John Rubinstein

The film is told from three perspectives: interviews with the show's three lead writers: Jess Oppenheimer (who was also the show runner) (Tony Hale), Madelyn Pugh (Alia Shawkat), and Bob Carroll Jr. (Jake Lacy); flashbacks; and preparations for a live filming in 1953. Today a show with 15 MM viewers is a mega hit. I Love Lucy had 60 MM viewers. In 1939, Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman), 28, is an actress contracted to RKO Pictures. She gets small parts in big studio productions, but featured mainly in low budget films which gives her the moniker "Queen of the B-Movies." She is cast in the comedy Too Many Girls, a film Pugh describes as a bad stage play made into an even worse movie. She meets one of the film's casts, charismatic 22-year-old Cuban singer Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) and they fall in love instantly. Months after filming, they marry and buy a home in Hollywood. Arnaz has a successful stint fronting the Desi Arnaz Orchestra that tours around the country, while Ball continues her film career with little success. After Arnaz serves in World War II, he resumes his success with his orchestra, with Ball having to accompany him because of his infidelity. Ball finally gets a break when she is cast in 1942's The Big Street. The film is only a modest hit, but Ball's performance is praised. She meets with RKO President Charles Koerner (Brian Howe) confident she will get better scripts on par with established stars like Rita Hayworth and Judy Holliday. Instead, he terminates her contract as several actresses RKO loaned to other studios will be returning and there will be nothing for her (Plus she is 35 years old now). He suggests she use her voice for radio, and with no substantial film roles coming, she does. In 1948, she is cast in the radio show My Favorite Husband, which becomes a massive success. The show draws interest from CBS (Producers Howard Wenke (Clark Gregg) & Joe Strickland (Nelson Franklin)) and cigarette company Philip Morris (rep by Roger Otter (Jeff Holman)), who suggested to turn "My Favorite Husband" into a television show. Ball agrees but only if Arnaz plays her on-screen husband. The executives initially refuse because Arnaz is Cuban, but later concede after Ball refuses to give them the copyright of the show. She also hopes that working with Arnaz will decrease his infidelity and save their marriage. By 1953, the show is renamed I Love Lucy and becomes a smash hit with nearly 60 million viewers each week. A three-camera system, designed by Arnaz, allows viewers on the East Coast of United States to see the show live and without static (since the show is filmed on the West Coast). During production, Ball deals with several issues on the show; Vivian Vance (Nina Arianda) and William Frawley (J.K. Simmons), who play the Ricardos' married neighbors the Mertzes, do not get along, and Frawley is often drunk on the filming set. The crew goes about their normal production day. The dynamics are complex. Lucille is very particular that her character on the show should not come across as dumb or dimwitted. Ball also clashes with the directors (Donald Glass (Christopher Denham), to whom she declares that she has no confidence in his abilities to direct the show) and writers during table reads and scene blocking. Lucille has the ability to imagine the scenes as they are being narrated to her, and this gives her the ability to almost predict audience reactions to the jokes and sense check if certain situations and premises would make sense or not. Particularly troublesome is a scene where Arnaz comes home and covers Ball's eyes while she is setting the table, and she names several different men before he reveals it's him. The couple announce to CBS and Phillip Morris executives that Ball is pregnant. Jess is troubled as Desi wants the pregnancy to be shown on air, while Jess knows that CBS will never allow it. Jess and Desi clash over Lucille's rude attitude towards the other crew members of the show. The executives insist Ball hide the pregnancy behind large objects, but the couple refuses and proposes the pregnancy be shown (though they are never allowed to say the word "pregnant" on air). Lucille continues to undermine Donald's authority during the scene rehearsals. Lucille also comes down hard on Vivian for losing weight. She says that losing weight is not in line with Vivian's character of Ethel. She says that most women want to see themselves on the show, which is a fat, plump Ethel. Ball also deals with Arnaz staying out late, and a photo emerges in the tabloids of him with another woman. Desi tells Lucy that he plays cards on a boat with some other celebrities and sleeps there when he is too tired to come home, and that the picture was taken six months ago. She reluctantly believes him. Frawley has Ball understand that Arnaz's infidelity may stem from her making the business and creative decisions on the show which makes him feel emasculated, though she explains to everyone that he is the one who makes all the decisions. She asks Oppenheimer to give Arnaz a producer credit, hoping it will stop Arnaz's infidelity and save the marriage. Instead, Oppenheimer reminds Arnaz he has top billing, as he is the person saying "I" in I love Lucy, in attempt to placate him. Arnaz responds by sharply scolding Oppenheimer for trying to patronize him. The night of the live filming, a newspaper article deems Ball a Communist, though she was cleared during a HUAC hearing months ago. Ball admits she registered as a member of the Communist Party when she was young and influenced by a relative, but Arnaz insists she lie to the public and claim she accidentally marked the wrong box. Ball refuses to lie to the public, fearing she will be humiliated. Arnaz cancels his usual show warm up with the audience, and instead addresses the audience about the accusations (It's a big gamble, because if the gamble doesn't work, then the show is over then and there). He takes a live call with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who assures all of the audience that Lucy has been cleared of all the charges. As the couple celebrates backstage, Ball shows Arnaz a handkerchief with lipstick on it. Arnaz says it's hers, but Ball shows him another handkerchief with her own lipstick on it, proving Arnaz's infidelity. When filming begins, Ball momentarily loses her concentration. They start over, with Ball being more focused. The film ends with a title card saying Ball filed for divorce after the taping of their last show in 1960.

How do we want to die? It's a relevant question for every human being, yet it's one we avoid discussing, even when faced with a diagnosis of serious illness. The medical industry has progressed in wondrous ways -- new technologies arrive all the time, and innovative procedures and treatment options are constantly being rolled out. But the nurses who are closest to the patients will tell you: the more proficient we become at sustaining life, the more reluctant we are to confront and talk about death. Defining Hope, an hour-long documentary from director Carolyn Jones, asks essential questions about dying in America and starts a conversation that will, and must, continue after the credits roll. The film follows a group of patients who have received a life-threatening diagnoses and the nurses who guide them on their health care journeys. These brave patients and caregivers allow the viewer into their homes and hospital rooms as they open up in emotional interviews about what they hope for from life and how that hope evolves when life is threatened. The topic of "quality of life" is at the forefront, and with it, questions about "quality of death": when, where, with whom and with what degree of comfort. The project is threaded with optimism for new standards of candor about dying and how we can respect individuals' end-of-life wishes. The film opens at dawn in Diane Ryan's car as she commutes to Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, New York to work as a staff nurse. She describes the struggle of working at a place where "people come to die." As we follow on her rounds, we see Diane working with end-stage cancer patients and advanced Alzheimer's patients receiving hospice or palliative care. She says that her goal is to be an advocate for these patients and the family members who sit doting at their bedside. "If I can give these people just that one bit of dignity, I did my job," Diane says. In one patient story, we meet Barbara Stephenson, a preacher who is resolved to go home despite facing a dire cancer prognosis. Though with some difficulty, Diane and the Calvary team work to support and facilitate Barbara's wishes. We also witness Diane at home with her husband, two sons and the family pets, and we come to learn of Diane's own diagnosis of ovarian cancer. When she receives troubling news about her recovery, Diane's experiences as a nurse inform her perspective on how to balance debilitating chemotherapy with her overall well-being and peace of mind. Next we are introduced to Gilbert Oakley, a home hospice nurse. Gilbert visits the apartment of 95-year-old Berthold Cohen, who is in declining health. While Gilbert administers medications and reviews protocols, he also plays the difficult role of mediator between Bert and his wife, Charlotte. Charlotte struggles to reconcile Bert's wish to avoid hospitalization and die peacefully at home with her desire to make sure that he is safe, and with her own fears of losing her husband of seventy years. Another interviewee, Rudy Bilotti, a gregarious World War II veteran, takes a more philosophical approach. He is discharged from the hospital and rejects dialysis treatment for his kidney failure. "We're all afraid of dying, but it's a natural thing," Rudy says. "We cannot halt the inevitable." A chapter featuring Alena Sydnor provides a bracing view on questions of mortality for our younger generation. Alena, a 23-year-old aspiring journalist, suffers from brain tumors. Her doctors at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., have asked Alena and her parents to consider a life-saving brain surgery that carries the risk of memory loss. Alena's cheery outlook is challenged by the consequential weighing of quality versus quantity of life. The film introduces additional patients and the nurses who care for them, but Diane Ryan's story is interwoven throughout. She takes on the role of protagonist, joining seemingly distinct stories that remind us that death is relevant to everyone - and maybe, thanks to a nurse's perspective, we can begin to talk about it more.

The story is told in a non-linear manner. The following is a linear, chronological summary of the plot: Jack Jordan (Benicio Del Toro) is a former convict who is using his new-found religious faith to recover from drug addiction and alcoholism. Jack meets other convicts and tries to reform them by showing them the path of religion. Jack is guided by Reverend John (Eddie Marsan), who asks him to be patient. Jack is married to Marianne (Melissa Leo) and has kids of his own. Paul Rivers (Sean Penn) is a mathematics professor with a dedicated wife, Mary (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and a fatal heart condition. Unless he receives a new heart from an organ donor, he will not live longer than one month. Paul is already on full-time oxygen support and is frequently admitted to the hospital when the situation becomes too bad. Paul's wife wants him to donate his sperm so she can have his baby even if he dies. As Mary badgers him enough, Paul agrees to go to a fertility clinic and donates his sperm, even in his condition. The two are civil to one another, yet distant. Paul continues to smoke, but Mary admonishes him as he could be taken off the donor list if Paul is found to be violating the rules. Mary is livid when Paul fires the caretaker and says that he can take care of himself. Cristina Peck (Naomi Watts) is also a recovering drug addict and now lives a normal suburban life with a supportive husband Michael (Danny Huston) and two daughters (one named Laura and the other Catherine). She is a loving mother and active swimmer who has left her days of drugs and booze behind. Cristina is happy in her life. These three separate stories/characters become tied together one evening when Jack kills Cristina's husband and children in a hit-and-run accident. Cristina reaches the hospital and is met by her sister Claudia (Clea DuVall). The doctors tell Cristina that Michael has suffered multiple skull fractures and is showing very low brain activity. Cristina is distraught that both of her daughters died in the accident. Despite her condition, the hospital convinces Cristina to donate Michael's organs. Jack gets back home where Marianne had planned a party for Jack with his entire congregation. Jack admits the accident to Marianne. Cristina's husband's heart is donated to Paul, who begins his recovery. Cristina is devastated by the loss and returns to drugs and alcohol. Paul is eager to begin normal life again, but he hesitantly agrees to his wife's idea of surgery and artificial insemination as a last-ditch effort to get pregnant. During consultations with a doctor before the surgery, Paul learns that his wife had undergone an abortion after they had separated in the past. Angered, Paul ends the relationship. He becomes very inquisitive about whose heart he has, but the doctor at the hospital refuses to reveal any information as that is against their policy. He learns from a private detective that the heart belonged to Cristina's husband and begins to follow the widowed Cristina around town. Jack is stricken with guilt following the accident. Despite his wife's protests to keep quiet and conceal his guilt, Jack tells her that his "duty is to God" and turns himself in. While incarcerated, he claims that God had betrayed him, loses his will to live and tries unsuccessfully to commit suicide. He is released after Cristina declines to press charges, as she realizes that putting Jack in prison will not bring her family back. When Jack is released, he is unable to reincorporate himself into normal family life (as he tries to work as a Caddy at a golf course), and instead leaves home to live as a transient, working as a manual laborer. Paul finds an opportunity to meet Cristina and eventually reveals how the two of them are connected. She is initially furious and forces him out, but soon reconsiders. Desperately needing one another, they begin to develop a relationship. Though Paul has a new heart, his body is rejecting the surgery, and his outlook is grim. As Cristina begins to dwell more on her changed life and the death of her girls, she continually focuses on a desire to exact revenge on Jack. She goads Paul into agreeing to murder him. Paul meets with the private detective who originally found Cristina for him. Paul also purchases a gun from him and learns that Jack is living in a motel and works at a nearby construction site. Paul and Cristina check into the motel where Jack is also staying. When Jack is walking alone, Paul grabs him and leads him out into a clearing at gunpoint with the intention of killing him. Paul is unable to kill Jack, who himself is confused, shaking and pleading during the event. Paul fires three shots into the ground and tells Jack to "just disappear," then returns to the motel and lies to Cristina about Jack's death. Later that night, while they are sleeping, Paul and Cristina are awakened by a noise outside their door. It's Jack, who, still consumed by guilt and inner torment, orders Paul to kill him and end his misery. There is a struggle, and Cristina blind-sides Jack and begins to beat him with a wooden lamp. Paul has a heart attack and shoots himself to avoid dying from asphyxia. Jack and Cristina rush Paul to the hospital. Jack tells the police that he was the one who shot Paul but is released when his story is unable to be confirmed. The conflict between Cristina and Jack remains unresolved (they meet in the waiting room after Paul's death. If they converse, it is not shown.) When Cristina offers to donate blood for Paul in the hospital, she learns that she is pregnant; the doctor urges Cristina to quit using drugs. After Paul's death, Cristina is seen tentatively preparing for the new child in one of her daughter's bedrooms, which she had previously been unable to enter after her daughter's death. Jack is shown returning to his family.

Mike and Ellie Keegan are both New York cops, although Ellie quit to be a stay-home mom to their son Tommy. They live in a house near the El but are planning to buy a nicer home. Mike is called in to investigate a homicide. Claire Gregory, a beautiful and wealthy socialite, witnessed a murder committed by notorious gangster Joey Venza. Since her life is in danger, she must be guarded at her penthouse home. Mike draws the night shift and is not happy about it. Claire's snobbish boyfriend treats him like dirt and he has to sit outside in the foyer all night. One night Claire comes out all dressed up and says she is going to a reception. Mike must accompany her and Claire says his tie isn't right. They stop at a shop to buy a new one, which is quite expensive but Claire puts it on her account. Despite himself, Mike finds himself developing feelings for her. He also begins to unfavorably compare her to Ellie. It isn't long before he is spending the night with her when he is supposed to be guarding her. Ellie and Mike go to dinner and he criticizes her for not acting like a lady. Then he confesses his affair with Claire, leaving Ellie heartbroken. He moves in with a fellow cop who is divorced. Joey Venza finds a way to get into the building. One of the tenants goes jogging every day at dusk and Joey, dressed in similar clothing, knifes him and takes his place. Mike's replacement shows up and Venza kills him. Mike feels terrible because the cop was his good friend. He is placed on suspension and ordered to stay away from Claire until the case is closed. All his cop friends turn against him. When he sees Tommy for visitation, his son will barely speak to him. There is one more social function that Claire must attend; then she is going away. But Venza is still out there. He breaks into Ellie's home and holds her hostage. Mike and Claire rush over and there is a shootout. Ellie, the former cop, kills Venza. Mike now realizes what a mistake he's made and that he still loves Ellie. Claire watches them embrace before climbing back into her car and driving away.

On the outskirts of Santa Ynez, two young people named Jimmy (Joshua Davis) and Suzie (Melody Thomas Scott) are riding bicycles along the highway. A vehicle comes from behind and drives right up on them, trapping them on a bridge. The sinister black sedan toys with them before killing them, crashing Suzie against the concrete barrier and then sending Jimmy plummeting to his death off the bridge. The car gives an otherworldly roar from its engine, and an ominous staccato blaring of its horn. Shortly after, near the entrance to Santa Ynez, a young hitchhiker named John Morris (John Rubinstein) observes a local named Amos Clements (R.G. Armstrong) chasing his wife, Bertha (Doris Dowling), out of their house and striking her. The young man attempts to intervene, but Amos demands he leave. As Amos and his wife go back in the house, the young man spies a black car coming up the road, preceded by a high wind. The driver almost hits the young man, and he screams obscenities after it. Suddenly, the car brakes to a halt, and backs up, running over the young man several times before driving off. Amos sees this from a window in his house, and calls the police. Meanwhile, police officer Wade Parent (James Brolin) is waking up with his girlfriend Lauren (Kathleen Lloyd), a local schoolteacher. Wade is a widowed father of two young girls, Lynn Marie (Kim Richards) and Debbie (Kyle Richards). Lauren wants Wade to socialize her with the girls so they can be up front about their relationship, as she is currently sneaking out of the house after she sleeps there, but the girls are already listening to the entire conversation just outside the bedroom door. After Wade drops the girls off at school on his motorcycle, he is summoned to the Clements house in the aftermath of the hitchhiker's death. Several other officers, including Sheriff Everett (John Marley) are interrogating Amos about the incident. Amos provides scant details about the car, and several of the officers note that Amos' wife seems to be rather quiet. Everett (John Marley) is furious that someone in his town has been murdered, despite the fact that Morris was not a local. At first, their vague description of the car turns up a report that someone spotted it driving out of town into a nearby locality, but when Suzie's body turns up, it's clear that something larger is going on. Police officer Luke (Ronny Cox) is terribly upset about it; Jimmy's body has not yet been discovered, and there is suspicion about his involvement in Suzie's death. Luke and Jimmy are close, and Jimmy has lied to Luke about his whereabouts, apparently in an attempt to conceal his relationship with Suzie. Luke is a recovering alcoholic; his wife Margie (Elizabeth Thompson) tells Wade and Lauren that Luke has been sober for two years. Later on that evening, Amos and his family are taken into the office for questioning after someone reports him abusing his wife again. Everett pleads with Bertha to file an official report about her husband's abuse so Everett can arrest him, but Bertha refuses. Everett and Bertha have history together, and Everett tells Wade that Bertha was his first love when they were both young. He watches sadly as she and her son get into their truck and drive off, while Amos goes across the street to a bar. Everett invites Wade to have a drink with him at the tavern, and Wade tells him he'll be along shortly. But as Everett crosses the street, he sees Amos crossing as well, and suddenly the black car roars to life down the street, heading right for Amos. Amos dives for the curb, and the car instead ends up running over Everett. Wade questions the few citizens who witnessed the incident, including an old Navajo woman who doesn't speak English. Chas (Henry O'Brien) is another Native American officer who translates for her as she describes what happened, but he refuses to translate one thing she says, telling Wade it's "Indian talk...she's a crazy old woman." But the dispatcher, Donna (Geraldine Keams), is also Navajo, and she later tells Wade what Chas would not: the woman claims there was no driver in the car. Wade assumes the Sheriff's duties, and requests that roadblocks be put up. He also tells Luke to contact the school and cancel parade rehearsals for the next day. However, a distraction occurs when Jimmy's body is discovered by a fisherman. Luke is despondent over the deaths of both Everett and now Jimmy, and he begins to secretly drink alcohol again. The parade rehearsal happens as scheduled, with Lauren and Margie leading the children. A high wind whips up soon after, and the car appears, shadowing the parade behind a line of tents. Suddenly it bursts through onto the main roadway, spooking the horses and causing them to stampede and throw their riders. The car rushes after the panicked group, striking several adults, including a police officer who was watching over the parade rehearsal. Lauren and the other adults lead them into nearby cliffs to avoid the car, and the large group dashes into a small fenced-in cemetery nearby. Amazingly, the car refuses to enter, despite the fact that it could easily pass through the gate. Lauren distracts the car by taunting it, while Margie sneaks out of the cemetery. The car almost runs her down as she runs across the roadway, but she makes it and summons help using the police officer's radio. The car returns to the cemetery entrance and Lauren continues to curse it, calling the driver a "chicken shit" and hurling a tree branch at it, striking the hood. The car seems furious, whirling in circles and striking one of the entrance pillars to the cemetery, but still it will not enter. Finally, the group hears the approach of police sirens, and the car speeds off. One frightened woman finally finds her voice and screams after the car, "Cat poo!", and the ordeal is finally over. The car speeds off and is spotted by one officer, who follows it up onto a cliff, but it surprises him and turns the tables, slowly pushing him to his death over the cliffside. As Wade rushes to the scene, the car emerges from the hillside and confronts two police cars driving side by side in a blockade. They hope to force the car off the road, but instead it goes into a barrel roll straight for them, rolling over their cars and causing them to crash. The officers inside are all dead, but the car emerges unharmed. Wade then arrives and confronts the car when it ominously rolls to a stop. He fires on it from close range, but the bullets do no harm, not even to the tires. Wade then walks up to the car. As he does so, the door suddenly flies open, knocking him down into a ditch. Wade then wakes up in the hospital, dazed from the experience. He talks with the remaining deputies about keeping the roadblocks up, and Lauren says she will stay at Wade's house with the girls. Wade sends Chas with Lauren to her house to get her things, and then he confronts Luke about why he did not cancel the parade rehearsal as instructed. Luke admits he's been drinking again, unable to cope with the grief of losing both Everett and Jimmy in the same day, not to mention all the other officers who are also now dead after their confrontations with the car. Chas escorts Lauren home, but she notices he is concerned about his family. She tells him to check on his family while she packs an overnight bag, and he leaves. As he drives back up the road, the car rolls silently out of the darkness and waits for him to pass, suddenly roaring to life and taking off in the opposite direction for Lauren's house. A strong wind whips up, and Lauren rushes inside, terrified. She calls Wade in a panic, terrified as she hears the engine of the car approaching. Behind her, the headlights can be seen in her window, and as she talks to Wade on the phone, suddenly the headlights levitate off the ground and the car bursts through her house at high speed, killing her in the process, before driving out the other side and off into the night. Wade and his deputies soon after investigate the remains of the house. Luke understands the significance of what has happened. He comments that the car couldn't enter the cemetery because it was hallowed ground, and it had a vendetta for Lauren because she cursed it. Wade is skeptical, but even he can't explain why the car was able to levitate through Lauren's house. Heartbroken over Lauren's brutal death, Wade is determined to avenge her. He enlists Amos, who works with dynamite, to set up a trap for the car; they will lure it into a quarry and explode the quarry wall, burying it. Wade goes home to check on his children, who are being tended to by Margie. Finding all of them asleep, Wade leaves a note behind telling Margie to take care of the kids. Passing through his garage, he is startled to find the car parked inside there, waiting for him. It traps him in the garage, threatening to run him down each time he makes a move for the door. Margie awakens, unaware of what has transpired and still expecting Lauren to arrive any minute. Wade warns her the car is there and she runs back into the house. The car begins to rev its engine to an ear-shattering decibel, causing the glass in the house to shatter. Margie and the children are terrified, until Wade manages to escape the garage and get to his bike. He takes off with the car chasing him, leading it away from the house and off to the quarry where the trap awaits. The men aren't finished setting up the charges, though, and Wade has to keep the car distracted by circling with it inside the quarry. Finally he overturns his bike and makes a leap for the rope the men have lowered down to him from the cliff; the car realizes what is happening and makes for the road, roaring up the cliffside toward Wade and the others. Wade and Luke stay right at the cliff's edge, luring the car closer, until finally they leap to the side and the car goes flying off the cliff into the quarry below. The men ignite the dynamite and the entire cliffside explodes, burying the car under tons of rubble. In the resulting fireball, a huge demonic apparition forms, vanishing as the fire subsides and the smoke clears. Wade and the others are sure they've buried the car for good. The film concludes with scenes of the car driving around Los Angeles, presumably waiting to claim new victims.