Original subtitles

Where's Maria?

In her trailer?

Envy is a form of recognition too.

Maria is in a Zoom call.

- Valentino, we have an appointment. - Okay.

First of all, I have enormous respect for you.

And secondly, it's part of my everyday work

to be open and honest about confirmations and rejections.

Anyone who's known me for longer, appreciates that honesty.

I am the most honest person I know.

So your accusations are hurtful.

Maria, I just spoke to Marius.

He says that you and I talked.

You're supposed to have said that I agreed not to be the director.

What do you want me to say?

Alright, sorry guys, I have a situation here in Germany. I'm so sorry.

But I'll be right back with you. Okay? Hold on.

Kida, I have to insist.

My understanding was that Marius is your partner and talks to you.

That's not my style at all.

And I absolutely do not want this to get out. All right?

Because it's not true.

Hey.

Of course you're still part of our team.

You'll get to play a part. I promise.

Maria, you don't get it.

I don't want some small role in a series.

I promised Ricky Gervais that we do a remake of "Extras"

and we're both in front of the camera.

Isn't that why we're doing all this?

Or is that all off the table?

You know what?

Just cancel Ricky Gervais. Come on, man, he's a world star!

He won't be mourning a German series.

We're making something original here.

"German Genius"!

Without Ricky, or "Extras". But with you, as a guest.

- It's my project. - No, hold on one minute.

You wanted to make a comedy. With extras left and right.

All the rest would've just been a backdrop.

But we're taking this seriously.

Okay.

My hands are tied.

I told you not to make down payments.

It looks amateurish.

Time and time again, projects get canceled at the last minute.

I could perhaps have prevented this.

But no, Mr. Ramadan wanted to save the 10 % agency commission.

You're killing me.

Brigitte, are there any requests at all?

I need work. Please see if there's something.

Nobody wants to work with you right now.

They think you're doing your own thing.

Besides, you told everyone you're not a puppet.

"I'm not a puppet!"

But there must be something.

Yes, there is. There's a request from "Murder in the Rhineland".

They want more diversity in forensics. That's it. You canceled everyone else.

People hold grudges, even if they won't admit it.

Right? "Yes."

You could reconsider your role in "German Genius".

They're offering me a role as an extra in my own series.

They betrayed me. They tried to screw me over.

- Brigitte... - Kida, it isn't your show anymore.

You want my honest advice?

It's very simple: Do it.

Maria Furtwängler is one of the most important film personalities in Germany.

It doesn't matter if you don't like her.

Besides, she offered to cover your initial costs,

which is really very, very generous.

I really need to breastfeed, okay?

Yes.

Bye.

Ah, the babysitter! On time too.

- Very nice. - You look great.

Thank you.

Is everything okay?

Never been better.

- Do you need me? - No, today is your day.

Go party.

Treat yourself!

- No sweets and no TV. - I know.

I'll be back at one.

Oh, and Kida...

For you.

- Ciao. - Ciao.

"Hi, my name is Sami. I go to school."

"Hi, my name is Sami.

I go to school."

- "Hi, my name..." - "...is Sami. I go to school."

I get it. Well done.

- Let's sing something. - Sing? Go on then, sing.

What shall we do With the drunken sailor

What shall we do With the drunken sailor

What shall we do With the drunken sailor

Early in the morning

Hoo, ray and up she rises

Hoo, ray and up she rises

Hoo, ray and up she rises Early in the morning

I used to sing that at school too.

What shall we do With the drunken sailor

What shall we do With the drunken sailor

Let's all be quiet for 10 minutes.

We breathe, we concentrate. If you talk in that time, you lose.

That's what we're playing.

Let's just play quiet for 10 minutes.

Thank you.

All right, boys, stakes of 4,000 and no jokers.

- Not like last time. - No worries, bro.

What was that?

We forgot to take the jokers out last time.

All right, Sami, give me the iPad.

No, I want to play FIFA some more.

- You have school tomorrow. - I'll be quiet. Please.

- No! - Please, please, please, Dad.

- Will you stop nagging then? - Yes, I promise.

Okay, half an hour, but don't tell Mom.

Okay.

- Leo? - Hi.

- You know where I live? - From the call sheet.

- What can I do for you? - I had a fight with my aunt.

Over you. I don't like what they did to you.

By the way, Sabine is editor-in-chief now.

- Could I come in for a second? - Sure thing.

- Have you heard from Tarkan at all? - Aren't you going with him?

We're not so good right now.

Come. I have a surprise for you.

Come.

Hey Tarkan, look who's here.

- Is that supposed to be me? - Yes.

Not bad.

Come here.

- Do you like it? - Mm-hmm. Very nice.

- I missed you. - Hey, you two...

Have a nice evening.

I raise.

- I can tell you're bluffing. - It always shows. Really.

I conned him more often than he showered in his life.

Sure, I have a bathtub. Why shower?

Sometimes you want something so badly that you can't get it.

Where were you before the series?

You had fans, you had money, you had fame.

- And now what? - Toni is dead.

You just have to be more Kida again. I've been saying that for months.

What do you mean? I haven't changed. What do you want?

That's what I like about you, Kida. You stay the same.

Life's not a game. You can't buy your way back in.

You know? Sometimes you're dealt a bad hand.

The thing is, I would also take a guest role.

I do that from time to time, and look at me.

- They wanted to fuck me over. - I'm going all in.

- All in. Let's see your cards. - Let's see what you've got.

- He's got full house. - Lucky, dude. That's pure luck.

We have a visitor.

Hey guys, we've got a guest today,

Sascha, the character actor Hollywood superstar,

Slave Number Five.

Slave, from the posters?

- The one and only, bro! - Slave five.

I heard you're gambling tonight?

- A bit. - Well, Kida...

- A bit. - I brought money.

- Go sit in the middle. - I'll move.

Scoot over, please.

- Sascha, we'll play one on one. - Hands up.

Uh-oh.

- That's the Ramadan I know. - I'm out. I need to piss.

Check.

- Come on, don't be such a drama queen. - All right, all right.

Okay.

- All in. - What?

All in, huh?

You don't have to. Give up, like at the audition.

- You know what? - Yes.

- All in. - Oh shit!

- Three queens. - Three! What did we say!

Let's see what happens next.

A producer doesn't produce anything.

He creates a world out of virtually nothing.

Where before, a small kernel of an idea

grows and develops over years.

A book.

He has an enthusiasm.

Even when everyone is against it and says, "You can't imagine that!",

the producer imagines exactly that.

That includes emotions like laughter,

but also...

being sad.

Tragedy.

Fates that we all know from our own lives,

and that we face head-on as producers.

And with a passion!

Because we are obliged to unearth the truth.

And at the end of the day, we do that for...

those people who are on their feet for 12 hours every day to serve us.

So that they can experience a world that they'd otherwise never see,

and so they can unwind.

That's who we do it for, the audience!

I'm Marius Jürgens

and I am a producer.

Volker, with you directing, the project is back on the rails.

We finally found the director we needed.

Maria, we've hit the jackpot.

- Hey, Kida. Wow. - Maria.

It's so cool of you not to leave us hanging.

That's the costume, isn't it?

- Looks good. - There's a photo?

Oh, it's just a photo for the start of the shoot.

Maria? Do you want to be on the photo, next to Volker?

Yes, um...

Yes.

- I'll join too then. - That's right. In the middle.

- Photo. - Photo!

Over here?

Could you move back a little?

Yes, you. Keep going, keep going.

Go on, go on.

There. Stop.

- Can you include their feet? - Not too sexy!

- I photographed for Vogue. - Can you include them?

I was going to anyway. This moment is eternal.

Cool.

- Perfetto! - Great. Thanks.

One more with the important people. Could you leave?

It's no trouble.

- You want me out? - Yes, please go.

Volker, move to the middle.

- Marius, are you coming? - I'm the producer.

I see, the producer?

He's the producer.

- Let's mix it up. - Great idea.

- Volker? - Yes.

That's right, stand together.

Producer.

Great, Sabine.

All right, Wim, I'll call you back later.

- Ah! - Mr. Schlöndorff.

Kidan, Mr. Kida.

I didn't actually see "4 Blocks", but I hear only good things about it.

- I hear you're great. - Thank you.

I mean, it's not my kind of show,

but we don't make the same kind of films.

But we're both pros, so we'll get along.

- See you later. - Thank you.

Huh?

- We can't have that. - What?

- Your haircut. - Ah.

- We're in the sixties. - Okay.

A wig perhaps?

That would be great. A wig will suit you.

Look, here we'll film the car driving.

That's what I got the Cooke 27mm lens for.

- Oh, fantastic. - Finally someone who understands me.

We'll fit in the whole set.

- Volker, one black coffee for you. - Thank you, Marius.

I think you can go fetch Leni.

We need to start.

What's wrong? Busy sucking up?

- Picking up the lead actress. - Go on then. Run.

Ah!

I'm here for my mother.

No, we didn't pick up Edith today.

I think she wasn't well.

But it's much better if I play Leni Riefenstahl.

For the project too. Of course, you're still the producer.

What do you think? How do I look?

Fantastic. It's a fantastic idea. I thought of it too.

My mother is a little too old for the role.

- That's true. - You look great.

- Thank you. - Volker will be excited.

Yes, Volker already knows.

- So, what do you think? - There it is.

Fantastic.

- I figured I'll use these glasses. - Great. Great.

Great idea.

FILM SHOOTING: LENI RIEFENSTAHL

GERMAN GENIUS... WITHOUT "EXTRAS", OR COMEDY

Time for the rehearsal.

Action.

Thanks, dear.

- To Mr. Willy Zielke, please. - Mr. Zielke is unwell.

You can come back another time.

- But I'm here today. - Mrs. Riefenstahl...

That gate is annoying. It keeps opening.

- Why stop the scene? - I'd just walk past.

- You said you'd hold it. - Set team, can we lock it somehow?

- Just hold it. - It shakes like a leaf.

- I'll start over again. - Hold it with your left hand.

It's confusing. It's too much pressure. I mean, when I know...

- Let's do it. I can't keep rehearsing. - You're intimidated.

You need to use that pressure in your role.

- Please. - As if he'd understand.

I'd like to see Mr. Willy Zielke.

Mr. Zielke is unwell. Please come back another time.

But I'm here today.

Mrs. Riefenstahl, he doesn't want to see you.

Willy always needed me to know what's best for him.

If you keep making a scene,

I'm happy to talk to the head of the clinic, Professor Dr. Berg.

Okay, here you go.

No, no, no.

Too wordy. It's far too wordy.

- Kida, leave out the first sentence. - What?

- Take that ring off, too. - Oh, sorry.

Volker, he doesn't look at me at all in the beginning.

I should look scary.

If he doesn't look me in the eye, how can I act like Riefenstahl?

- Look at me! - You scare me.

No discussion.

- Maria... - Again?

- How many more times, Volker? - You step towards him.

He's intimidated by your sheer physical presence.

- Then act that way. - He hardly dares speak.

- He mumbles to himself. - Should I look at her, or not?

Yes! Look at me.

That's up to Mr. Schlöndorff to decide.

- Let's rehearse. - Can we just film, Volker?

If we keep rehearsing, there'll be no tension left.

- Volker decides that, not you. - Yes, but...

I'll switch on my camera when I believe it's worth filming.

Like as if film is still analog. Thanks a lot.

- It's a principle. - Sure thing.

Filming!

45-1, take 1.

And action, Maria.

It's supposed to get cloudy later.

To Mr. Zielke, please. Now.

Sorry, Mrs. Riefenstahl, but Mr. Zielke doesn't want to see you.

Willy always needed me to tell him what's best for him.

If you keep making a scene, I can also just go...

- No, no, no! I'm sorry. - What is it now?

No. It's so jarring.

- Then what do I do? - Well, combine the first two sentences.

- And leave out the head of the clinic. - That's much better.

And you, Kida, better speak with your eyes.

And be silent with your eyes too.

- I like that. - And leave the second sentence out.

- That's better. - Both sentences?

- Both. - That's better.

- Let's start again. - Is this art house, or what?

- He's such a mumbler. - So I don't say anything?

- I'll say "All right". - Repeat that. "All right."

"All right."

- All right. - "All right."

- All right. - Exactly.

Keep the horizon straight. What are you doing?

And headroom.

Keep the horizon straight!

How hard can it be?

45-1, take 2.

Maria, action.

To Mr. Zielke, please.

He always needed me to know what's best for him.

Okay.

"Okay"?

"Okay"? Really?

- Did he really just say "okay"? - It was in the script.

Absolutely not!

There you have that sloppy superficiality

that I can't stand!

- You're right, Maria. - Man.

We have to stick to the language of the time in which it is set.

To the language.

Aren't "all right" and "okay" the same thing?

No, they're not the same!

"Okay" is not a word, goddammit!

Do you know what time we're in? Huh? Did you do any research at all?

Do you know what character research is?

Between your calls and your munching, you could think about the time we're in.

- I'm sorry. - Goddammit!

I can't stand that he gets out of that car in the middle of the scene.

Every time. Door open, door shut!

How can I concentrate?

This is a damn difficult character!

You have absolutely no idea! Every time, you're all too loud!

All of you! Nobody knows what it takes to do this job.

You have no respect!

That pisses me off! That pisses me off!

Why are you crying, Maria?

- My god. - Take five.

I need half an hour now, Volker. Go do this shit alone.

Five minutes for Maria.

- Mr. Schlöndorff? - Let her have 10.

Half an hour!

Guys, we're going to cut the scene out altogether.

We need all our concentration for the main scene inside with Willy.

- We're going to cut to that right now. - Am I still in scene 47?

I can't tell right now.

Marius, what about him?

- Standby. - But you cut two sentences.

If I'm out of 47 now, then I have a problem.

Yes, but your presence is priceless.

Isn't that great?

Please, just listen to me.

Willy, let me finish.

I've done a lot of things right.

And yes, some things...

But all that dirt that is thrown at me,

those vile lies that are being told about me,

that story about the gypsies...

It's just outrageous.

We have done so much together.

All those films we made together.

Those unforgettable pictures...

That thing with your sterilization...

I made you what you are.

I gave you the opportunity to realize yourself.

In my films you could shine.

In my work,

you could radiate your soul.

That is greater

than everything else.

I am greater than everything else.

Yes.

I am your family.

I was always there for you when I needed you.

And now?

Now I don't feel any gratitude whatsoever.

That hurts so much.

Do you understand, Willy?

Do you understand?

Willy.

Cut!

- How did I do? - Fantastic.

Fantastic.

- Bravo! - Thank you.

That was amazing. As if it were true.

It's nonsense. It wasn't like that.

It's how old Leni Riefenstahl wished it.

She realized in her old age what really matters.

Admitting mistakes.

She stole Willy's intellectual property, had him committed and sterilized.

And now she tries to apologize.

You can't just give a Nazi chick a stage, dammit!

Hey!

Things didn't go smoothly, but that's modern storytelling.

Oh, so you're saying this story is better than mine?

I'm sure of it.

Having an idea is one thing, but you have to follow through.

That's something you could learn from me.

Okay. In here, please.

At least I stuck to my word, you slippery snake.

If this is what success is in Germany, then I don't want that success.

Kida, you overestimate yourself a bit.

You were the right Arab in the right place at the right time.

But that's not good enough.

You're such an ungrateful person, Marius.

You'd sell your mother and your friends for your career.

I would not.

You said you get one big chance,

and you have to take it.

That's what I'm doing.

Extras?

Extras is the other stand over there. Sorry.

- My god. - Can I have salmon, please?

- I'm out. - Chicken then.

Kida, are you in the main cast?

What does that matter?

There's another dish for minor roles. Over there.

- Okay. - The rice dish is done too.

- You won't serve me? - Kida, I don't make the rules.

You can have a nice pudding,

an apple or noodle salad.

Noodle salad with pork. What's wrong with this world?

Pudding then. But only one's included.

Just kidding. Have all the pudding you like.

How long have we known each other? 20 years, more or less?

I get up at half past three every morning. Prepare food.

I never had time to make the break. I never wanted to either.

But you did.

The higher you fly, the harder you fall.

As long as your soul and your bones are healthy, you can try again.

Hm?

Thank you.

Thanks.

Kida?

It's a green production.

Kida?

- How are you? - I just wanted to call you.

Why? What's up?

The remake is over. We don't have a remake.

Why? What happened?

It's a long story.

Well, don't give up.

Come to London. A deal is a deal.

A deal is a deal.

Thank you, Ricky.

Okay.

Yes.

- Okay. - Don't touch me.