Almost Famous (2000)
Screenwriter(s): Cameron Crowe
Boiler Room (2000) Ben Affleck as Jim Young. Jim Young: Pitching to the new recruits There is no question whether you'll become a millionaire. Ben Affleck’s speech is somewhat familiar. It was inspired by a speech given by Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross. Anyone that’s watched the film would know how it was designed to mirror.
Advice About Being a True Rock Journalist - Be Honest and Unmerciful
Legendary writer and editor of Creem Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) congratulated his 15 year-old idol, aspiring rock journalist William Miller (Patrick Fugit), on his 'damn good' writing, although he felt rock 'n' roll was in its 'death rattle...last gasp' in the early 1970s. After speaking briefly on the street, they continued talking in a small cafe. Bangs tried to discourage the idealistic and eagerly ambitious young William, but then gave him an 'assignment' to write about a Black Sabbath concert, urging him not to get too cozy with the bands he's writing about:
You know, because once you go to L.A., you're gonna have friends like crazy. But they're gonna be fake friends. You know, they're gonna try to corrupt you. You got an honest face, and they're gonna tell you everything. But you cannot make friends with the rock stars...If you're gonna be a true journalist -- you know, a rock journalist -- first, you never get paid much. But you will get free records from the record company. Jesus. F--king nothing about you that is controversial, man. God, it's gonna get ugly, man. They're gonna buy you drinks. You're gonna meet girls, they're gonna try to fly you places for free, offer you drugs. I know it sounds great, but these people are not your friends. You know, these are people who want you to write sanctimonious stories about the genius of rock stars. And they will ruin rock 'n' roll, and strangle everything we love about it, right? You know, because they're trying to buy respectability for a form that is gloriously and righteously dumb. Now, you're smart enough to know that. And the day it ceases to be dumb is the day that it ceases to be real, right? And then it just becomes an industry of cool.
I'm-I'm telling ya, you're comin' along at a very dangerous time for rock 'n' roll. I mean, the war is over. They won. And 99% of what passes for rock 'n' roll these days, silence is more compelling. That's why I think you should just turn around and go back, you know, and be a lawyer or somethin'. But I can tell from your face that you won't. I can give you 35 bucks. Give me a thousand words on Black Sabbath...Hey, you have to make your reputation on being honest and, uh, you know, unmerciful...If you get into a jam, you can call me. I stay up late.
Then, later in the film, Lester spoke on the phone to William, dismayed that he seemed to have sold himself out, and reiterating that he should be 'honest and unmerciful':
Boiler Room Movie Ben Affleck Speech
Oh, man, you made friends with ‘em. See, friendship is the booze they feed ya 'cause they want ya to get drunk on feeling like you belong....Because they make you feel cool, and hey, I met you. You are not cool....Because we are uncool. You know, while women will always be a problem for guys like us. Most of the great art in the world is about that very problem. Good-looking people - they got no spine, their art never lasts. And they get the girls, but we’re smarter....'cause great art is about guilt and longing, and, you know, love disguised as sex, and sex disguised as love, and hey, let’s face it, you've got a big head start... I’m always home, I’m uncool....You're doin' great. The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you’re uncool. My advice to you, I know you think these guys are your friends, if you wanna be a true friend to ‘em, be honest and unmerciful.
It’s a shame to see a movie filled with so much talent all to add up to absolutely nothing. “Boiler Room” trots out a who’s who of really good actors, many of whom were in vogue performers that eventually got their due. I’m especially a fan of Nicky Katt. That said, “Boiler Room” is a crummy retread of “Glenngarry Glenn Ross” sans the plays on “Death of a Salesman.” Ben Affleck appears twice to give a really raucous and loud speech to perspective stock brokers, and really you can’t help but think that Alec Baldwin did it better.
The Boiler Room Youtube
“Boiler Room” really wants to be David Mamet, but fails to be on the same level. It even features a moment where the top brokers of the firm spout lines from “Wall Street” while watching the movie in a group, and it sums up the movie very well. It really wants to be a new age “Wall Street” but it’s barely a memorable drama. Giovanni Ribisi plays Seth, a young college drop out who decides to joins a brokerage firm called J.T. Marlin when an old friend visits and promises success as a broker.
Seth quickly rises to wealth and esteem among his colleagues as a broker, and eventually realizes that not only is the firm illegal, but the FBI is planning to bust the entire staff, including Seth. This could have repercussions on his life, and the life of the people he loves. Including his dad, who constantly berates Seth’s lifestyle. Director Ben Younger’s drama is nothing but a spring board for a lot of new actors, including Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel before he became a humongous star, and folks like Scott Caan, and Tom Everett Scott. For all intents and purposes, the film packs a lot of energy, and the cast is fantastic.
But the narrative just postures itself as this unique spin on “Wall Street,” when really it’s just cribbing from it and Mamet wholesale, and shamelessly. Giovanni Ribisi has shown time and time again what a brilliant actor he can be, and here he feels wasted in what is a bunch of melodramatic sappy junk, when he’s not being forced to shoot out rapid fire dialogue. There’s even a really forgettable romance sub-plot involving Nia Long, who plays a secretary for the firm he works in. All in all, “Boiler Room” stars a host of actors that have offered so much better in past and future films, and this is just a really forgettable vehicle that tries very hard to be taken as anything other than middling drama.
Ben Affleck Sales Speech
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