Original subtitles

What do you do when your friends think you�re the boy who cried wolf?

Matt Kellner had gone missing in the dead of night sometime in September of 1981.

But oddly, no one in my social circle was that concerned about it.

Looking back, I realize that�s the gift of youth.

You think you�ll live forever.

I bet Matt moved to Big Sur to deal drugs, get out of the LA rat race.

I agree.

I mean, who wouldn�t? I hear the Esalen Institute�s amazing.

What?

That�s lunacy. What about the blood-stained backpack they found?

Hon, I love you, but why are you so drawn to worst-case scenarios?

You didn�t even know him.

Don�t mourn a death that hasn�t officially happened.

- Can we talk about happier things? - Please. I need a cig.

But then came October 1st, the so-called first day of spooky season.

October 1st was officially The Day the Fun Died.

Because that�s the day The Trawler got Really Rhonda.

Really Rhonda was in our class, and everyone loved her.

Everyone thought she was hilarious.

Her father was a big ICM agent who represented Sally Kellerman.

He paid the school a handsome fee every year

to assure that Rhonda would be assimilated

and not locked away in the dungeon that was a special needs class.

If X and B are both positive real numbers...

Today we would understand

that Rhonda suffered from a neurological condition,

but back then we just thought she was darkly and convulsively...

- - ...impulsive.

- - Rhonda, please stop it.

I wanna fuck Chewbacca, motherfucker.

- And a real truth teller. -

- Rhonda, do you want detention? - Um...

George Washington sucks cocks in hell, motherfucker!

Suck it, lick it, fucking ass-face! Fuck.

- - Really, Rhonda? Really?

And from that moment on, that�s what we all called her.

Really Rhonda.

I always felt an affection for Rhonda.

Because during one of her outbursts,

she could have easily told the truth about me,

called me a fag or a gayface,

but she was kind to me.

I felt she purposely edited out my secret truth.

Protected me somehow from the pubescent cruelty of the other kids.

My favorite thing about Rhonda

was that she would not get off the disco roller trend long after it was over.

She just didn�t care what people thought about her.

Can you imagine the gift of that?

Really Rhonda is such a good skater. She�s even better than Cher.

Disco roller skating is important to this tale,

because that�s what she was doing when she was taken.

[? "Don�t Stand So Close to Me" plays]

There was only one disco roller derby place left in town in 1981.

And Rhonda was the only patron at Wheels that night of October 1st.

The Trawler knew that, the loneliness of the place.

And on that night, he snatched Really Rhonda from her happy place.

?? Young teacher ?

And out of all of our lives.

?? The subject of Schoolgirl fantasy ?

?? She wants him so badly ?

?? Knows what she wants to be ?

?? Inside her, there�s longing ?

?? This girl�s an open page ?

?? Bookmarking, She�s so close now ?

?? This girl is half his age ?

?? Don�t stand, don�t stand so ?

?? Don�t stand so close to me ?

?? Don�t stand, don�t stand so ?

?? Don�t stand so close to me ?

?? Her friends are so jealous ?

?? You know how bad girls get ?

?? Sometimes it�s not so easy ?

?? To be the teacher�s pet ?

?? Temptation... ?

When Rhonda missed her curfew...

?? So bad it makes him cry ?

...her parents reported her missing.

The police immediately checked out the scene at Wheels.

- I�ll check around back. - Got it.

And that�s when they found bloodstains.

Over here.

Telltale clues of a violent struggle.

I went to the scene of the crime the next day,

oddly, instinctively.

The place Rhonda had joyously twirled the night before was deserted.

The rotating disco ball, once a symbol of joy, seemed sad to me, mournful.

Slowly twirling like a flag at half-mast

to announce all the ends of things that 1981 had taken from us.

Matt.

Roller disco.

Really Rhonda.

And our sense of security.

Please, please, help me.

Eat it.

It took about three days for everything to go back to normal,

and for everyone to forget about Matt

and Rhonda.

Oh, my God.

I love it when we skip lunch on the quad and kick it at the Hamlet.

Yeah, me too.

Anyone want half my lunch?

- Ooh. - Oh.

Okay.

Okay, listen up.

Don�t forget to take your Flintstones vitamins this month--

Or your diet pills.

Saturday is Robert�s, and next Thursday is Dance Off!

and no one is allowed to be hungover

because on Sunday, we all need to practice.

Seriously?

That Dance Off! thing is really happening?

Oh, my God. I thought you were joking.

Does it look like I�m joking, Bret?

- -

Dance Off! was a daily televised cable access show

that featured regular teenagers dancing to the hot hits of the day.

Teenagers like us.

A Los Angeles institution,

it had its heyday in 1974 and refused to die.

?? Toe to toe Dancing very close ?

Debbie had been obsessed with the idea

ever since Corazon Cha Cha Rodriguez had gone on and held the camera�s attention

for the length of an entire Blondie song.

And not just any Blondie song.

"Rapture," six minutes and 31 seconds.

Debbie saw that hot lava fame and she wanted it for herself.

Becoming a star was her secret ambition, but she was too cool to ever admit it.

?? Stepping lightly ?

?? Hang each night in rapture ?

I gotta say, I hate that show.

Okay, well, it�s a rite of passage classic in this town, and it�s happening.

Guys, don�t you think it�s kind of a bad look to be partying on TV

- with classmates missing? - Okay.

Well, it�s what I want. It�s done, and you�re all coming.

You�re welcome.

Okay, so that�s it then?

We just don�t care anymore about Rhonda or Matt?

Look, Bret, I�m not trying to speak for the group here,

but I�m gonna speak for the group.

- Rhonda and Matt what�s-his-face-- - Kellner.

They�re missing. They haven�t been declared dead.

Maybe they ran away.

Oh, Bret, before I forget,

do you want to go shopping with me after school for homecoming?

- Tuxedo Warehouse? - Tuxedo Warehouse?

- Is it too, uh... - You guys have that on the coast?

...I don�t know, GQ?

I think maybe not GQ enough.

Homecoming. I don�t even want to go.

What do you mean you don�t wanna go? W-Why do you keep saying that repeatedly?

You have to go.

You and Thom are totally gonna win homecoming king and queen.

Aren�t we a little old for homecoming?

I would agree with that.

Homecoming feels like a word that�s, you know,

partial to overweight Midwesterners

who make floats out of toilet paper scraps and suffer from gout.

It�s not like I even have an outfit.

You know what you would look great in?

A simple black slip dress, something fresh, modern.

- Hmm. - No jewelry.

Just d�colletage.

D�colletage?

Maybe we should cancel the party too, you know.

It�s Robert�s big welcome party, Bret.

It�s my big welcome party, Bret.

It�s gonna be like Capote�s Black and White Ball.

I�m so excited, thrilled.

Et cetera.

Bret�s right.

We should do something.

Maybe we should post flyers.

That�s a great idea. Do something proactive.

Why don�t me and you do it together, Susan?

Waitress, some more fries, please.

We�re asking anyone with information about Rhonda to please come forward.

You won�t be in trouble.

The only way we�re gonna find these kids is if we look.

Or if they show up.

Right.

All of us have been haunted by the story of Etan Patz,

six-year-old boy who disappeared outside his home in SoHo, New York.

Was he kidnapped?

Was he murdered?

We don�t know.

What we do know

is that because his picture appeared on every milk carton in America,

his face is burned into the minds of the people who are going to bring him home.

That is why we are handing out bottles of Really Rhonda water

to increase awareness--

- And hydration. -

If you can�t find a Perrier, reach for a Really Rhonda bottled water.

Thanks again to Rhonda�s dad and all the heroes at ICM

for sponsoring our flyer, hydration, and the Rescue Rhonda Fund.

Bravo, ICM.

Now, AV club, hit it.

Zero mention of Matt.

- Unbelievable. - I�m sure they�ll get to him.

I think the line of awareness products for Matt Kellner could be historic.

I think the line of awareness products for Matt Kellner could be historic. "Bring Matt Home" pencils.

"Bring Matt Home" pencils.

"Where Is Matt?" terry cloth come rags.

It�s not funny, Thom.

I know,

but my dad used to tell me to look on the sunny side,

and that�s what I�m trying to do for you.

?? It wouldn�t take much time ?

?? For you to help me, Rhonda ?

? Help me get her Out of my heart ?

What are you wearing?

Kouros.

It smells so sexy.

Thanks.

It�s for men.

Yeah, you can really tell.

- Hi. For Rhonda. Rescue Rhonda. - Help Rhonda.

- Let�s bring her home. - If she wanted to,

she could be such a slut.

There�s nothing stopping her.

I�ve always admired that.

You�re a really good friend.

I am.

?? She was gonna be my wife And I was gonna be her man ?

?? But she let another guy Come between us ?

?? And it ruined our plan ?

It�s sparkling, like Rhonda.

You are really gunning for homecoming.

That�s not what this is.

God, Thom, it�s the �80s. Don�t be so cynical.

?? Help me, Rhonda Help, help me, Rhonda ?

So tell me what your script is about.

Oh, I dropped the treatment off with Steven. Did he not--

Oh, yeah, I received it. I read it.

Steven loves it, by the way.

I just don�t know what it�s about.

I-I mean, why this story? Why now?

Well, the character is me.

A version of me anyway.

- His name is Bret Ellis. - Hmm.

Well, that makes it interesting to you.

That doesn�t make it interesting to others.

Listen, every great movie ever made is about loss.

The loss of love, friendship, innocence, ideals, personal injury lawsuit.

So what has Bret Ellis lost?

Like, um...

my virginity?

Speak on that.

Where are we going?

Secret street. Connects Beverly Hills to the Valley.

I thought that was just an urban legend.

No, not an urban legend, a suburban fact.

And only three people that I know of have the combination to the gates.

- Beatty. -

Nicholson.

And me.

[? intriguing synth music plays]

8-1-7-0-6-6-6.

Sometimes I come up here to be alone.

You could too, you know.

Think about your script.

To get inspiration as an artist.

This view is so inspirational.

We could, uh...

We could come be alone together.

I thought you said only three people have the code to this road.

I said that I know of.

Could just be Jack�s gardener or picture hanger.

Who knows?

Terry?

Yeah?

Could you...

take me home?

Homework.

Yeah.

After Terry dropped me off, I knew automatically

that I would be heading to Matt Kellner�s house.

When I turned onto Haskell Avenue,

When I turned onto Haskell Avenue, I was suddenly struck with a fear I had never experienced before.

I was suddenly struck with a fear I had never experienced before.

It was an adrenaline that acted as a warning for me to save myself,

but also mixed with an overwhelming compulsion to move forward...

no matter how I felt,

how afraid I was.

This was the last place I had seen Matt.

I missed him.

I wanted him back.

I was on a mission to find clues about his disappearance.

I found them.

As I sat there in the soft moonlight,

I realized that, at 18, I was already staring into my past.

I remember this being one of my first moments

when I realized how powerful memory was.

Or at least it was the first time it hurt the most.

- Hello. -

- Hello. -

Where�s Matt?

What have you done with him?

Where�s Rhonda?

- Why are you doing this? -

Robert.

Robert!

Wow.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Most people who win this award

thank everybody that helped them get to this moment.

Instead, I�d like to take this brief time I have here in the white-hot spotlight...

to say what I really feel about how I got here.

How I clawed my way up that mountain of success

- alone. -

To my first modeling agent

who told me I had an ass like a pear

and would probably be a Sears catalog model at best...

- fuck you, bitch. -

Look at me now.

To my daughter who�s watching tonight...

you are the disappointment of my life.

And to my husband...

To my husband...

who regularly reminds me that I am a worthless piece of shit...

Lizzie.

Are you still holding on to that actress thing?

How deeply sad.

You go ahead and make fun of me, Terry.

I�m fucking used to it, you know.

But I know I could have been more than this,

more than just your stupid wife rattling around this mausoleum

like a fucking ghost.

Sue told me I have an "it" factor.

Sue Mengers told you that at a dinner party

where she was stoned out of her mind.

Everybody feels sorry for you, Liz, so they fill your addled mind

with positive reinforcement that you don�t deserve.

Haven�t all the therapists I paid for helped you understand that?

If you would have let me,

I could have pursued my dream and been somebody,

instead of your fucking plus-one.

Sure, absolutely.

Keep practicing your speech, babe, with one of my three Oscars.

But don�t forget to thank your coke dealer.

- -

I already knew Robert Mallory was a liar.

He was the only one at lunch who didn�t show

a flicker of concern about the missing kids.

Almost like he knew they were already gone.

[? "Games Without Frontiers" playing]

?? Hans plays with Lotte Lotte plays with Jane ?

I committed myself to the pursuit of a single goal:

track Robert and prove he was The Trawler.

?? Suki plays with Leo ?

?? Sacha plays with Britt ?

?? Adolf builds a bonfire Enrico plays with it ?

?? Whistling tunes we hide In the dunes by the seaside ?

?? Whistling tunes we�re kissing Baboons in the jungle ?

?? It�s a knockout ?

?? If looks could kill They probably will ?

?? In games Without frontiers... ?

Cielo Drive.

This is where, almost exactly 12 years ago,

three members of the Manson Family stabbed and killed

Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski,

Steven Parent, and nine-months-pregnant Sharon Tate.

I was obsessed with Joan Didion�s account of the Manson murders.

I read it over and over again.

I retyped the sentences on my typewriter, trying to understand their architecture.

Like all aspiring writers of my generation,

I wanted to write like Didion.

With restraint,

economy,

and total control.

If I could write like that...

I could be like that.

Or so I thought.

?? It�s a knockout ?

?? If looks could kill They probably will ?

?? In games without frontiers War without tears ?

I didn�t know what he was doing there.

I only knew what I was doing there:

"Telling myself a story in order to live."

Part of me just wanted to knock on the door or force my way in.

What if Matt was in there right now?

Or Really Rhonda?

Who knew what sort of hideous agony he was inflicting?

Were they lying there bloody and beaten, mangled and mutilated,

screaming out for someone, anyone, to come to the rescue?

Being afraid is so lame, I kept telling myself.

Being afraid is so lame and you�re not a pussy.

Eventually I would find out that this remote mysterious house

was a rental property of Robert Mallory�s aunt.

Later, when the police interviewed me,

I told them the truth about what I suspected was in the bag.

A human head.

- -

Hello.

?? Just like The white-winged dove ?

?? Sings a song It sounds like she�s singin� ?

?? Ooh, ooh, ooh ?

?? Just like The white-winged dove

? Sings a song... ?

Hello?

?? Ooh, baby, ooh, said, "Ooh" ?

- ?? He was no more ? - ?? He was no more ?

?? Than a baby then ?

?? Well, he seemed Brokenhearted ?

?? Somethin� within him ?

?? But the moment That I first laid ?

?? Eyes on him ?

?? All alone On the edge of seventeen ?

Being afraid is so lame.

?? Just like The white-winged dove ?

?? Sings a song It sounds like she�s singin� ?

?? Ooh, baby, ooh, said, "Ooh" ?

?? Just like The white-winged dove ?

Don�t be lame.

?? It sounds Like she�s singin� ?

?? Said, "Ooh, baby, Ooh," said, "Ooh" ?

?? Well, I went today ?

?? Maybe I will go Again tomorrow ?

?? Yeah, yeah ?

Hello?

?? Well, the music there ?

? Well, it was hauntingly familiar ?

?? When I see you doin� What I try to do for me ?

?? With the words of a poet ?

?? And a voice from a choir ?

?? And a melody ?

?? And nothin� else mattered ?

?? Just like The white-winged dove ?

?? Sings a song It sounds like she�s singin� ?

?? Ooh, baby, ooh, said, "Ooh" ?

?? Just like The white-winged dove ?

?? Sings a song It sounds like she�s singin� ?

?? Said, "Ooh, baby, Ooh," said, "Ooh" ?

?? Just like The white-winged dove ?

?? Sings a song It sounds like she�s singin� ?

?? Ooh, baby, ooh, said, "Ooh" ?

?? Just like The white-winged dove ?

?? Sings a song It sounds like she�s singin� ?

?? Ooh, baby, ooh, said, "Ooh" ?

?? Well, then suddenly ?

?? There was no one left Standin� in the hall ?

?? Yeah, yeah, In a flood of tears ?

?? That no one really Ever heard fall at all... ?

?? Up the stairs And down the hall ?

? And not to find an answer ?

?? Just to hear the call Of a night bird ?

- ?? Singin�, "Come away" ? - ?? Come away ?

Please, please, please, just please let me go home.

Please let me go home. Motherfucker, cock, shit, cunt licker.

Fuck. Oh, I�m sorry. No, I�m sorry.

Fuck.

Please, please, please.

No, no, no!

?? Well, I hear you In the morning ?

?? And I hear you ?

?? My love ?

?? I�m a few years Older than you... ?

?? Just like The white-winged dove ?

?? Sings a song It sounds like she�s singin� ?

?? Just like The white-winged dove ?

?? Sings a song It sounds like she�s singin� ?

?? Ooh, ooh, ooh ?

?? Just like The white-winged dove ?

?? Sings a song It sounds like she�s singin� ?

?? Ooh, baby, ooh, said, "Ooh" ?

?? And the days go by Like a strand in the wind ?

?? In the web that is my own I begin again ?

- ?? Said to my friend, "Baby" ? - ?? Everything stops ?

?? Nothin� else mattered ?

- ?? He was no more ? - ?? He was no more ?

?? Than a baby then ?

?? Well, He seemed brokenhearted ?

?? Somethin� within him ?

?? But the moment That I first laid ?

?? Eyes on him ?

?? All alone on the edge of ?

?? Seventeen ?

?? Just like The white-winged dove ?

?? Sings a song It sounds like she�s singin� ?

?? Ooh, baby, ooh, said, "Ooh" ?

?? Just like The white-winged dove ?

?? Sings a song It sounds like she�s singin� ?

?? Ooh, baby, ooh, said, "Ooh" ?

?? Well, I went today ?

? Maybe I will go Again tomorrow ?

?? When I see you doin� What I try to do for me ?

?? With the words of a poet ?

?? And a voice from a choir ?

?? And a voice from a choir ? ?? And a melody ?

?? And a melody ?

?? And nothin� else mattered ?

?? Just like The white-winged dove ?

?? Sings a song It sounds like she�s singin� ?

?? Ooh, baby, ooh ?