Listen Up Philip

Synopsis: Anger rages in Philip as he awaits the publication of his second novel. He feels pushed out of his adopted home city by the constant crowds and noise, a deteriorating relationship with his photographer girlfriend Ashley, and his own indifference to promoting the novel. When Philip's idol Ike Zimmerman offers his isolated summer home as a refuge, he finally gets the peace and quiet to focus on his favorite subject: himself.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director(s): Alex Ross Perry
Production: Tribeca Film
  2 wins & 11 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.3
Metacritic:
76
Rotten Tomatoes:
84%
NOT RATED
Year:
2014
108 min
Website
938 Views


1

'He had been living in the city

for nine years,

'and was only now coming

to think of it as home.

'Characteristically not in a hurry,

'but perpetually enraged

by slow foot traffic before him,

'Philip was on this day meeting for lunch

with Mona, his ex-girlfriend,

'whom he had dated

throughout a portion of college.

'As with any punctual individual,

Philip loathed when people ran late,

'which Mona typically was.

'By the time Mona

made her way to Philip,

'he was in a state of rage

and on the verge of storming out...

'a reaction he was known to often have

'towards the end

of their two-year relationship.

'During the arguments

that led to their breakup,

'Mona repeatedly emphasised

Philip's short fuse and poor temper

'as key factors in no longer being capable

of tolerating his company.'

- It's just crazy that you're late to me.

- Can we stop talking about it?

25 minutes I'm waiting, almost 30.

It's an insult.

Also, I have a really busy day,

so now I have less than an hour.

Probably not even enough time

to eat anything.

Maybe a grilled cheese for me.

I had that the other day.

It's disgusting.

So I'll ask you how you are, right?

Things are good?

Things are good with me.

Allie and I just finally found

a new roommate.

Oh, what's-her-ass moved?

- She got married, like, two years ago.

- Figures.

- Is that the new book?

- Er... yeah.

I wasn't sure you'd noticed, or heard.

- OK.

- I'm just getting ready.

Things are gonna be pretty crazy for me

after the release.

In fact, this might be

the last time I'm home

for more than a week at a time

for the next eight or possibly nine months.

Actually, yeah, definitely.

It's just busy.

Los Angeles in January, San Francisco...

Powell's in Portland,

the whole West Coast thing, really.

I'm told to expect big things out there.

- You sound like you're bragging.

- That's because I am bragging.

And you're doing a really hurtful job

of sounding unfazed.

And do you know why that is?

Because you're not pretending.

You're not interested in this or me,

not even a little.

- Why would you say that?

- Because you never believed in me.

- And you don't now.

- Well, good for you.

No, not good for me. Great for me.

You know, you told me many times,

now that I think about it, actually,

that my goals were unreasonable

and foolhardy.

Am I recalling this correctly?

That my dream, the only dream I've had

since I was 14 years old,

to write and publish a novel of my own,

wasn't something I could just

reach out and have.

Hard work, you tell me. Years of

working up from the bottom, you tell me.

Well, you know something?

You were wrong.

Dead wrong, actually.

About me and everything.

This was for you. It's an advance copy.

I'd even written a little note

on the dedication page and everything.

But you know something?

You don't support me and you never did.

So you don't get this gift from me.

Not today, not ever. Forever.

You were unkind,

and you tried to stray me from my path.

And had I listened to you,

I'd be nothing right now.

'Philip had never been one

for speaking his mind,

'preferring instead

to bottle up his emotions,

'eventually forgetting or utilising them

for creative inspiration.

'However, this outpouring resulted in

Philip feeling more satisfied and content

'than he had in some time,

'and it was for this reason

that he immediately telephoned

'his college roommate, Parker,

'with the intention of delivering to him

an equally robust dressing down.'

You blew people's minds, man.

Now look at you. You're just a combination

of strange f***ing colours.

It was gonna be you and me, man.

Ring a bell?

Sophomore year, creative writing seminar,

it was us versus them.

- What the f*** happened?

- I...

Apparently not everybody's cut out

for life in the fast lane.

You make me want back

every minute of time I wasted with you,

dreaming of a future we could share.

Our declaration of principles.

Remember this?

Worthless now.

I was so stupid to think you wanted it.

I wanted it, you f***ing a**hole!

I did want it.

I wanted it more than you could know.

It's not so easy for everybody, OK?

We can't all be as lucky and talented

as the great Philip Lewis Friedman.

You know what, though?

I'm glad, I'm glad.

Because if both of our goals

had come true,

then I'd be just as much

of an insufferable piece of sh*t as you,

you f***in' Jew bastard!

This could have been us.

Instead, I'm all alone.

'Returning home to the apartment

he shared with Ashley Kane,

'his girlfriend of two years,

'Philip found himself gripped

by uncontrollable lust,

'temporarily forgetting the ambivalence

and negligence towards him

'that she was increasingly incapable

of concealing,

'as her success as a photographer

in the art world

'led to consistent and

lucrative commercial work.'

Hello? Ashley?

Hello.

Come out. I have a surprise for you.

'For the past year,

they had been living together,

'one advantage of which

was added stability,

'and a clear head space for writing.'

'Philip would credit this with allowing him

to finish his second novel,

'which he previously believed himself

unable to complete.'

...Parker, and I smoked him too.

I don't know what happened.

- Parker too?

- Yeah, so...

- Two nemesi in one day.

- Yes.

That's pretty hot.

- I'm really proud of you.

- Thank you very much.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Alex Ross Perry

Alex Ross Perry (born July 14, 1984) is an American film director, screenwriter and actor. more…

All Alex Ross Perry scripts | Alex Ross Perry Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Listen Up Philip" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/listen_up_philip_12633>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    Listen Up Philip

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.