THE MENU

Written by

Seth Reiss & Will Tracy

PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT 9/5/21

Yellow Revisions 10/7/21
Green Revisions 10/11/21
Goldenrod Revisions 10/29/21
 BLACK

A nautical bell. Foghorns. Waves lapping the shore. Seagulls.

1 EXT. WATERFRONT DOCK - EVENING 1

A young COUPLE stand alone on a dock. They’re dressed

elegantly for a big night out.

MARGOT stares off, a little bored. TYLER drums his hand

against his leg. His eyes dart around, a little panicked.

TYLER
What time is it?

Margot looks at her watch nonchalantly.

MARGOT
It is...6:26.

TYLER
Shit.

MARGOT
Tyler, relax.

TYLER
No, sweetie, this is bad.

MARGOT
I’m sure it’s fine, babe.

TYLER
Well, where is everybody?

MARGOT
You’re positive we’re in the right
place?

TYLER
Yes. I followed the directions on
the website exactly.

MARGOT
Okay, well, then reset the mood.
We’ve still got four minutes.

Tyler nods, but he’s unconvinced. Margot lights a cigarette.

Tyler notices and grimaces disapprovingly.

TYLER
Babe, please don’t smoke. It’ll
kill your palette.
1 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 2.

MARGOT
Then my palette will die happy.

TYLER
Hey.
(insistent)
Margot.

Tyler’s tone stops Margot in her tracks. She looks at him.

The mood is suddenly a little tense. He’s dead serious.

TYLER (CONT'D)
Tonight is huge, okay? The flavor
profiles - it’s all super delicate.
When you smoke, you ruin your
ability to appreciate them.
(beat)
Please.

After an edgy silence, Margot stamps out her cigarette.

MARGOT
Fine. Jesus.

TYLER
Thank you.

A FOGHORN blows close by, startling both of them. A small but

gorgeously appointed BOAT pulls into the harbor.

TYLER (CONT'D)
Thank God.

MARGOT
Is that gonna fit everyone?

TYLER
Easily. 12 customers total.

MARGOT
A night? How do they turn a profit?

TYLER
850 a head, that’s how.

Margot nearly does a double-take.

MARGOT
You’re fucking joking right?

TYLER
C’mon, let’s not ruin this by
talking price, yeah? Just go with
the flow. Let it be magical.
1 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 3.

Margot just chuckles and shrugs.

MARGOT
Hey, it’s your dime.

A MERCEDES pulls into the dock and parks. THREE RICH TECH-
NERD BROS in their 30s and 40s-- BRYCE, SOREN, DAVE-- get
out, a little drunk, a little rowdy.

BRYCE
--just such a fuck-you to Accounts.
It’s not even a client dinner!

They all laugh. Tyler looks at them with distaste.

TYLER
Great. A power tasting. They’ll be
wasted by the amuse.

Margot sees an OLDER COUPLE getting out of a Town Car.

RICHARD (60s) gets the door for his wife ANNE (also 60s). As
he does, he turns and briefly locks eyes with Margot. He
seems to recognize her. Margot’s eyes dart away instantly.

MARGOT
(under her breath)
Fuck.

TYLER
What?

MARGOT
Huh? Nothing.

A finely dressed BOATMAN lowers a gangway on the boat.

BOATMAN
All aboard for Hawthorn!

TYLER
I have to log every nuance of this.
To silkscreen it on my brain.

Most guests have now arrived. They file on the boat, showing
tickets on their phones. As Tyler and Margot queue, Tyler
notices someone behind them and averts his eyes.

TYLER (CONT'D)
Ho-ly fucking shit. Don’t look.

MARGOT
What?
 1 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 4.

Margot looks and sees a MIDDLE AGED WOMAN in a colorful

blouse and hip tortoise shell glasses and A MIDDLE AGED MAN.

TYLER
I said don’t look?

MARGOT
What am I supposed to not be
looking at?

TYLER
Lillian Bloom.

MARGOT
Who’s Lillian Bloom?

TYLER
Shh, just - food critic for Saveur.
Play it cool.

MARGOT
You’re the one freaking out?

TYLER
She’s running her Top 100 list this
month. I bet this makes the top
spot. She doesn’t usually double up
with San Pellegrino but for Slowik?

MARGOT
No totally. I’m always saying that.

TYLER
Lillian goddamned Bloom. Well it’s
official: Tonight will be madness.

2 INT. BOAT - EARLY EVENING 2

Margot and Tyler step inside the main cabin of the boat. It’s
like something out of a fairy tale. Brass fixtures. Small
tables with linen tablecloths. Floral arrangements. Ravel’s
“Une barque sur l'océan” PLAYS dreamily.

We hear the VOICE of the CAPTAIN on an intercom.

CAPTAIN (O.S.)
Ladies and gentlemen, please make
yourselves comfortable for our 30
minute journey to Hawthorn.

Tyler is in heaven. He turns to Margot.

2 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 5.

TYLER
Not gonna lie, I am diamond hard
right now.

Margot makes a disgusted face. We hear VOICES off screen.

MALE VOICE (O.S.)

We get a private room though right?

FEMALE VOICE (O.S.)

I checked. They don’t do that here.

Who should finally enter but none other than a famous middle-
aged MOVIE STAR and his young assistant, FELICITY.

MOVIE STAR
Yeah, no, that’s fine. Totally
fine. You definitely checked?

WAITER
Welcome, sir.

Movie Star sees the other passengers. Big smile.

MOVIE STAR
(suddenly “on”)
Ahoy! Avast me hearties! Let’s hope
she’s seaworthy, eh?

The Movie Star is given champagne. He eyes it with desire but

hands it to Felicity, who politely gives it to the waiter.

ON TECH BROS outside of Movie Star’s earshot. Soren eyes him.

SOREN
Whoop, famous person. We got an FP,
folks.

BRYCE
FP in the house.

DAVE
Barely F anymore though? Maybe in
like 1998?

BRYCE
Hey, he’s a P and he’s F, what do
you want?

We SWING back to Margot and Tyler on two plush seats by the

window. Tyler looks anxious. Margot smiles at him.

MARGOT
Look at you.
2 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 6.

TYLER
I know. I have to say: I’m weirdly
nervous.

MARGOT
To eat dinner?

TYLER
Right? It’s crazy.

MARGOT
No, it’s cute.
(sees movie star)
Oh wow. Check it out. I loved him
when I was a kid.

TYLER
Oh yeah. Apparently he’s a big
foodie. Or you know - thinks he is.

MARGOT
He looks kinda like an alien in
person?

A WAITER steps forward holding a tray of food.

WAITER
Chef Slowik would like to welcome
you with a raw local oyster in a
mignonette emulsion, with lemon
caviar and an oyster leaf. Enjoy.

Tyler and Margot take their trays.

TYLER
Beautiful. Thank you.

The waiters leave. Margot stares at her tray.

TYLER (CONT'D)
One of his classics. The lemon
pearls are made with an alginate.

Tyler takes a quick photo with his phone before eating his.

MARGOT
Alginate? As in-?

TYLER
As in algae.

MARGOT
Algae. Like from a pond. No,
lovely.
 2 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 7.

Tyler’s too busy greedily devouring his tiny bite to respond.

TYLER
Oh my god. It’s laughable. It’s
actually fucking laughably good.

Margot cautiously tries it and nods her head.

MARGOT
Mmm. It’s good. I’d be happy with
just the oyster, though. I love
oysters.

TYLER
No, no, it’s the balance of the
products. You need the mouthfeel of
the mignonette.

MARGOT
(smiles)
Please don’t say ‘mouthfeel.’

TYLER
(smiles back)
Too late.

They share a warm beat. The HORN BLOWS as the boat sets sail.

3 EXT. OCEAN - EVENING 3

The boat glides across the water, the ISLAND in the distance.

4 INT. BOAT - EVENING 4

As the great Lillian Bloom holds court, we cut to close-ups

of all the diners listening. We end on Margot, as though we
are seeing them through her eyes.

LILLIAN BLOOM
Slowik has always had trouble
staying put. Cut his teeth with
Bocuse, a spell in Kyoto, stages
with Ferran in Spain just for the
fuck of it. Then he opens his own
place in New York, Tantalus. I
discover him. Then boom, two
Michelin stars.

Tyler softly to Margot.

4 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 8.

TYLER
He didn’t get the second star till
year two, she’s fucking up the
story, but whatever --

LILLIAN BLOOM
What’s that?

TYLER
Nothing. This is great. Go on.

LILLIAN BLOOM
Then at the top of his game, he
closes up shop. Disappears. Falls
off the map. Must have lost a
fortune on the lease.

Tyler can’t let it go. Annoyed, he whispers to Margot:

TYLER
Also, she “discovered” him?
Bullshit.

FELICITY
Where did he go?

LILLIAN BLOOM
Some say Lyon. Some say Hanoi of
all places. No interviews, no
photos, zip. I tried like hell to
track him down, but he’s a phantom.
Now cut to three years after that.

TED
Final chapter of the Slowik
creation myth. King Maker here is
in... where were you, Lilly?

LILLIAN BLOOM
Ladies and gentlemen, Ted Feldman,
my editor.

TED
Hello, everyone.

LILLIAN BLOOM
Would you like to take the baton?

TED
(put on the spot)
Oh, yes, sure. Well, so, you were
at, the - it was a food expo, or--?

Lillian takes the baton right back from him.

4 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 9.

LILLIAN BLOOM
So I’m in Portland. Umbrellas,
beards, heroin. Big food con.

TYLER
Cascades Food Expo, right?

LILLIAN BLOOM
Yes, well done. Huge arena full of
pop-ups. And I think, if I have to
eat one more deconstructed avant
cassoulet whatever I’m gonna puke.
So I leave and stop at a Korean
taco truck a block away. And... I
flip. It’s like the Platonic ideal
of a Korean taco. The Korean taco
of your youth.

Margot blinks. The Korean what?

LILLIAN BLOOM (CONT'D)

I peek into the truck, and guess
who’s manning the grill. Julian
fucking Slowik. I almost fall to my
knees and start believing in God.
And I get him to agree to an
interview.

TED
That’s the famous piece Lillian
wrote about him. Culinary
hagiography. Calvin Trillin meets
Gregory of Tours.

LILLIAN BLOOM
Stop. Anyway, suddenly every foodie
investor is hounding him. He says
he’ll consider it on three
conditions. One, complete privacy.
Two, land to forage and plant.
Three, it has to be by the water so
he can source his own fish. That’s
when Doug Verrick swoops in and
offers him a fucking island.

TED
Thanks to your piece. This is all
because of Lillian.

LILLIAN BLOOM
Tasting menus, exhausting. I’m more
of a basic three-course bitch these
days, but this should be fun. I
haven’t been since it opened.
(MORE)
4 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 10.

LILLIAN BLOOM (CONT'D)

He texted me personally last week
with the invitation. I didn’t even
think he had a phone.

SOREN
We were on a six-month waitlist but
then I got an email a week ago
saying tonight opened up. Lucky.

As conversations splinter off, Tyler turns to Margot.

TYLER
Pretty inspiring shit, yeah?

MARGOT
Yeah I mean? Sorta grim too, right?

TYLER
Grim?

MARGOT
I don’t know. Spending your entire
life on a tiny island cooking for
rich strangers? Bit of a nightmare?

Tyler eyes Margot and smiles a bit condescendingly.

TYLER
Well, Margot. Let me ask you. Do
you love what you do?

MARGOT
Sure, I like what I do.

TYLER
But do you love what you do?

Margot stares at Tyler blankly for a moment.

MARGOT
No.

TYLER
Me neither. But this guy does. And
when you love what you do - I mean
really love it - nothing else
matters. Trust me he’s got it made.

The waiter appears.

WAITER
May I take your dishes?
 4 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 11.

TYLER
Yes, please. Utterly ethereal.

RICHARD looks at his phone while his wife sips champagne.

Tyler puts his arm around Margot lovingly and they gaze out
the window. The water sparkles in the early evening sun.

MARGOT
‘Ooh, ahh, lovely view.’

TYLER
(smiles, charmed)
Such a little pestilence.

Behind them, the dot-com guys are posing for a photo with the
movie star. They are saying iconic lines from his movies.

ON TYLER AND MARGOT.

TYLER (CONT'D)
It’s already the best night. And
just think: It hasn’t even started.

MARGOT
Yeah.

Margot smiles. But it feels a little false.

5 EXT. OCEAN - EARLY EVENING 5

The boat glides smoothly through the water.

6 EXT. HAWTHORN DOCK - EARLY EVENING 6

FRONT OF HOUSE lines the dock, smiling, poised.

We follow Margot and Tyler as they disembark. It’s very

ceremonial. Margot’s a bit unnerved by all the pomp.

MARGOT
Jesus. This is like prom.

TYLER
Yeah? I didn’t go to prom.

MARGOT
Really, why not?

TYLER
None of the cool girls like you
said yes.
6 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 12.

MARGOT
Aw, poor baby. Fuck those bitches.

She smiles at him, the coolest girl ever. Tyler likes it.

The restaurant’s captain, a severe woman named ELSA, checks

the guests’ names from a list. When Margot and Tyler reach
Elsa in line, she smiles coldly.

ELSA
Welcome to Hawthorn, Mister
Ledford. And Miss-- Westervelt?

Elsa looks puzzled. Margot, equally puzzled, looks at Tyler.

TYLER
Oh, uh-- Right. Sorry. There was
actually a change of plans. This is
not Miss Westervelt, this is--

MARGOT
I’m Margot. Nice to meet you.

Elsa eyes her with a trace of suspicion. She smiles tightly.

ELSA
Margot. Welcome. We’ll endeavor to
make your evening as pleasant as
possible. Right this way.

Elsa ushers them ahead. Tyler whispers to Margot:

TYLER
Sorry. That was, uh-- That was a
little awkward.

MARGOT
(smiles)
It’s fine.

The boat leaves. Margot, it seems, is the only who notices it

leave. She looks longingly at it as it sails away. And then
she looks at this island. No way out. She snaps out of it.

Nearby, the tech guys continue to chat with the Movie Star,
who seems happy for the attention.

BRYCE
So what are you working on now?

MOVIE STAR
Top secret, bro. Don’t worry about
it. But I’m sort of moving into the
presenter phase of my career.
(MORE)
 6 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 13.

MOVIE STAR (CONT'D)

You know, be me, do me, authentic
shit. None of this artifice, or
story...

FELICITY
...or lines to memorize.

MOVIE STAR
(laughs, but it stings)
Hey now, wise guy!

SOREN
Ah, okay. Cool.

MOVIE STAR
Plus I’m a huge embarrassing
foodie. Love this stuff. Friends
with the chef in fact.

Tyler overhears this and makes a face: ‘Like hell you are.’

7 EXT. CLEARING BY THE DOCK - EARLY EVENING 7

The guests are all assembled on a beautiful expansive lawn.

Elsa stands before them. She smiles and addresses the group:

ELSA
Welcome to Hawthorn. You are all
part of an enormously special
evening. First of all, we recognize
it is not easy to secure a
reservation at our restaurant.
(smiles)
That alone makes you pretty
special, doesn’t it?

The group laughs nervously.

ELSA (CONT'D)
But tonight is not like other
nights. Tonight’s menu will be
different. Unusual. Tonight we will
tell you a story we’ve never told
before. And one we’ll never tell
again. So let me warn you now:
Wonderful surprises await you all.

ANGLE ON the excited FACES of the various guests.

ELSA (CONT'D)
But first. Let us introduce you to
our home. Follow me please.
 7 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 14.

All start walking -- except for the Liebrandts.

RICHARD
We’ll wait here, if you don’t mind.

ANNE
We’ve seen it. Many times.

ELSA
Yes, you have, haven’t you?
(to the group)
The Liebrandts are very loyal
customers.

8 EXT. DRIFTWOOD BEACH - EVENING 8

Elsa leads the rest of the group toward the gardens.

ELSA
Hawthorn Island comprises twelve
acres of forest and pasture. Our
owner purchased the island in 1989,
but we prefer to think of it as
ownerless. As wild. As a natural
outgrowth of the sea and the air
and the sky.

ANGLE ON Margot listening to this pretentious speech.

ELSA (CONT'D)
We have the bounty of the sea
surrounding us. Out there, right
now, we are harvesting scallops.
You’ll eat them tonight!

She waves at a GUY IN A ROWBOAT. As if on cue, he waves back.

The guests join in and wave as well.

MOVIE STAR
Harvest harder my dude! We’re
starving!

Everyone laughs at what the famous guy said, even though it

wasn’t actually that funny. Felicity rolls her eyes.

As they continue on walking, Lillian leans in to Ted --

LILLIAN BLOOM
I do like the sense of it being a
sort of biome of culinary ideas.

TED
Yes, like an - epicurean salon.
 8 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 15.

Margot overhears this.

MARGOT
We have reached the base camp of
Mount Bullshit.

TYLER
I love it. Come on, let’s catch up.

9 EXT. SMOKEHOUSE - EVENING 9

Elsa removes a SLEEK, STYLIZED KEY RING and opens the door.

10 INT. SMOKEHOUSE - CONTINUOUS 10

All enter a room where MEAT and FISH hang on sharp hooks.

ELSA
Our smokehouse is in the Nordic
style. We use dairy cow meat only,
which we age for an astonishing 152
days to relax the protein strands.

DAVE (TECH BRO 3)

(laughs)
What happens if you serve it on the
153rd day? All hell breaks loose?

Elsa smiles politely but coldly.

ELSA
Well, I suppose the bacteria might
introduce itself to the customer’s
bloodstream, spreading into their
spinal membranes, at which point he
or she would become incapacitated
and shortly thereafter expire?

Pause. Dave is silent.

ELSA (CONT'D)
So yes. All hell would break loose.

Elsa laughs. They all laugh.

ELSA (CONT'D)
Good thing we’re pros, yes? Come --

11 OMITTED 11
 12 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 16.

12 EXT. HAWTHORN GARDENS - EVENING 12

The guests are taken through a beautiful garden.

ELSA
Wild sea beans, salmonberries and
sea lettuce are foraged from our
shores. And our gardens supply us
with no end of seasonal produce.

MOVIE STAR
Sorry, is this the time to mention
I have a severe peanut allergy?

FELICITY
You don’t think I told them?

ELSA
Oh, yes, we know, sir. We’ve
planned for that. And Mrs.
Liebrandt’s shellfish allergy. And
Mr. Lorimer’s gluten sensitivity,
though technically no such
condition exists.

DAVE looks slightly offended.

ELSA (CONT'D)
We learn all about our guests, and
Chef plans the menu accordingly.

13 EXT. GREAT LAWN. EVENING 13

The group follows Elsa as the tour continues. Tyler squeezes

Margot’s hand romantically. She gives him a flirty eye.

We PAN to the front. Lillian Bloom is takes notes.

ELSA
Writing good things, I hope, Ms.
Bloom. Not like what you wrote
about our friends at Mercia.

LILLIAN BLOOM
Mercia? Be fair, I wrote a very
kind review of Mercia.

ELSA
Well not completely, Ms. Bloom.

ELSA smiles and opens a door.

 14 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 17.

14 INT. BUNKHOUSE - EVENING 14

The group is led inside what looks exactly like a MILITARY

BARRACKS, complete with bunk beds.

We see also tiny SHOWER SPIGOTS, like at a YMCA, and a ROW OF

TOILETS with no walls or doors, like at a prison.

ELSA
And this is where we live.

BRYCE
Wait, you guys actually live here?
All of you?

ELSA
All of us. Except Chef.

TED
Esprit de corps. Lovely.

ELSA
No, Mr. Feldman. It is more than
that. Here we are family.

Tyler smiles, inspired. But Margot looks less sure.

ELSA (CONT'D)
A common mission unites us, to run
the world’s finest restaurant. We
work 80 hours per week if we’re
lucky. And we’re never lucky. Each
day starts at six with five hours
of prep work. We harvest. We
ferment. We slaughter. We marinate.
We liquify. We spherify. We gel.

MARGOT
You gel?

ELSA
We gel. Dinner is typically four
hours and twenty-five minutes.

MARGOT reacts. That’s long.

ELSA (CONT'D)
Each day ends at well past two in
the morning. So yes, it’s best that
we all live here.

SOREN
Don’t you guys get burned out?
 14 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 18.

ELSA
‘Burned out?’

The phrase disgusts her. But she composes herself.

ELSA (CONT'D)
Chef holds himself to the highest
standard, and so do we. We never
‘burn’ anything unless by design,
to make delicious.
(big, too big smile)
Now. Who’s hungry?

15 EXT. GREAT LAWN - DUSK 15

Tyler puts an arm around Margot. Dream date with dream girl.

TYLER
Chef will win you over by the end,
just wait. You’ll be licking crumbs
from his hand like a Labrador.

MARGOT
Yeah, maybe? If we ever finish our
tour of Food Auschwitz.

TYLER
(chuckles)
Nice one.

She snuggles against him as they walk. They both smile.

As they approach the restaurant, Tyler notices a charming

COTTAGE perched on a hill in a copse of trees.

TYLER (CONT'D)
Excuse me, Elsa. Who lives there?

ELSA
Chef.

TYLER
Are we seeing that?

ELSA
Even we are not allowed inside
Chef’s cottage.

Tyler nods, a bit chastened.

 15 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 19.

MARGOT
(whispers to Tyler)
We mustn’t disturb the Lord High
Emperor of Sustenance.

TYLER
All right. Easy now.

16 EXT. HAWTHORN RESTAURANT - DUSK 16

Elsa shows everyone inside and quietly locks the door.

The room is minimalist and faux rustic. A touch sad even. A

museum mood where one doesn’t necessarily “enjoy” eating.

A sad husk of a woman, LINDA (75), drinks wine at a small

table abutting a wall. The diners are mildly confused by her
presence. She nods at a few of them.

LINDA
Hello. Welcome.

Everyone is shown to his/her seat. Elsa turns to Margot.

ELSA
Miss...?

MARGOT
Mills.

ELSA
Miss Mills. You will be sitting in
Miss Westervelt’s seat. Enjoy.

Margot makes a face. Was that really necessary?

Richard and Anne sit at a table near Margot and Tyler.

Richard’s seat is positioned facing Margot. He notices this
and looks concerned.

RICHARD
Switch seats with me.

ANNE
Why?

RICHARD
Just because. I want to have a
better view of the water.

A weird request. Every seat has a view of the water.

 16 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 20.

ANNE
Fine.

THE KITCHEN is open, visible from the dining area, the

bustling staff hard at work. Tyler can’t believe his eyes.

ELSA
(deeply pretentious)
Feel free to observe the cooks as
they innovate. But please do not
photograph our dishes. Chef
strongly feels that the beauty of
his creations lies in their
ephemeral nature.

MARGOT
(to Tyler)
And I strongly feel the need to
punch her in the cunt. Like an
uppercut. Right to the cunt.

TYLER
Here, come on. We can’t miss this.

Tyler leads Margot by the hand into...

17 INT. KITCHEN. CONTINUOUS 17

...Hawthorn’s world-class machine of a kitchen, filled with

COOKS OF ALL RANKS -- more cooks, in fact, than diners. Tyler
watches a SOUS-CHEF (JEREMY) plate a cold, snow-like powder.

TYLER
Do you make that with a Pacojet?

JEREMY
Exactly right, sir.

TYLER
(to Margot)
A Pacojet can produce a powderized
snow-like texture.

MARGOT
Ah. Fascinating.

JEREMY
You really know your stuff, Mr.
Ledford.

TYLER
You know my name?
 17 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 21.

JEREMY
We like to know everyone who dines
with us.

TYLER
And Chef is around here somewhere?
I’d love to talk with him, if--

JEREMY
Why don’t you take your seat?

Tyler is unsure whether to feel offended until --

JEREMY (CONT'D)
We’re about to serve.

TYLER
Yeah, okay. Sure. Thank you.

18 INT. DINING ROOM--CONTINUOUS 18

LINDA still sits alone, idly playing with her empty wine
glass. A cheery SOMMELIER approaches with a bottle.

SOMMELIER
More Lambrusco, madam?

Linda nods silently.

Back at Tyler and Margot’s table, they sit down.

TYLER
The attention to detail, it’s like -
fuck! He knew my name, babe!

MARGOT
I noticed you didn’t ask his name.

TYLER
Shh. There he is.

We get our first glimpse of the man himself: CHEF JULIAN

SLOWIK(40s/50s), brooding, intense. Utterly focused, he
glides swiftly from station to station, tasting.

Elsa approaches Chef Slowik and talks softly to him. We don’t

hear what is said, but he looks in Margot’s direction.

TYLER (CONT'D)
(looks away, excited)
Fuck me? Is he looking at me?
 18 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 22.

But he’s looking at Margot. They lock eyes. In that moment

the great chef and his guest share a type of recognition -- a
sadness perhaps? A longing? Chef tersely breaks eye contact
and resumes his tasks. The cooks around him continue to work
with an almost sinister focus.

19 TITLE CARD AGAINST BLACK: 19

AMUSE BOUCHE

SERVERS fan across the dining room in perfect unison.

SERVER #1
Here we have a compressed and
pickled cucumber melon, milk snow,
and charred lace. Enjoy.

LILLIAN BLOOM
This ongoing obsession with ‘snow.’

TED
It’s a plague. No one is immune.

We join the movie star’s table. He’s enjoying his amuse.

FELICITY
So look, I want to hear your pitch
for the show, but first I just want
to thank you for the opportunity.
The last two years have been--

Movie star raises his glass

MOVIE STAR
...Great, and I look forward to
many more!

He clinks their glasses.

FELICITY
C’mon, stop. It’s a goodbye toast.

MOVIE STAR
No it ain’t.

FELICITY
My mom got me a job at Sony. You
know this. I gave you my two weeks
two weeks ago.

MOVIE STAR
Yeah, yeah, I know. But... c’mon.
19 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 23.

He smiles like, “Yeah right.” Felicity goes into her bag.

FELICITY
Here’s my work phone. Here’s our
production company’s credit card.
Here are the extra keys to your
house in LA. Here are the keys to
your apartment in New York, and
your other apartment in New York
that your wife doesn’t know about.

MOVIE STAR
Can we just eat? It’s like,
research or whatever. For the show!

AT THE TECH BROS TABLE.

BRYCE
(to Soren)
So how’s Amanda?

SOREN
We’re doing the talking about our
lives thing now?

BRYCE
Hey I don’t want to either. But
shouldn’t we?

DAVE
Do we have to?

SOREN
Not good, Bryce. Amanda and I are
not good. How’s that?

BRYCE
(to Soren)
Your fault?

Soren makes a face like, ‘Of course it’s my fucking fault.’

BRYCE (CONT'D)
At least we’ve got work.

DAVE
And money.

BRYCE
To work and money!

They sarcastically cheers.

19 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 24.

DAVE
We’re pathetic, aren’t we?

BRYCE
Oh yeah!

They laugh.

MARGOT AND TYLER. Tyler holds his amuse just so and furtively
snaps a photo. He will do this with every dish. ELSA notices.
She will always notice. He eats the dish and is in heaven.

TYLER
Jesus Christ. I want to live inside
this thing.

MARGOT
Uh huh. It’s pretty good.

TYLER
“Pretty good?” You’re --
(laughs, shakes head)
You’re funny.

Margot considers, then:

MARGOT
So... this is okay then? That I’m
not as into it?

TYLER
No, no. It’s good. It’s what I like
about you, the ‘above it all.’ I’m
sitting with the coolest girl here.

MARGOT
Okay, good. Didn’t want to ruin
your fun. Too much.

She puts her hand on his leg.

MARGOT (CONT'D)
So what’s with this food obsession?

Tyler gathers himself and then...

TYLER
I don’t know. It’s like - you know
how people idolize athletes and
musicians and, like, painters and
stuff?

MARGOT
Sure.
 19 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 25.

TYLER
Yeah, those people are idiots. What
they do doesn’t matter. They play
with inflatable balls and ukuleles
and shit. Chefs play with the raw
materials of life itself. And death
itself. Like, I’ve watched every
fucking episode of Chef’s Table two
or three times. I’ve watched
Slowik’s probably twenty times.
I’ve watched him explain the exact
moment at which a green strawberry
is perfectly unripe. I’ve watched
him plate a raw scallop during its
last dying contraction of muscle.
It’s art on the edge of the abyss.
Which is where God works too.

Margot nods. Does she buy it?

MARGOT
That’s beautifully put, Tyler.

TYLER
Oh stop it.

MARGOT
No really. I am starting to get it,
a little.

TYLER
Ah, see? Told ya you’d come around.

Tyler looks pleased with his mansplain triumph. Margot looks

out the WINDOW.

20 TITLE CARD AGAINST BLACK: 20

FIRST COURSE

CLOSE on Chef. He tastes something, closes his eyes and keeps

them closed, deep in contemplation. Then he opens them.

CHEF SLOWIK
Okay.

We follow him into the dining room, where he surveys his

guests, raises his hands and CLAPS. Once. Loud. All
conversations stop. His staff stops. Everything stops.

Chef Slowik stares at his diners, smiling tightly. This whole

solar system revolves around him, the all-powerful sun.
20 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 26.

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

Welcome to Hawthorn. I am Julian
Slowik, and tonight it will be our
pleasure to feed you.

The diners applaud. Margot scrunches her face and plays

along. Lillian and Ted exchange proud, possessive looks.

LILLIAN BLOOM
The curtain rises.

CHEF SLOWIK
Over the next few hours, you will
ingest fat, salt, sugar, protein,
bacteria, fungi, various plants and
animals -- at times entire eco-
systems. But I have to beg of you
one thing. Just one. Do not eat.
(dramatic pause)
Taste. Savor. Relish. Consider
every morsel you place inside your
mouth. Be mindful. But do not eat.
Our menu is too precious for that.

ON THE PATRONS, who look a little confused, especially the

movie star. Tyler, however, is just lapping this up.

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

Look around you. Breathe deeply.
Accept it. Accept all of it.
Forgive. And on that note --
(smiles)
Food!

Servers fan out in perfect formation carrying exquisitely

manicured plates.

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

Our first course is called “The
Island.”

One of the plates lands on a table in a gorgeous, slow-motion

CU product shot. Perfectly curated bits of flora and jewels
of scallop meat rest artfully atop a smooth, icy rock.

A SUPERIMPOSED TITLE reads, “THE ISLAND. Foraged plants,

scallop, seawater.”

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

On your plate are plants from
around the island, placed on rocks
from the shore covered in barely-
frozen, filtered seawater which
will flavor the dish as it melts.
20 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 27.

Tyler smiles and whispers to Margot a little too loudly:

TYLER
This is what the guy was fishing
for earlier in the--

The room is silent. Chef Slowik stares right at Tyler with a

withering glare. Tyler tenses in his seat, mortified.

TYLER (CONT'D)
Sorry, Chef.

CHEF SLOWIK
(smiles)
It’s perfectly all right. Yes, they
are those very same scallops.
Except, of course, for Mrs.
Liebrandt. She has salmon.

Anne smiles appreciatively.

ANNE
Thank you.

CHEF SLOWIK
(back to the group)
Here is what you must remember
about this dish. We, the people on
this island, are not important. The
island and the nutrients it
provides exist in their most
perfect state without us gathering
them, manipulating them or
digesting them. What happens inside
this room is meaningless compared
to what occurs outside, in nature,
in the soil and the water and the
air. We are but a frightened
nanosecond. Nature is timeless.
(warm smile)
Enjoy!

He returns to the kitchen. Diners exchange glances with their

partners. Margot arches an eyebrow at the pomposity.

MARGOT
Cheery thought.
(noticing)
Um. Hey. Are you - crying?

TYLER
Yeah. Sorry.
(laughs awkwardly)
I know.
(MORE)
20 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 28.

TYLER (CONT'D)
It’s just, I find it all very
moving. It’s all so...I don’t know.
It’s just so beautiful.

Tyler holds his phone just so and snaps a shot of his plate.
Elsa clocks it. Simmering rage.

TYLER (CONT'D)
It’s almost too beautiful to eat.

Margot looks at her plant-covered rock warily. She’s not so

moved. But then she smiles, as if remembering something.

MARGOT
You know, the nicest restaurant in
my hometown was this shitty red
sauce place called Martini’s that--

TYLER
(interrupting)
You don’t think Chef’s mad at me,
right? Because of the scallop
thing?

MARGOT
You don’t have to address him as
“Chef,” Tyler. And no, I doubt he’s
even aware of your existence.

Tyler keeps his eyes fixed on CHEF SLOWIK, who is intensely

directing his staff in the open kitchen.

TYLER
I know. It’s just, I kind of want
him to - ya know.

MARGOT
To what? To like you?

TYLER
(laughs)
Yeah. Kinda.

MARGOT
You’re a customer. You’re paying
him to serve you. It doesn’t matter
whether he likes you or not.

Tyler nods, then considers this. He looks mildly offended.

TYLER
Right. Wait. What does that mean?
20 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 29.

MARGOT
(smiles)
Nothing. Relax. You’re good.

The sommelier slides up, seemingly out of thin air.

SOMMELIER
And to pair, from our friends at
Isabelle et Denis, a premier cru
Chablis from 2014. Not just single
vineyard but a single row of vines.

THE MOVIE STAR and FELICITY stare at their perfect plates.

Neither lifts a fork.

Movie Star pops a scallop in his mouth. Smiles.

FELICITY
How is it?

MOVIE STAR
Good!

FELICITY
You’re going to need to say more
than “good” for the show.

MOVIE STAR
It’s not brain surgery, okay? It’s
a travel food show thing. I go to
Italy, we shoot me in Capris on a
pastel green Vespa driving to some
Guiseppe’s farm with cheese and
there’s a close-up of me eating the
cheese and I close my eyes and fake
an orgasm, then I’m off to South
Africa or wherever and I eat goat
and talk about how racism is maybe
not so cool and bingo bongo there’s
your show.

Felicity stares at him.

FELICITY
Wait... is that it? That’s the big
pitch you’re giving to three
streaming services on Monday?

MOVIE STAR
(shrugs)
Pretty much yeah.

FELICITY
Holy fucking Jesus --
20 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 30.

MOVIE STAR
Look. Relax. When it’s time to
deliver I deliver. I always do.

We glide over to Lillian Bloom and Ted as they eat the dish
with expressions of pure ecstasy.

TED
Thoughts? I think it’s quite --

LILLIAN BLOOM
Half-great. It’s there in moments.

TED
It’s there in moments.

LILLIAN BLOOM
There’s a neediness to the plating.
Tweezered to fuck. But the flavors
are there. Very clean, very...
thalassic.

TED
Thalassic?

LILLIAN BLOOM
Oceanic. Thalassa was the Greek
primeval spirit of the sea. So.
We’re eating the ocean.

TED
We’re eating the ocean. Yes.

RICHARD AND ANNE sit eating silently like two live corpses.
They could just as well be eating prime rib at a casino.

Finally Anne barely speaks.

ANNE
I saw Perry at DeLaurenti’s the
other day.

RICHARD
Mm.
(beat)
How was he?

Anne shrugs.

ANNE
You know...
(then)
Perry.
 20 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 31.

And with that, the scintillating Perry chat is over.

THE TECH BROS are in fact purely eating and drinking, not
even looking at their plates as they talk.

DAVE
--and the cloud space is only
getting crazier. Everyone scales
up, and their OPEX budgets are--

BRYCE
Dude enough. You sound so douche-y.

SOREN
(pointing at plate)
You like?

BRYCE
The otter food? Oh, yeah. Solid.

SOREN
The plating’s a little schmance
though, right? And I’ve had
shellfish just as good at Kashiba,
or even with my chef at home. But
whatever. Now we can say we’ve been
here. As my dad used to say, “We’re
buying an experience.”

ELSA stands against the wall, eyeing them with contempt.

21 INT. KITCHEN. CONTINUOUS 21

The staff prepares the next course. Chef looks up to stare at

Margot, noting her tense posture and nearly-full plate. Then
he sees Tyler extend his fork toward her food. Chef winces.

CHEF SLOWIK
(irritated)
I want plating in five.

WHOLE TEAM
Yes, Chef!

22 EXT. HAWTHORN ISLAND - TWILIGHT 22

Darkness falls. We see the restaurant from afar, bay windows

aglow with warm light. Out here, amidst the water and trees,
all is quiet save for the lonesome, distant call of a loon.
 22 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 32.

AGAINST BLACK, TITLE CARD:

BREAD SERVICE

23 INT. DINING ROOM - EVENING 23

Margot and Tyler wait for the next course. Tyler observes
something about Margot and smiles. Margot notices.

MARGOT
What?

TYLER
Nothing. It’s fun watching you in
this place. You’re just so Margot
about it all.

MARGOT
Oh yeah? How so?

Tyler examines and catalogues the specimen.

TYLER
This is your whole thing: You hate
these fancy places because you’re
working-class and real and just a
true-blue down-home girl, all spiky
and snarky. That’s so who you are.
I love it.

Margot smiles and nods. She goes along with it.

MARGOT
Yeah, well? You grow up poor in
Philly like I did and then step
into a place like this? Yeah, sure.
Your fists go up a little.

Tyler looks turned on by the notion of taking a fist in the

face from a tough poor girl. Margot smiles playfully.

MARGOT (CONT'D)
You like that, huh?

TYLER
I like you.

MARGOT
(moment of sweetness)
I like you, too.

Margot smiles at Tyler. Tyler really feels a connection.

23 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 33.

TYLER
Beautiful night.

As Tyler looks out the window, he doesn’t see Margot’s smile

gradually decreasing to a glare. No connection on her end.

Chef Slowik CLAPS again. Margot jumps a little, startled.

MARGOT
Is he going to keep doing that?

Chef waits in silence a few moments. Too many moments.

CHEF SLOWIK
Bread has existed in some form for
over 12,000 years, especially
amongst the poor. Flour and water.
What could be simpler? Even today,
grain represents 65% of all
agriculture. Fruits and vegetables?
Only 6%. Ancient Greek peasants
dipped their stale, measly bread in
wine for breakfast. And how did
Jesus teach us to pray if not to
beg for “our daily bread?” It is,
and has always been, the food of
the common man. But you, my dear
guests, are not the common man. So
tonight you get no bread.

Margot actually chuckles -- you’ve got to be kidding.

Servers place SHALE PLATES on the tables, along with a lovely

parchment NOTE. Where there would normally be bread is an
empty space surrounded by condiments -- creams, pickles, etc.

A SUPERIMPOSED TITLE reads, “BREADLESS BREAD PLATE: no bread,

savory accompaniments.”

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

In this spirit, please enjoy the
unaccompanied accompaniments.

MOVIE STAR’S TABLE. Felicity reads the parchment note.

FELICITY
“The bread you will not be eating
tonight was made from a heritage
wheat called red fife, crafted with
our partners at the Tehachapi Grain
Project, devoted to preserving
heirloom grains...”
23 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 34.

MOVIE STAR
(eating)
I have to say, the shit around the
table absence of bread is tasty.

LILLIAN BLOOM AND TED.

LILLIAN BLOOM
Now this is a wickedly clever
conceit. Slowik is famous for his
bread. Tartine doesn’t hold a
candle. And tonight no bread?

TED
Outrageous.

LILLIAN BLOOM
Fiendish, really. He’s always been
keenly aware of food as a history
of class while still preserving a
sense of the delicious.
(poking at a sauce)
Although I will say the emulsion
here does look slightly broken.

TED
I didn’t want to mention it, but I
was just thinking the same thing.

LILLIAN BLOOM
And you really --
(whispers)
-- you really shouldn’t see that in
a restaurant of this quality. I’m
frankly surprised. Minor quibble.
But there it is.

Chef Slowik sees this exchange.

MARGOT AND TYLER.

TYLER
Next level bad-assery. The way he
weaves in historical allegories.
The game is trying to guess what
the over-arching theme of the
entire meal is going to be. You
won’t know till the end.

MARGOT
Wait, you like this? He’s basically
insulting us, isn’t he?
23 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 35.

TYLER
No no no, you don’t get it. It’s a
concept.

MARGOT
I know what a concept is, Tyler.

TYLER
No, trust me. He’s telling a story.
That’s what makes his food so
exciting. He’s not just a chef.
He’s a storyteller. And he doesn’t
give a fuck about the rules.

MARGOT
Yeah, well, call me the girl next
door but maybe some rules you
should give a fuck about.

Tyler takes her hand, kisses it, and smiles mischievously.

TYLER
My dearest, no one would ever call
you the girl next door.

Meanwhile, back at Lillian Bloom’s table:

LILLIAN BLOOM
I bake my own bread at home, of
course.

TED
Oh?

LILLIAN BLOOM
Very rustic. Peasant style. Yeasty.

TED
What kind of yeast do you use?

LILLIAN BLOOM
I make my own. From apples.

TED
Of course you make your own yeast
from apples, you wicked thing.

Elsa approaches with another, LARGER CONTAINER of the broken

emulsion Lillian complained about.

ELSA
Ms. Bloom, here is another broken
emulsion. Courtesy of Chef Slowik.
23 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 36.

She points to the kitchen, where Chef Slowik offers a wave

and warm smile. Lillian smiles nervously and waves back.

LILLIAN BLOOM
Oh, I -- thank you.

BRYCE
(calling to Elsa)
Excuse me. Excuse me.

Elsa heads to THE TECH-BRO TABLE.

ELSA
Is everything to your liking, sir?

BRYCE
Well, actually, no. Thanks for
asking. I mean, look, the food’s
great and we totally get all the
conceptual stuff. But could we
please get a little bread? You guys
are super-famous for your bread,
and we don’t know when we’ll ever
get a chance to eat here again.

SOREN
Everybody always talks about your
amazing bread.

ELSA
Yes. And?

BRYCE
Could we please just try some of
your bread? You know, and some
gluten-free for my friend as well?

ELSA
No

BRYCE
No?

ELSA
No.

The men exchange an exasperated look. Elsa stares coldly.

BRYCE
This is all very clever and, I
didn’t want to play this card, but
you know who we are, right?
23 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 37.

ELSA
Yes.

SOREN
You do. You know who we are.

ELSA
I know who you are.

SOREN
You know we work with Doug Verrick.

ELSA
No, you work for Mr. Verrick.

Lillian and Ted overhear. Lillian makes a “yikes” face.

DAVE
Exactly. So you know we all play on
the same team. So just slip us a
little bread. Please.

SOREN
We won’t tell a soul.

ELSA
No.

BRYCE
Did you say no?

ELSA
I said no. Yes.

BRYCE
Okay. Wow.

Elsa leans in to speak in a menacing whisper.

ELSA
You will eat less than you desire
and more than you deserve.

She spins and walks away.

MARGOT and TYLER. Margot is not eating. Chef stares at her.

TYLER
Well if you’re not going to eat,
I’m gonna eat.

Tyler reaches over and picks up her entire plate to exchange

it with his own empty one. He tries to do it carefully but
bumps a wine glass with his elbow. It SHATTERS on the ground.
 23 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 38.

Two servers appear to clean up the mess. Tyler is mortified.

Now Tyler spots Chef Slowik marching over to their table.

TYLER (CONT'D)
So, so sorry. Total accident.

Chef focuses solely on Margot.

CHEF SLOWIK
You haven’t touched your food.

MARGOT
Yeah, sorry. A lot of food coming,
right? Don’t want to fill up.

CHEF SLOWIK
That would not be possible. I’ve
precisely designed the portions to
account for that. Please eat. The
menu only makes sense if you eat.

MARGOT
But you told us not to eat.

CHEF SLOWIK
This is not what I meant, madam.
And you know it.

MARGOT
Thanks, but I’ll eat what I want to
eat. And when.

Chef half-smiles and half-grimaces. No one talks to him like

this. He walks away. Tyler looks sick.

TYLER
Jesus. That was humiliating.

MARGOT
I’m not humiliated. He’s a prick.

AT LINDA’S TABLE.

Chef kneels and gently takes her hand. She looks at him with
glazed, wounded eyes. He smiles at her understandingly. She
weakly smiles back. Chef kisses her forehead and heads into --

24 INT. KITCHEN. EVENING 24

-- where he looks at his watch.

CHEF SLOWIK
Plating in three, my friends.
 24 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 39.

ENTIRE KITCHEN
Yes, Chef!

25 EXT. HAWTHORN ISLAND - NIGHT 25

Tall, spindly evergreens shiver in the cold darkness.

AGAINST BLACK, TITLE CARD:

SECOND COURSE

26 INT. DINING ROOM - EVENING 26

RICHARD and ANNE silently await more food. No eye contact.

MARGOT AND TYLER. The sommelier arrives.

SOMMELIER
Here’s a 2009 Valpolicella Classico
Superiore from Tommaso Bussola,
which we’ve hyper-decanted with an
immersion blender. Slavonian oak.
Rich cherry and tobacco notes. A
faint sense of longing and regret.

Margot smiles as the sommelier walks away.

MARGOT
Mmm. Longing and regret. My
favorite.

Margot glances over at Richard and Anne’s table. She looks at

Anne staring off. Anne feels Margot’s eyes on her. Anne then
looks at Margot and Margot looks away.

ANNE
She’s staring again.

RICHARD
Uh-huh.

ANNE
Where do we know her from?

RICHARD
We don’t.

ANNE
She really does look like Claire.
26 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 40.

RICHARD
Why do you keep saying that? She
doesn’t.

ANNE
You don’t think so?

RICHARD
She’s nothing like our Claire.

There is something sad in Anne’s face as she watches Margot.

ANNE
That same faraway face --

RICHARD
Can we not obsess? Please?

A touchy topic. Anne looks away. They sip their wine.

FELICITY and MOVIE STAR

MOVIE STAR
Hypothetically, if you were
leaving, which you’re not, what
would you be leaving for?

FELICITY
Associate Development Co-Exec.

MOVIE STAR
What is that?

FELICITY
(not quite sure)
Um, just developing, or helping to -
develop. Things?

MOVIE STAR
Uh huh. And hypothetically, why
would that be better than working
for me?

FELICITY
Um. Well. There’s a - future there?

That hits like a hammer. She can tell that hurt.

FELICITY (CONT'D)
No hey. A different future I meant.

It’s a gut punch. But then Movie Star turns it back on.
26 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 41.

MOVIE STAR
Right. Well. Thank God that was all
hypothetical!

Beat.

MOVIE STAR (CONT'D)

My wife found out about the
apartment in New York that she
shouldn’t know about.

FELICITY
Hypothetically?

MOVIE STAR
Sure.

We hear Chef Slowik’s CLAP.

CHEF SLOWIK
The next course is called “Memory.”
That’s what it’s meant to evoke --
a memory. Let me tell you one of
mine. When I was a child growing up
in Waterloo, Iowa, Tuesday was taco
night. Taco Tuesday!

The guests smile, but his enthusiasm feels forced and odd.
Chef Slowik puts his hand on Linda’s shoulder.

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

This is my mother. As you can see,
she is rather drunk. This is not
unusual. When I was seven years
old, one Tuesday my father came
home quite drunk. Also not unusual.
Mother grew angry and screamed at
him. At which point he proceeded to
wrap a telephone cord around her
neck and pull it tight. I wept and
screamed and begged him to stop.
To make him stop, I finally had to
stab him in the thigh with kitchen
scissors. You remember that,
mother, don’t you?

Linda reacts vaguely, continues drinking.

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

I suppose I should have stabbed him
in his throat that evening. But we
are not so smart when we are young.
26 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 42.

The diners exchange uneasy glances. Lillian turns to Ted with

a reassuring look -- “Don’t worry, all par for the course.”

Margot, however, watches Chef intently and with empathy, as

if understanding his pain. Noticing, Chef locks eyes with her
and says the next line directly to her.

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

Well. It was, as you can imagine, a
very memorable taco night.

Servers appear and set down plates fashioned out of coiled

telephone cords, as well as bowls of tortillas. On the plates
are chicken thighs with TINY SCISSORS sticking out of them.

A SUPERIMPOSED TITLE reads: “MEMORY. Marinated grilled

chicken thigh, tortillas, green salsa cubes, red salsa halo.”

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

Here you have house-smoked Bresse
chicken thighs al pastor and our
own tortillas made with heirloom
masa--one of Hawthorn’s signature
dishes. We change our menu
constantly, but, as Miss Bloom
knows, this has been a staple since
day one.
(turning to her)
It’s what you once said --

LILLIAN BLOOM
Put you on the map.

CHEF SLOWIK
Put me on the map. And precisely
what map would that be?

Chef lets this rhetorical question hang in the air.

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

Anyways, because we are always
innovating-- because we fear
irrelevance...

Movie star reacts.

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

...an update to a classic: images
on the tortillas have been made
using a laser engraving machine. We
hope this taco night evokes strong
memories for us all.
(warm smile)
Enjoy.
26 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 43.

LILLIAN BLOOM examines her tortillas: images of buildings.

TED
What are they, Lil?

LILLIAN BLOOM
They’re - restaurants.

TED
Restaurants?

LILLIAN BLOOM
That I reviewed That -- that
closed.

She holds one with a sign reading “MERCIA.”

TED
Oh. So, it’s like a - gag?

LILLIAN BLOOM
(chuckles nervously)
I think so? Odd, isn’t it?

RICHARD AND ANNE examine their tortillas. The first reads,

“Happy Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Liebrandt.” Anne is touched.
The other tortillas show what looks like Richard and Anne
sitting at their table during previous Hawthorn visits.

ANNE
Richard, what are these?

RICHARD
Taco things. For the tacos.

ANNE
I mean the pictures. Look, they’re
all of us.

Richard dons his glasses.

ANNE (CONT'D)
Oh, look at this one, Dick. This
one was after you had that melanoma
removed from your forehead.
There’s the bandage. Isn’t this
nice? They remembered us.
(squinting at another)
Huh. That’s you... but who’s that
woman?

She picks it up to reveal a tortilla which has been engraved

with a B&W image of a man who looks like Richard sitting at a
restaurant table with a young woman.
26 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 44.

ANNE (CONT'D)
Richard, who is that?

RICHARD
How the hell should I know? It’s
faked. Some sort of stupid joke.

He grabs the tortilla from his wife’s hands.

RICHARD (CONT'D)
This whole place is a fucking joke.

Anne just stares at him.

THE TECH BROS discover tortillas printed with dense blocks of

FORMATTED TEXT, like business records.

SOREN
What the fuck?

DAVE
Are these --? How did they --?

BRYCE
That’s it.

He slams a tortilla on the table and waves Elsa over.

ELSA
Can I help you, sir?

BRYCE
What the hell are these?

ELSA
These are --
(perfect accent)
-- tortillas. Tortillas deliciosas.

BRYCE
I said what are these?

ELSA
These are tortillas which contain
Echobright’s tax records and other
documents showing how your company
has hidden transactions with shell
companies and created invoices with
fake charges.

BRYCE
How did you get these?
26 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 45.

ELSA
I’m sorry, but Chef never reveals
his recipes.

SOREN
Do you know how fucked you are?
We’ll have you shut down by
morning.

ELSA
Oh, no. That won’t be necessary.

The MOVIE STAR and FELICITY examine their tortillas.

FELICITY
Looks like they’re all the same.

MOVIE STAR
Indeed. Indeed they are.

Each depicts a MOVIE POSTER -- the same movie poster. For a

middling comedy called Calling Dr. Sunshine.

MOVIE STAR (CONT'D)

Calling Dr. Sunshine.

FELICITY
Huh. Forgot about that one.

MOVIE STAR
Dumb part. Bad script. Fun shoot.

TYLER examines their tortillas, crestfallen.

MARGOT
What’s on them?

TYLER
They’re all me... from tonight.

Margot looks. Each shows Tyler sneaking photos of the food.

MARGOT
Jesus. What’s with this guy? This
means they’ve been photographing us
the whole night.

Margot looks around. She actually does see a few small

spherical ceiling cameras. But Tyler’s too shattered to care.

TYLER
I knew it. He hates me. God damn
it. I didn’t think he’d really
mind. Should I apologize?
26 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 46.

MARGOT
What? Why would you apologize? They
have no right to--

A flustered Tyler angrily cuts her off.

TYLER
Just fucking stop talking and let
me think, okay? I have to make this
right somehow. I have to.

MARGOT
I’ll tell you how: Send it back.

Margot turns to wave a server over.

MARGOT (CONT'D)
Excuse me. Excuse me!

TYLER
Hey. Hey! Margot!

Tyler snaps his fingers at Margot violently.

MARGOT
Did you just snap at me?

Tyler glares at her with cold, remorseless eyes.

TYLER
Are you out of your mind? Do you
know how long I’ve been trying to
get a reservation here?

MARGOT
No, and I don’t care! This is--

TYLER
You don’t send shit back to this
kitchen, you child. You thank them
for even letting you in the door.

Margot reels back, stunned.

MARGOT
What did you just call me?

TYLER
I called you a child because that’s
what you’re fucking acting like.

MARGOT
Tyler, you need to apologize to me
now. You can’t talk to me like--
 26 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 47.

TYLER
Well, yeah, actually I can. Because
-- ding dong! -- I’m the one who’s
paying. So, maybe, shut up and eat?

He angrily makes a taco, takes a bite. His rage disappears.

TYLER (CONT'D)
Oh my god. Oh my god, this is
incredible. You have to try this.

Margot just stares at him, her eyes burning with contempt.

MARGOT
Don’t let me interrupt.

She throws her napkin on her chair and leaves the table.

27 INT. SIDE HALLWAY 27

En route to the ladies’ room, Margot stops at a stunning

SILVER DOOR molded in an ornate floral pattern. Curious, she
slowly reaches for the handle.

ELSA
Can I help you, madam?

Margot turns to see a disapproving Elsa.

MARGOT
I’m looking for the ladies room.

ELSA
To your right.

MARGOT
What’s behind this door?

ELSA
Something very special.

28 INT. LADIES ROOM - EVENING 28

Margot enters the dim, modernist bathroom and locks the door.

She stops and suddenly sits down on the tiled floor. She’s
breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating with rage.

MARGOT
Stop it.
28 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 48.

She gets a cigarette from her purse, cracks a tiny window and
lights up. She notices an artsy framed photo on the wall
showing a marshmallow roasting on a campfire.

She gazes out the window and sees a curious sight: a COOK
carrying a pair of large costume angel wings across the lawn.

Suddenly the LOCK turns on the door. Margot flicks the

cigarette out the window. Chef Slowik enters. He looks upset.

MARGOT (CONT'D)
Hey, what are you - ?

CHEF SLOWIK
I would like to know, specifically,
what it was about the last course
that you did not enjoy?

MARGOT
The - what?

CHEF SLOWIK
You’ve barely eaten the food. Why?
I need to know. Why don’t you eat?

MARGOT
Why do you care?

CHEF SLOWIK
I take my work very seriously, and
you are not eating. That wounds me.

Margot can see he’s actually quite hurt about this.

MARGOT
I guess I’m just not very hungry.

He takes a slow, deliberate step toward her. He’s harder now.

CHEF SLOWIK
I’ve told you who I am. I’m Julian
Slowik and I am the chef here. Now--

He takes two slow, deliberate steps forward. Margot steps

back until her BACK is against the wall.

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

Who are you?

Margot is speechless.

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

I’ll ask again. Who. Are. You.
 28 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 49.

Margot composes herself.

MARGOT
I’m Margot Mills.

CHEF SLOWIK
And where are you from Margot?

MARGOT
Seattle.

CHEF SLOWIK
No. Where are you from?

She stares at him, trying to read him.

MARGOT
I’m from Grand Island, Nebraska.
Okay? You want the address for my
mom’s trailer, asshole? Excuse me.

She tries to move past him but he blocks her.

CHEF SLOWIK
No, not who you want me to think
you are. Who are you?

Margot is thrown. Her usual game isn’t working.

MARGOT
I’m Margot.

She slips around Chef Slowik and thinks she is about to get
out the door, when Chef Slowik stops the door with his hand.

CHEF SLOWIK
You shouldn’t be here tonight.

MARGOT
Get the fuck out of the way.

No one talks to him this way. He’s impressed, curious. Margot

exits the bathroom.

29 INT. HAWTHORN DINING AREA AND KITCHEN - EVENING 29

Meanwhile the movie star puzzles some more over his tortilla.

FELICITY
Maybe he’s a fan of the movie?

MOVIE STAR
I don’t think so.
29 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 50.

FELICITY
Why not?

MOVIE STAR
Because nobody’s a fan of that
movie.

FELICITY
I’m sure it’s just a joke. You’re
friends with him, right?

MOVIE STAR
I mean, ‘friends’? Do I have
friends? I know him?
(looking dead at Felicity)
Are you my friend?

Margot returns. Before she sits she kisses Tyler, violently.

MARGOT
Watch your mouth, sweetheart. Or
I’ll smack the taste right out of
it. Okay?

TYLER
I -- Okay.
(he likes it)
Sorry.

Richard looks at Margot from across the way. She catches his
eye and winks at him. Richard quickly looks away.

As Elsa passes his table, Richard snaps at her a bit.

RICHARD
Tell your boss if he thinks I’m
paying for those tacos he’s nuts.

ELSA
(smiles)
I’ll be sure to tell him.

THE TECH BROS

BRYCE
I don’t like the feel of this. At
all. I want out of here.

SOREN
Dude, chill. It’s a fucking taco.

BRYCE
A fucking taco that might hold up
in court?
 29 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 51.

DAVE
We all have plausible deniability.
And if they try and turn us in --

SOREN
Right. Then they’re turning Verrick
in too. And then they’re just as
fucked as we are. We’re fine.
(unsure)
Right?

They sit with this thought. Then, shrugging, they make tacos.

30 AGAINST BLACK, TITLE CARD: 30

THIRD COURSE

The patrons silently watch two servers methodically unrolling

a TARP across the middle of the floor and smoothing out all
the wrinkles. Other servers arrive with decorative baskets
and cover the tarp with sea fennel and edible flowers.

TED
Theatrical. But minimalist, like in
the Japanese minimirasuto style.

LILLIAN BLOOM
Mm. They were being playful, yes?
With the tacos?

TED
Stop worrying. It’s a dialogue.

LILLIAN BLOOM
No I know. I think the concept just
- missed the mark for me.

Margot watches the team unfold the plastic tarp and then
looks at Chef Slowik, who is staring at her. He continues to
stare, and then a LOUD CLAP. This time, Margot isn’t fazed.

CHEF SLOWIK
We are ready for our next course,
which I think you’ll find --

SOREN
(rising to his feet)
Excuse me. But what exactly is
going on here?
30 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 52.

CHEF SLOWIK
Yes, if you would let me finish?
(motions for him to sit)
Please.

Elsa calmly re-folds the tech bro’s napkin for him. It does
have a certain calming effect. The Tech Bro sits back down.

MARGOT
Tyler, I don’t like this. Can we--

TYLER
Shh. It’s fine. Relax.

CHEF SLOWIK
Ladies and gentlemen, please meet
sous-chef Jeremy Loucks.

A chef around thirty strides out of the kitchen and stands in

the middle of the tarp. He stares straight ahead, stoic.

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

Jeremy created the next dish. It’s
called “The Mess.” Jeremy, may I
explain “The Mess?”

JEREMY
Yes, Chef.

CHEF SLOWIK
Originally from Sparks, Nevada,
Jeremy studied at the Culinary
Institute in Hyde Park. Jeremy’s
goal, as he wrote in a heartfelt
letter, was to work for me here at
Hawthorn. Isn’t that right, Jeremy?

JEREMY
Yes, Chef.

CHEF SLOWIK
Jeremy is talented. He’s good.
He’s very good. But he’s not great.
He will never be great. He
desperately wants my job, my
prestige. My talent. He aspires to
greatness, but he will never
achieve it. Correct, Jeremy?

JEREMY
Yes, Chef.
30 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 53.

CHEF SLOWIK
Jeremy is like me at his age. He
has forsaken everything to achieve
his goals. He works twenty hours a
day. No time for friends. Or
family. He can’t go to the park or
see a movie or stop at the bank.
Jeremy, when’s the last time you
called your mother?

JEREMY
I don’t remember, Chef.

CHEF SLOWIK
Like mine, his life is pressure.
Pressure to put out the best food
in the world. Pressure to please
his Chef. Pressure to please the
customers. And the critics. And
even when all goes right, and the
food is perfect, and the customers
are happy, and the critics are too,
there is no way to avoid The Mess.
The Mess you make of your life, of
your body, of your sanity, by
giving everything you have to
pleasing people you will never
know. Jeremy, do you like your
life, this life you dreamed about?

JEREMY
No, Chef.

CHEF SLOWIK
Do you want my life?

Sweating, Jeremy looks at Chef. He wasn’t expecting this.

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

It’s okay. You can answer. Do you
want my life? Not my position or my
talent. My life.

JEREMY
(tears in his eyes)
No, Chef.

Chef gently touches Jeremy’s head and kisses his cheek.

CHEF SLOWIK
Ladies and gentlemen, your fourth
course. Sous-chef Jeremy’s Mess.
30 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 54.

Chef takes a step back. Jeremy removes a pistol from the back
waistband of his apron and BLOWS HIS BRAINS OUT.

Everyone shrieks as blood splatters on the walls and the

floor and on their faces -- including on Linda, who continues
to drink, unfazed. Jeremy falls backwards.

The kitchen staff all look for a second, then return to work.

Chef Slowik takes in the horrible sight, CRYING a little,

mourning. Servers rush over and, with practiced efficiency,
roll up the tarp with Jeremy’s body inside.

Panicked and screaming, many diners rise from their seats and
run toward the door. Servers and cooks rush out to block
their way, but more reassuring than threatening.

CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)

Please. Please. Sit. Make
yourselves at home. Everything’s
fine. All part of the menu. All
just part of the show.

As the shocked diners are corralled back to their tables by

the cooks, servers approach tables with perfectly-folded
moist washcloths so diners can wipe their faces. Still other
servers fan out with PLATES for the tables.

A SUPERIMPOSED TITLE reads, “THE MESS. Pressure cooked

vegetables, roasted filet, potato confit, beef jus, bone
marrow. R.I.P. Jeremy Loucks, 1990-2022.”

SOREN
(in shock)
Oh Jesus. What the fuck?

DAVE
Is he dead? Was - is this real?

BRYCE
WHAT IS HAPPENING?

Lillian Bloom looks rattled, but tries to calm the others.

LILLIAN BLOOM
No, no, it’s theater. It’s just--
stagecraft. It’s part of the menu.

SOREN
The fuck are you talking about? He
just shot himself.

TED
It looked very real, Lillian?
30 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 55.

LILLIAN BLOOM
Listen, I’m telling you. Trust me.
This is what he does.

Ted nods numbly. He doesn’t want to be a rube here.

TED
Extraordinary.

Chef sees everyone shocked, not eating.

CHEF SLOWIK
EAT.
(returning to the kitchen)
Fourth course, on order!

ENTIRE KITCHEN
Yes, Chef!

MARGOT AND TYLER haven’t moved. In fact, Tyler is now eating.

MARGOT
Tyler, what -- what’s happening?

The sommelier sashays up, cheery and helpful as ever.

SOMMELIER
This is a biodynamic Cabernet
Franc/Gamay blend from our friends
at Clos de l’Elu in the Loire
Valley. No added sulfites. A bit of
barnyard funk, but a wonderful
match with braised proteins.

RICHARD AND ANNE

RICHARD
We’re leaving. Now.

ANNE
My -- my coat.

RICHARD
Forget your coat. Get up!

They rush to the front door, but Elsa runs to stand in their
way. Everyone else watches to see how this goes.

ELSA
Is something wrong?

RICHARD
Get out of our way. We’re leaving.
30 PINK PRODUCTION DRAFT (09/05/21) 56.

ELSA
There is no boat to leave on.

RICHARD
Then I’ll call a helicopter.

ELSA
That will be difficult without
phone service.

RICHARD
Fucking move!

He tries to push past when two cooks with cleavers appear.

The other diners squirm, some even stand instinctively.

ANNE
Oh, Jesus. Richard, just do what
they say, for God’s sake.

RICHARD
Let me handle this. I’ll handle
this.

ELSA
With which hand?

RICHARD
What?

ELSA
With which hand will you “handle”
this, Mr. Liebrandt? Left or right?

RICHARD
What the fuck are you saying?

ELSA
Shall we choose?

RICHARD
Choose what?

ELSA
Very well. Left hand. Ring finger.

One cook grabs Richard and forces his left hand onto a table.
The other one tries to aim, but Richard squirms.

ELSA (CONT'D)
Mr. Liebrandt, please hold still.