Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: A Novel

“The masculine humiliation of what Marvin’s suggesting, even though he’s only referring to playacting, is making Rick’s brow perspire. I’m a punching bag? Is this my career now?”

Marvin’s suggestion that the only reason networks invite Rick to play the villain on their shows is so that audiences can watch him humiliate himself makes him sick. The thought of networks and audiences collectively rooting against Rick and his career feeds into his depression over its “failure.”

“Besides, it was Rick who asked to meet Marvin. It’s Rick who wants to extend his leading-man career in feature films rather than playing bad guy du jour on television. And it’s Marvin’s job to explain to him the realities and the possible opportunities of a film industry he doesn’t know shit about. An industry that Marvin is an acknowledged expert in. And in Marvin’s expert opinion, Rick Dalton being like one of the biggest movie stars in the whole wide world is a wonderful opportunity for an agent who places name American talent in Italian motion pictures.”

From Marvin’s perspective, Rick’s marketability as an actor is good news because it means that he has a good chance of being successful in Italian films. However, Marvin doesn’t understand that this news shatters Rick’s dream of becoming a Hollywood movie star.

“Rick composes himself and then says after a gulp of oxygen, ‘It’s just I’ve been doing this over ten years, Mr. Schwarz. And it’s a little hard to sit here after all that time and come face-to-face with what a failure I’ve become. Coming face-to-face with how I ran my career in the ground.’”

Rick confesses to Marvin that he sees his life as a failure. However, Rick knows that he must take responsibility for the way that he burned bridges with executives who may have been able to help him. He let his arrogance get the best of him in his younger days as an actor, and now he realizes that he must face the consequences of these actions.