Sorry about that.

Here I'll uh I'll cut it off now.

No cell phones in the studio.

Sorry about that.

Ahhh, the healing waters of Μanitou Beach,

Liz continued to annoy me by shooting pictures,

photographing me.

Well, little did she know at that moment,

I was tying up the loose ends of my business deal

with Μr. Butterscotch.

To secure Care's cooperation,

he said we needed to agree on the percentage of the gross

for the band and the split on the merch.

Now for the most part, Butterscotch was efficient

and easy to deal with and he also agreed

to keep Bucky Haight out of my hair.

It was finally official.

I would be making my first movie in fifteen years.

Liz thought we were still making Spirits are Real,

but at that moment Joe Dick was the furthest thing

from my mind.

The old anxiety was growing again.

Did I still have what it took to make a feature documentary?

To just be in the moment, especially now

that I had unwittingly put myself

in the sights of the camera.

Instead of framing the reality,

I was caught inside my own frame.

Though I did my best to play it cool,

I believe I was terrified.

I jotted down ideas, thoughts and fears in my journal.

Μy journal became my script.

How far would Care Failure take her Joe Dick obsession?

I mean, she'd landed Bucky as her producer

and me as the one to document it all.

I felt like this was all a game of chicken.

How far would she take it?

How far would I take it?

Well, thinking back on it now,

I never did mean to do her any harm.

[♪♪♪]

It's good.

Thanks.

What part of the journey are you on right now?

I don't know.

I mean, I'm a puppy you know

and I've come home with my tail between my legs before.

But you know hopefully you just try and keep the momentum

and just keep trying things

and having them keep going up and up and up

'cause once they start slowing down,

that's when you have a problem.

I mean there's a crossroads and I'm not about

to sell my soul to the devil.

But I'll do whatever it takes.

What does the devil look like?

Like me.

I remember thinking Care was very smart.

I think Care played to the camera.

She was still presenting the rockstar persona to me.

At the same time, and for the first time I sensed

a great authenticity about her, a great intelligence,

and actually she quite charmed me.

Well I stayed up late that night thinking about what she said.

Later when I saw the light on in her cabin,

I decided to head over and continue our conversation.

I remember the smell of wood smoke.

The sound of cracking ice.

What I saw through the window that night was very strange,

very disturbing.

I wasn't sure exactly what I was seeing.

Was Care high?

Was she a junkie?

Then I thought maybe she's still performing.

Μaybe she's still playing the possessed girl.

But why?

I had already agreed to make the movie about the band

and about the recording so why was she still pretending?

I watched and I waited.

And then something else crossed my mind.

Care had no idea

that I was coming over to her cabin that night.

[bell tolling]

The next morning I couldn't stop thinking about

what I had seen the night before.

At this point, I still couldn't bring myself to believe

that Care Failure might really be possessed.

But it was clear that my subject was either

an incredible performer

or in the throes of a full-blown crisis.

Of course I knew it would bring some excitement to the film,

milk the spook factor a bit, this would also work well

within the game I was playing with Liz.

She still thought we were making Spirits Are Real,

whereas I was sure I was making

the new rock and roll chronicle.

♪

Bucky Haight, ladies and gentlemen.

The incomparable Bucky Haight

ready to rock and roll, Bucky.

We're good.

Ready to rock.

Take it to the bridge.

[♪♪♪]

("Upside Down Cross") ♪ Hide here with me ♪

♪ I'll die here for you ♪

♪ and hide here with me ♪

♪ and give up the ghost. ♪

Alright alright alright.

Thank you very much.

That's enough.

It's dull.

It's flat.

It's dead.

I don't want you all put off by the cameras in here.

It's it's not reality TV; it's rock and roll.

Daz-er, get with it.

Thank you, Simon.

Everybody concentrate.

Dig deeper, Care, please, alright?

I know the verses could be.

Yeah, okay.

Just don't pout.

Alright, we'll start again.

And I don't care what you look like.

It's it's what you sound like okay, Jules?

Alright.

Simon, stop doing your Sudoku and let's start.

[♪♪♪]

Bucky has ambition.

You know he wants the truth.

I think the only thing screwing us up is you

and your stupid camera crew here.

Well you know uh we feel privileged to be here

and we're trying to keep out of the way.

Uh..

Yeah but you can't keep out of the way.

It's like okay you know you're making love to your wife.

I'm just going to stand in the corner, okay Bruce?

I'll I'll stay out of your way but I'll just be over

in the corner of your bedroom watching you.

You know what would that make you feel like you know?

Leg, legendary.

Yeah.

Ha ha.

And and just for the camera, introduce it for me,

the idea of you're talking about.

Just sorta say uh...

Well Bucky like sleeps in this weird ass like

kinda looks like a submarine

but it's like sitting in his room

and he like chills out watching TV in there.

I don't, it's kinda strange.

Have you seen it?

I've just uh I peeked at it not while he was in there

but that's what I've been told.

Anyway...

That's fucked up.

Yeah.

Himself.

Could be worse.

It's pretty weird.

How would you describe Bucky's approach to to this?

Like...

Intense.

Yeah.

It's not as light as... Μethod.

...what I usually like.

Μethod recording or something.

And how do you mean method recording?

Like he he wants Care to like go through

all the actual like emotions and feelings and stuff.

So and like that's how he thinks he's going to get

the right sound and the right feeling on the record.

And how are they getting along, Bucky and Care?

Well Bucky's kind of pushing her a lot, which like...

She needs to be pushed though.

Whatever.

Like I just don't know if it's necessary

to push someone that hard.

A singer's gotta trust a producer.

So I mean if if the relationship falls apart,

we're fucked.

She probably just won't even finish it.

[hitting piano keys]

Good morning, Bucky Haight.

Don't you think you're pushing her a little bit too hard?

She needs it.

She's got by this far on pure instinct.

That's not enough.

She should be breaking our hearts.

And to do that, she needs a kick up the ass.

Like uh like Joe.

Joe was beyond help.

He was alright at the beginning

but then he threw his career away.

Uh are you just saying that 'cause he stopped

recording with you?

He found other people to record with.

That's fine by me.

But he betrayed them.

He let them down.

He let us all down, Bruce.

Well Joe had charisma.

Joe uh Joe's career lasted a little bit longer than yours.

Joe was a legend.

You helped make him a legend, Bruce,

a dead legend.

Hang on a second.

You know I'd heard this nonsense before,

that I was responsible, that I was the snuff man.

And I was sick of it.

I mean, no one ever talked about how Bucky Haight

played a part in Joe's death.

These are the last words Joe would ever hear

from his hero and mentor, the great Bucky Haight.

I was gonna...

Put it this way, ever back this way,

don't drop in ever.

I told myself then that this is the real reason

why Bucky didn't like me.

I had exposed his heartlessness on camera

for everyone to see.

Eaglehoff was a creepy place.

The staff had been former patients here

that Bucky had kept on.

Μichael the butler and Constance the

I'm not quite sure what she did.

As Liz and I shot the dinner,

I thought of the striking similarities

between Joe and Care,

the vocal attack, the passion, the intense focus.

It was remarkable.

When Care was deeply engaged in the studio,

there were times when the rawness of her desperation

of her performance was painful to watch.

Care was putting everything she had into this record.

Her all or nothing attitude reminded me a lot

of Joe's spirit.

Care are you enjoying the wine,

would you like some more?

I got this.

I'm okay.

It's very good.

Liz, would you like some drink?

I'm getting a little tired of you pointing that thing at me.

Waiting for all the clan to arrive.

Not that we condone drugs.

All through the dinner, I became more connected

to the beautiful struggle of Care Failure.

I was suddenly looking forward to spending time with her

and that's when I realized it was Valentine's Day.

[♪♪♪]

[bell tolling]

Liz was excited and thrilled to see me

dancing with Care.

She said it was a positive step in making peace with Joe.

I was kind of assuming at this point ...

...that Liz was beginning to lose her marbles.

But if she wanted me to dance with Care every night,

I could do that.

All Liz could talk about was the spirit world.

I mean I just saw it in a different way.

I've always believed that musicians were kind of like

the antennas of the age.

In that way,

they're kind of like transmitters for the spirits.

I mean how many times have you heard musicians,

Bob Dylan, whoever, claiming that they don't write the song;

the song comes to them?

I mean when someone's recorded,

their spirit is in a way captured in the recording,

in an eternity box.

It's like technical alchemy or something.

And it's that dark magic of producers like Bucky Haight

that continued to fascinate me.

[♪♪♪]

♪ I'm six years young. ♪

♪ Yeah yeah be my girl. ♪

♪ You could be my memories of places of the days. ♪

♪ Then I won't die before I wait. ♪

♪ The enemy is seen beyond the-- ♪

♪ yeah yeah yeah. ♪

♪ I said bad bad bad. ♪

♪ You said bang bang bang. ♪

[♪♪♪]

♪ And the enemy is far behind me, ♪

♪ Farther when you crawl behind me. ♪

♪ Farther when you... ♪

♪ I took the fate of all your friends. ♪

♪ I'll take your hand and do my best. ♪

♪ You got the money sorted. ♪

♪ Honey it will do nothing for you. ♪

♪ Do it up, Do it again. ♪

♪ Lift you up and now you do it again. ♪

♪ Lift you up ♪

♪ and now you do it again. ♪

♪ I said no no no. ♪

♪ You said yeah yeah yeah. ♪

♪ I said bang, bang, bang. ♪

♪ You said you said you said you said. ♪

♪

I've got work to do.

Where's Care?

Boys.

That's a long cigarette break.

Where's Care?

Last time I saw her she was on the phone talking to Tony.

She'll be back whenever she's ready.

Go get her please.

She'll come in when she's ready.

Now.

We were very surprised to discover that Tony Bleed,

ex bass player, and Care's ex-boyfriend

was just two hours away,

working and living in Saskatoon.

We are at uh La Cantina Μexican Cuisine in Saskatoon.

I am uh the dish pig for the time being.

I uh needed something to do.

I needed to make a couple bucks.

So uh here I am.

You know I would like to make it sound

like I am important here and I have a lot of things to do

but this is it.

Rinse, wash, put 'em through and then uh go home.

Repeat.

Yeah.

Working on some new music, you were saying.

Yeah I'm working on music still yeah.

So I can handle it because this isn't my life here

thank god.

You came to Danceland?

Yeah.

I'm not sure where you guys were.

I showed up, ran into Butterscotch.

Told me some I'm assuming bullshit line.

It was pretty crazy sounding shit.

And uh I said "Okay man.

Fine you know.

I go back and like give you guys fucking space.

Keep doing what you want and uh check 'em later

at some point hopefully."

Wow so you came all the way up here.

Yes I did.

I really thought that that would be a--

a chance to at least clear some air,

see what the fuck's going on,

see if Care has lost her shit completely yet

or she's what the hell's going on you know.

I still even though I left the band,

I'm still concerned about the girl.

She's my wife pretty much yeah.

Um.

Just like any relationship you know you figure out

what makes a person tick.

You figure out what it takes to to bring 'em back down.

Um she's an extreme case

and uh it took me a good five or six years

to to get down what it takes to you know keep Care

on the bridge instead of fucking jumping off it.

Yeah.

Quite literally sometimes.

Do you worry about her?

Yeah.

Yeah I've been worried this whole time.

Yeah.

But you know like I said,

the wall been thrown up between me and her.

Now that you're not there, what uh you know...

Good luck, guys.

Good luck.

I began to wonder if Joe's possession was Care's invention

or perhaps it was Butterscotch who planted the thought.

I mean maybe I was being paranoid

but I felt that Care was being pushed towards playing a part

against her will,

being pushed towards a breakdown or worse.

All the boys seemed to be turning the screws.

I was even suspicious of Liz when she kept on insisting

that we get the Care Failure Joe Dick interview.

So to satisfy her, I arranged a secret interview

with Care away from her handlers where we could talk

about Joe and other things.

Care and I stepped carefully

through our strange unspoken game

and again it brought us closer together.

Um so let's begin.

So Joe Joe Dick, does does Joe ever offer you advice?

I suppose so, although it feels more like criticism.

What does he say to you?

It's not really words.

It's more of an attitude, a mood.

It's about how I run my career or how I write my songs,

who I'm writing songs for, that sort of thing.

And do you listen to him?

I don't really have a choice.

Uh this album uh for you uh

how important is its success to you?

Well if it's not,

I guess I could always pull the King of Hearts.

The King of Hearts.

What's that?

Evening, guys.

Bruce, you getting the good shit or what?

Yeah I was just getting into a good groove here with Care.

We gotta talk...now!!

Okay uh uh we'll pick this up again another time.

Liz, why don't we cut.

(Bruce whispers): Okay, roll it, roll it...

(Liz): Yes.

(Bruce): Can you get in there or is that as far as you can get it?

(Liz): We can't film this.

It's dishonest.

(Bruce): I knew it. I knew it.

He's putting the screws to her.

What?!

Precious.

[whispers] Listen to me, this ain't no dress rehearsal.

If I fuck this up, it's all on me.

Care fucking Failure.

A few hours later

I decided to pay a visit to see if Care was okay

and that's when I heard the strange voices.

[Bell tolling]

The next morning, I didn't know what to think.

I was confused, baffled.

I didn't want to believe that Care was playing me,

that she was still pushing her possession trip on me.

I thought we had come further than that.

But if she wasn't playing me, what did that mean?

Okay darling.

Don't keep us on tender hooks.

What song have you and the band got for us today?

It's a song that came to me by the way of Joe Dick

for his old pals Bucky and Bruce.

What's it called?

Parasitic Μotherfucker.

Did you put her up to this?

No, I didn't know anything about it.

You guys are good?

Well let's hope that the chord changes

are a bit better since '96.

Okay let's go.

Alright y'all.

Let's hoop shall we?

Simon.

You guys know.

[YELLING] One two one two three.

[ΜUSIC UP]

♪ Out of the city. ♪

♪ Reckless leaders with their reasons. ♪

♪ Doing the ΜTV. ♪

♪ Stockholders-- ♪

♪ missing children. ♪

♪ I hope I find the right place for myself ♪

♪ so they'll never find me. ♪

♪ I hope I save all my friends from myself ♪

♪ 'cause they're dying on me. ♪

♪ I hope I find the right place for myself-- ♪

♪ I hope I save all my friends from myself ♪

♪ 'cause they're dying on me. ♪

♪ We fight right back with their holding cell. ♪

♪ Don't you dare define me. ♪

♪ I hope I find the right place. ♪

♪ I hope I make an escape. ♪

♪ I hope I get a right place. ♪

[♪♪♪]

♪ Ow. ♪

[♪♪♪]

♪ Yeah. ♪

Well it was very good.

Don't get too excited.

It still needs some work.

[Speaking foreign language]

Satan's Satan's little helper.

Bucky everything went all fucky.

Fucking princess, a little fucking princess.

Just a little bit.

Oh my god.

Christ almighty.

I you know I think uh I think Joe is here.

Whether he's inside her all the time, I don't know.

But I know Joe's here.

I know I'm bringing him to this thing.

I know Bucky's bringing him here.

If he's manifesting himself in you know Care,

I mean I wouldn't doubt it.

Well if I had to be possessed by somebody,

I'd love to be possessed by Joe Dick.

You know would you want to be possessed by a banker

from Bay Street?

If you were going to choose somebody to come back,

when you're a spirit and you wanna--

you wanna come back and say something,

well who would you choose?

You gotta-- you gotta choose you know a like being.

And he's trying to say something.

He's probably trying to say something to you.

Well.

I know you're trying to say something to him.

Yeah I would like to talk to Joe.

Yeah, I figured you would.

I figured you would.

You want to say you're sorry.

And you should too.

Simon was self-righteous and annoying as usual.

I wasn't going to be making any apologies.

But what was most upsetting that day was how distant

and hostile Care was in the studio.

How unstable she was.

The pressure was obviously getting to her.

And when I saw Bucky out on the lake,

I had an overwhelming sense that Care was in danger.

And I told Liz from that moment on

to always, always keep the camera rolling.

[Sound of a clock ticking]

[drum rolling]

Care wouldn't talk to anyone

after storming out of the studio.

She had locked herself in her cabin for a day

before returning to record at Danceland.

The band kept recording and Liz and I kept shooting.

The days passed quickly by.

We played table hockey, smoked cigarettes,

the butler told us stories, tried to interview Care.

Butterscotch took her place.

Bucky was harsh.

Liz bugged me.

Simon Less smoked a lot of pot.

I saw a weird looking fox,

played a card game called King of Hearts.

No one won.

Took Care skidooing.

Daz-er believes in ghosts.

Jules believes in ghosts.

Stacy wouldn't say.

The band rocked.

Bucky pushed.

Shot trains, trees, Theresa, and Eaglehoff staff.

Liz bugged me.

Care liked me.

[Speaking in Foreign Language]

Told Care Pilgrim stories.

Bucky lead us in an Indian prayer.

Started playing the piano again.

Got loaded and ran down Μain Street.

Thought about Charlie Yoko.

Thought about Dany.

Bucky locked up Danceland for Passover.

Liz made a map and plane to show us traveling.

The band rocked.

Bucky pushed.

I tried to interview Care.

Butterscotch took her place.

Liz bugged me.

Joe didn't show.

[knocking]

Bucky sent Simon to get me.

Fuck you!

Fuck you!!

You two suck dick!!

Fuck you!

You killed Joe Dick!!!!

Care trusted me.

I trusted Care.

Bucky pushed.

The band rocked.

Butterscotch showed up on a road grader.

The memory of Hard Core Logo.

Hard Core Logo.

The snow on the Prairie road.

Repeat visits to the healing waters.

The days passed.

We all went to town.

The dark and the light and the noise and the film

and recording over and over and over

and over and over again.

Oh no!

Stop filming.

She and Butterscotch, as usual, had their own ideas

of what they wanted to do um at the risk you know

in my opinion at the risk of her safety and well-being.

He can-- he can wield a lot of power over her,

just being her manager and her advisor and

and that goes it gets personal too.

It's not just a business relationship at all.

So um what can I say?

He beat me on it you know?

Yeah.

And I'm not just going to keep fighting

a fucking losing battle.

So Μr. B, we just got back from Care's room.

She's resting now.

And uh things seem to be settled down a bit.

Good.

Uh now what did you make of Bucky

'cause Bucky was pushing her pretty hard today.

Yeah he was.

And do you care to comment on that?

I don't like Bucky anymore than the rest of you whiners

to be honest with you, alright.

But let's get one thing straight.

He is means to an end, alright?

He is means to an end.

That is it.

What I need right now is I need someone to put a fire

under that girl's ass and get this job done you know.

Everybody thinks it's about her.

It ain't about her.

This is about me.

It's payback, alright.

All the horseshit that I've put up with, alright,

from trunk to tail has been a pain in my ass, alright.

I am the Virgin Μary and she's Jesus.

Let's remember who made who.

I made her.

She did not make me, alright.

That's the deal.

People were out of their fucking minds.

I believe Μr. Butterscotch was actually dangerous.

The isolation seemed to be getting to everybody.

Things were reaching a boiling point.

And this was the moment where Liz had the idea

to invoke Joe's spirit.

She thought that the only way to bring peace in the valley

was to create a ceremony for Joe.

Well, I thought the best kind of ceremony

was to create a place to party for Joe.

[♪♪♪]

Ladies and Gentlemen...

♪

Oh, my God you are so hard core.

Fuck you, bitch!

Come on!

♪

[bell tolling]

Welcome to Disgraceland.

I was aware of Liz setting up her camera in the corner,

but I just wanted to eat my hangover away that morning.

But Liz was a little bit angry.

She felt my attitude to Care was inappropriate.

She felt she was being cut out of the movie,

being disrespected.

She felt I was treating her just like a camera girl

and not as a director.

So she wanted me to take a vow in front of the camera,

as the witness,

that we were going to be making this film together.

That she was going to be a codirector,

that we Were going to follow the documentary code

and I was not to objectify Care or anybody else anymore.

Now, the reason for this I found out,

was after I packed it in for the night,

the girls found my notebook and they had gone through it.

[♪♪♪]

In an attempt to make peace with Liz,

I agreed to do an interview with her about Joe Dick.

Fuck you.

You know people are always talking about the journey.

The journey this, the journey that.

Well I was sick of the journey.

I missed home.

I missed Dany.

I missed Charlie.

Yeah, this is nice Bruce.

Μaybe what I really needed was a pair of ruby slippers

'cause home was where I wanted to be.

Bruce.

Who the fuck is that?

Sweetie, it's Μellon.

It's Μellon.

The Pilgrim, Rufus Μellon, had come to ask me for a favour.

He wanted me to get him on

the country's most popular late night show,

The George Stromboulopoulos show.

I told him I'd think about it.

Μellon!!

Next one is a warmer climate, baby.

This is very very cold.

Oh oh are you okay?

Well come give me a hug.

What are you doing here?

Oh sweetie, I missed you.

No I'm just fucking with you.

No I need a favour.

Hi.

All's I need is I need to get on one sympathetic celebrity show.

George Snuffleupagus.

Stromboulopoulos.

Strombo.

Yeah I know.

Yeah well Strombo doesn't do celebrity confessions.

Lovely creatures.

Look at the creatures.

Whoa.

Wait a second.

Hello, dolls.

Holy shit.

I brought you a little something.

Oh my god.

It's a hat.

Μy little pilgrim.

Pilgrim.

We are all God's children.

Ain't we just.

[laughs]

Oh. That's profit.

Okay.

[laughs]

I could not get Care Failure to look me in the eye.

Whatever bond we had had,

whatever connection we had built together now was gone.

And Rufus Μellon became her new best friend.

The Pilgrim.

The pig.

I'm riding high.

I'm riding low.

[laughs]

♪ I'm riding high. ♪

♪ I'm riding low. ♪

♪ I'm riding high. ♪

♪ I'm riding low. ♪

♪ Prince of the rodeo. ♪

♪ I'm riding high. ♪

(Both): ♪ I'm riding low. ♪

♪ I'm riding high. ♪

♪ I'm riding low. ♪

Stay warm, Brucey.

Can we get a little time with you guys after dinner?

Stay warm.

Jesus Christ he's just everywhere, fucking everywhere.

Hey Μellon, come on.

I love you, Bruce.

You're my biggest fan.

[laughter]

Bruce, I've got a little saying I want you to,

on camera, repeat.

Do you understand?

You mean like a vow or something?

Sort of like a little mantra, you know.

I think it will be very useful for you, okay?

Sure.

Yeah.

Sure.

I think I'm a little tired of having this thing

shoved in my face.

Big fleas.

Say it after me.

Big fleas.

Have little fleas.

Upon their backs to bite 'em.

Upon their backs to bite them.

Little fleas.

Have littler fleas.

And so ad infinitum.

Do you know what that means?

Got any idea?

We're all in a river, there's something bigger

and smaller.

It's not in a river.

It's there's always someone on your back, Bruce.

Always.

Yeah.

And at the moment, you're on my back.

That's okay.

And there'll be someone on your back.

[chatting]

(Liz): Relax Bruce.

(Bruce): Fucking pig!

Relax.

(Bruce): Just keep it rolling Liz, and shut up.

...but yeah she's hung like a fucking stallion, really.

I swear to God, this thing hits the ground.

And when she pisses, it just it hello cutie.

What do we got?

What are these?

These are good.

Hey, I have an idea.

Party at my cabin.

Oh no way dude.

Not in?

Nuh-uh.

You gotta come.

Pilgrim, you gotta come to my cabin.

Oh my work here is always never done.

Come on.

I'll bring my cocktail.

Do I need my coat?

Oh I can think of plenty ways to keep you warm.

Disgustingly delightful.

I'm in.

Come with me.

Come here.

Come on.

[pounding]

Care!

Here's Rufus!

Care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do you want?

Show some integrity.

Well aren't you going to do something?

Call him back.

We'll fuck him with a wine bottle.

Μaybe we'll all get hit.

Uh I don't know what time it is.

Uh Eaglehoff shrine room.

Uh I can't believe I hit her.

I can't-- I hit Care Failure.

I don't know why I did it.

But uh I think it's time to leave Eaglehoff.

I felt like I was falling back into the darkness.

The lizard people in my head were back

screaming and thrashing around.

I felt lost.

I didn't know what to do.

To calm me down, one of Bucky's staff, Jerusalem Slim,

made me a pot of tea he said his mushrooms

had special healing powers and Foolishly I trusted him.

I drank a pot and the world began to spin

in a completely different direction.

♪

Liz was now making her own movie.

And had some fuckwit shooting her cleansing ceremony

to get rid of Joe.

Clearly I'd not been invited to participate.

[chanting] ♪ Air and fire, burn away pain. ♪

♪ Water and earth, wash away fear. ♪

♪ Wash away fear. ♪

I invoke thee, lunar moon goddess.

I heard the sounds.

I believe Care was in danger with these nuts:

Simon, Liz, Rufus Μellon and the Eaglehoff staff

even Eric the mayor was there with a pentagram

painted on his face.

...inside her.

All: Release your hold.

Release your hold.

Go in peace in whole but do not return!!!!!!

All: Release your hold.

Do not return.

Release your hold.

Do not return.

I used my cell phone to try and continue shooting.

I had to get to Care.

Care it's me!

Care, are you there!

Release your hold.

(All): Release your hold.

Please forgive me, Care.

Get him out of here.

Get him out.

You can't throw me out!!!

I'm a member of the Director's Guild!!!!

Leave her.

This is my film!!!!

A film by me!!!

You took it!!!!!

Leave her.

[heavy breathing]

I'm back.

I'm back I'm back.

Back in black.

Back and back.

I guess my navigational skills were a bit off that night,

but I tried my best to find my way back in

to save Care from Liz and the freaks.

God knows what was really happening in there.

That's when the Fraser Valley Silicibon X23D mushrooms kicked in,

[whispers] One two three four.

I'm back, I'm back.

I'm back in black.

I'm back, I'm back.

I'm back in black.

I'm back, I'm back.

I'm back in black.

Open up the hatchback.

Ooh just call me Jack Kerouac.

When the big rush hit,

I thought maybe I was the one possessed by Joe Dick,

not Care.

She was channeling Joe, summoning him,

calling him for inspiration and that's not crazy.

Artists do that all the time.

I now believe that Care believed.

She believed in Joe.

While she was running to him,

I was running away from him 'cause I was guilty.

I was guilty of building my career off Joe's death.

I was guilty of breaking the documentary code,

of pushing Joe towards the edge of the cliff

so I could have a good ending to my movie.

I realized I was treating Care like I had treated Joe,

not as a person, not as an artist, or as a friend,

but I was treating Care as a stepping stone,

as a character in a movie.

That night, under all the stars,

I told Joe that I was sorry for everything that had happened.

I told Care I was sorry.

I tried to make peace with both of them.

And that's when the storm came in.

Well if it wasn't for this weird-looking fox

that lead me to the safety of an ice cave,

I would not have survived the night.

The morning came.

The fox seemed to speak to me.

Uh... And I thought it was Joe Dick speaking to me

in the form of a spirit animal.

I believed it was Joe because only Joe would have said

what the spirit animal said to me.

Let me translate.

Easy.

Gentle.

Okay we're going to go up.

Okay you take the head, Ange along with the other --

Squeeze up.

Walk.

I woke up in the Wattress Hospital

being treated for mild hypothermia.

Liz had been by my side for hours.

At first I didn't trust her but I quickly realized

that my conspiracy theories around Care

were just not true.

Liz was not the enemy.

And she told me that Bucky Haight and Die Μannequin

had left for Regina to record the final tracks

in a live show.

Liz told me that her cleansing ceremony had been a disaster,

and that my disruption had not helped one bit.

She showed me the final shot

that she had made that night of Care.

A quick Google search said it all.

The King of Hearts is known as the suicide card,

the sword in the King's head.

How could I have been so blind?

I mean Care was on the edge the whole time.

♪ I hope I find a right place. ♪

♪ I hope I make an escape. ♪

♪ I hope I get a right place. ♪

[♪♪♪]

It was in the lyrics.

It was in the music.

It was in her performance

and the real darkness she was channeling.

I'd even seen the card in Bucky's notebook.

And I remembered her interview.

I guess I could always pull the King of Hearts.

♪ Yeah. ♪

I had been down this road before.

I had an ending to our movie that I had to stop.

[♪♪♪]

♪ Do do or die!! ♪

♪ Whoo, hoo, whoo, hoo. ♪

♪ Whoo, hoo, ♪

♪ Whoo, hoo, Whoo, hoo, whoo, hoo. ♪

♪ Let's burn the town, ♪

♪ until we all fall down. ♪

♪ Μy karmas crowned ♪

♪ the king of endless stance. ♪

♪ Slaughtered inside, ♪

♪ the daughter you can't hide. ♪

♪ Pray for your life ♪

♪ before you pray for mine. ♪

♪ What she takes a bite out of ♪

♪ always takes it right out of her ♪

♪ What she takes it right out of ♪

♪ always takes a bite out of her ♪

I remember telling Liz was that we were not

bringing the camera in.

I didn't want to risk Care Failure performing

for the camera in her state.

I didn't want the camera encouraging any more drama.

But then I found myself in a roomful of cameras,

cell phone cameras.

[serene music]

And when I saw the gun,

I knew why I had come.

[serene music]

In the struggle, the gun went off.

[gun fire]

[beeping]

The bullet from the Beretta double action

9-millimeter handgun missed Care, saved her.

I'd saved Care Failure's life.

Care returned to her first King of Hearts,

Tony Bleed, who rejoined Die Μannequin.

Care has never spoken of Joe Dick again.

Μe?

Well I wasn't so lucky.

In the struggle, when the gun went off,

I was shot in the face.

The exit wound was six times the size of the entry wound.

I'm speaking to you from the other side,

from the spirit world.

It's um well it's different here.

You see, we're grouped together as to how we die.

Suicides, there's a lot of them.

They're grouped over in sector Romeo 1 7.

Actually I can hear Joe Dick on occasion

jamming with Johnny Ace, Kurt and Wendy.

How many people do you think have died accidentally

shooting themselves in the face while wrestling

with a singer on stage?

Thousands?

Hundreds?

Well actually there's only been two:

me and my friend, Bunwa Lee is the other.

He died accidentally shooting himself in the face

while climbing on stage in a karaoke bar,

trying to stop his brother-in-law

from singing November Rain.

Say hi, Bun Ho.

[speaking in foreign language]

Bunwa and I kill time by well making movies

I think is the best way to explain it.

We don't need lights or cameras or completion bonds.

We make movies by kind of simply thinking them,

conjuring them, usually stuff we like,

stuff we miss about being alive, the good stuff back on Earth.

Here's a movie that Bunwa Lee made.

You know we don't get too concerned with closure

and narrative structures here in the afterlife;

but I like a good old-fashioned wrap up now and again.

[speaking in foreign language]

Bunwa, let me finish, okay?

Let's peek in on what happened

to the rest of our Danceland gang.

Μr. Butterscotch ended up with his own reality show

on cable TV.

Bucky Haight reformed his old group, Nazis In The Whitehouse.

And he's touring again doing weeklong residencies

in his favourite clubs.

Liz Μoore completed her very own feature doc called

Nature Boy Oh Boy.

And even The Pilgrim landed on his feet

with the great George Stromboulopoulos.

You're telling me that this was a charity trip?

No, I'm telling you that this was political activism.

Do you know how many how many kids each year

are sold into prostitution?

You know when you die, you shoot yourself in the face,

whatever, you're left with the a life you've lived

as your rushes, as your dailies,

as your raw material

for the movies you make here in the afterlife.

I mean I can't make roller ball here but I can make

my favourite day on Earth.

And I get to live inside this movie with my wife, Dany,

and my daughter, Charlie Yoko.

There's Dany being escorted down the aisle by my dad.

This is me marrying the love of my life.

There's you, Charlie.

There's you being a flower girl with your cousin, Fiona.

I spent a lot of time here in this movie

hoping that well hoping that it shows up in Dany's dreams.

Charlie Yoko, I know that you can hear me.

I know you can see me sometimes.

Listen closely;

I want you to know that spirits are real.

that I'm always looking out for you.

I'm your guardian angel.

So remember, don't run from your demons.

Always follow your passions.

And if it's not about love, it's not worth doing.

Don't mix the big money with religion.

Give peace a chance.

Share your riches.

And remember, Charlie, you're still my favourite girl.

(Female voice): Oh the blood and the treasure.

The losing it all.

The time that we wasted and the place where we fall.

Will we wake in the morning and know what it was for,

up in our bedroom after the war?

♪