VJ & ND are seated at a table, while BK remains at the bar

NICK

I'm saying it depends where you are in this world. If you take Thailand, your free space is in the water. If you're in Turkey, your free space is actually going to central Turkey. If you go to Israel, your free space is going to climb Mount Mohammed or whatever mountain it is there. If you go to Jordan, your free space is, you go to Petra at five in the morning and you stand on the mountain. If you go to Egypt, your free space is between the Sinai and between the Sphinx. If you go to Italy, your free space is on a fuckin' train. If you're here, your free space is very, you don't have such a thing. It's not. Because you've got the capital of the world here. You have the capital of the film world. You have the capital of uhhh.... [long pause] What else? Of everyone's world here, so your free space is your space. So, I'm sittin' right now in your free space. I'm sittin' here and one reason we're talkin' is because our free spaces get on...

VJ	Do you think you can't have unlimited free space in a capitalist society?

NICK

What society? Society in Bosnia?... It's not-- You ask if there can be free space in society? I'm saying right now, no. I'm sitting here and the whole point of being in New York is the fact that I can accept you and I've accepted everyone here. Long as you don't get up in my face, I love you. If you go to another place, they might say, hey, look, I don't even know you.

GIRL

[speaking to ND, GIRL is apparently attached to Nick] People! They piss me off because they say they're my friends and they're not. And they fuckin piss me off so fuckin bad that I just wanna kill em. Ya know? Because they're so shallow. I cant believe they're so shallow. I thought they had more integrity than that. I think that my friends are people who have integrity. People who fucking blow your fucking everything. And they don't go for the obvious. The whole fucking obvious bullshit crap. I can't deal with it. It drives me mad.

ND	What's the obvious?

GIRL	It's all so obvious. Can't you see? It's so obvious. The same old fucking bullshit crap.

ND	You think that the only thing that prevents you from having a world space is--

GIRL	I'm going home... [GIRL leaves table]

VJ	What do you think would take place here if all the economy was moved away from Manhattan...?

NICK	I just think it's a pointless question. It's a pointless question. I say, it won't happen, it'll never happen. It's a place where you can make money. And it's a place where you have to make money to live. Never happen. What do I think? I think the place just won't exist.

VJ	What about the Roman empire?

NICK

What I'm gonna say to you is that there's over a thousand years difference. Do you know what? There was once a time that fat Italian women with huge tits were attractive. And now, it's tall thin blonde Swedish women. I'm sayin' that everything changes with the times. So, to bring up the Roman empire, then you're pushin' sold paint... It's not interesting, it's a fucking fact. It's an archaic question to ask.

ND	So, you don't think there will ever be a point where economics wont be necessary?

NICK	I think there was a point in time when economics were not part of history. I think economics actually structured history. I think the Roman empire is over. The Roman empire was about world domination.

ND	But this is not?

NICK	What's this?

ND	Manhattan.

NICK	Manhattan?

ND	Originally, she asked, "What do you think would take place here if all the economy moved from Manhattan...?"

NICK

I'm tellin you the island would be used for nothing. The island wouldn't be here. There wouldn't be Broadway shows if there was no economical viability. You ever live out in Australia? I haven't either. But I wouldn't wanna go there. It'd just be like that. I wouldn't wanna come here. You been to Virginia? I haven't. I don't wanna go there. The point I'm sayin' is: I wouldn't meet you here if there wasn't any economic - whatever you say - I wouldn't be sittin' here talkin' to you otherwise. You came to Manhattan here to talk about it. Why'd you come to Manhattan? You came to a place that's about ten miles or fifteen miles or twenty miles - who gives a fuck? You came here because most people are here. It's the center of the world. You came here to talk to your -

ND	- friend, that's true...

NICK

So, why'd she come here? Because the most people are here. That's why you came here. This is the center. This is the heartbeat. You understand the word heartbeat? It's a heartbeat. There's something here. Economics is all the why and the reason why you're here. Economics is all the reason why I'm here. Economics is all the reason why that person, that person, that person, that person, why everyone I see is here. Okay? So, if you have no economics here, we wouldn't be here. So all that'd be here are whatever when you go to places that are about the same size somewhere in the fucking Arizona desert. There's a hundred people there and you don't wanna be there. Economics makes people wanna come here. Economics makes people wanna succeed. The bottom line is the people, they all wanna do something. Unnerstand? And the bottom line of them doin' something comes to somewhere elsewhere - until you're seventy - it becomes a somewhere about the money tree. Or sixty. and then when you reach that, you know what you want for? Whether you've reached it or not, you ask for respect. So whatever you did in your previous life, whatever you did in the sixty years beforehand, you suddenly say, well fuck it, I fucked up and here I am, I've got my space, and I've got this kinda shit. But what I do want is respect. So I don't ever want anyone to remember the bad things I did. I want them to remember the good things I did. You remember you screwed that guy and you laughed about it? Some guy for a couple of thousand, say. Then my father talks about the day you got that guy for a couple of thousand and all that shit. I'll say to ya, I don't wanna talk about that. The reason I don't wanna talk about that is because I want respect. Because you're sixty. If you speak to a guy under sixty, he wants economical success. And he wants that. That's what New York's about. So you go around New York and you talk to these people and you find the age groups you talk to. When they hit 60, they want respect. Before 60, they want money... [to VJ] I find you beautiful. You are. I find you beautiful. You are absolutely beautiful.

Modified December 23, 1997