Summer in the City

Parker visits with a stack full of movie scripts and a bag of popcorn, hoping to have a movie night with Elle. As they watch the movie, Elle takes notes, and Parker expresses knowledge of the plot elements. It becomes clear he’s researched the scriptwriting process. This makes Elle realize that she knows nothing about the specifics of his work. Elle falls asleep during the movie and wakes with her head in Parker’s lap. Instead of moving, she falls back asleep where she is. The next time she wakes, she’s been moved to her bed, and Parker has returned with coffees. Elle mentions that there is a part of her screenplay where the characters discuss the place with the best pizza in New York City. She and Parker decide they will travel around NYC, trying all the self-proclaimed best pizza spots to determine which will make the script.

When they take the subway to the first place, Elle asks if Parker ever rode the subway before. He admits that before a few years ago, he barely paid himself anything. He slept on his friends couches until he was able to afford a closet-size room and ate mostly ramen. When he asks what Elle did when she received her first big screenwriting check, she admits she cried because she felt guilty that she hadn’t received it sooner—when she really needed it.