21 (2008)

Kevin Spacey: Micky Rosa

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Quotes 

• [Cole Williams confronts Micky for the first time again] 

  Ben Campbell : [narrating, when we see Micky tied up in the basement of the casino]  I had a 1590 on my SAT. I got a 44 on my MCATs. And I have a 4.0 GPA from MIT. I thought I had my life mapped out. But then I remembered what my Nonlinear Equations professor once told me, always account for variable change.

  Cole Williams : [Cole Williams walks out of the shadows]  Hello, Micky.

  Micky Rosa : Look, I got money in Boston. A hundred grand. I'll give it to you. If you just let me walk away. I'll walk away.

  Cole Williams : I don't want your money, Micky. I don't need it. But I know someone who might be interested. He's good with numbers, too. He works for the IRS.

• [Ben asks Micky why he's being asked to join the team of card players] 

  Ben Campbell : So, why are you telling me?

  Micky Rosa : Well, let's just say a spot opened up on our roster.

  Ben Campbell : How?

  Micky Rosa : Jimmy got a job at Google.

  Ben Campbell : Jim... Jimmy got a job at Google?

  Micky Rosa : Yeah, it's catchy, I know.

  Ben Campbell : Well, if you're making so much money at this, then why did he take it?

  Micky Rosa : Ben, I said Google, not Sizzler.

• [Ben speaks to his teacher Micky for the first time in class] 

  Micky Rosa : We're gonna call this, um, the game show host problem. All right? Ben, suppose you're on a game show. And you are given a chance to choose from three different doors, all right? Now, behind one of the doors is a new car. Behind the other two, goats. Which door would you choose, Ben?

  Ben Campbell : Door number one?

  Micky Rosa : Door number one. Ben chooses door number one. All right, now, the game show host, who, by the way, knows what's behind all the other doors, decides to open another door. Let's say he chooses door number three. Behind which sits a goat, now... Ben, game show host comes to you. He says, 'Ben, do you want to stay with door number one or go with door number two?' Now, is it in your interest to switch your choice?

  Ben Campbell : Yeah.

  Micky Rosa : Well, wait. Remember the host knows where the car is, so how do you know he's not playing a trick on you? Trying to use reverse psychology to get you to pick a goat?

  Ben Campbell : Well, I wouldn't really care. I mean, my answer's based on statistics. Based on variable change.

  Micky Rosa : Variable change? But he just asked you a simple question.

  Ben Campbell : Yeah, which changed everything.

  Micky Rosa : Enlighten us.

  Ben Campbell : Well, when I was originally asked to choose a door, I had a 33.3% chance of choosing right. But after he opens one of the doors and then re-offers me the choice, it's now 66.7% if I choose to switch. So, yeah, I'll take door number two, and thank you for that extra 33.3%.

  Micky Rosa : [Micky smiles]  Exactly! People, remember, if you don't know which door to open, always account for variable change. Now, see, most people wouldn't take the switch out of paranoia, fear, emotions. But Mr. Campbell, he kept his emotions aside and let simple math get his ass into a brand new car! Which is better than that goat you've been driving around campus.

• [Micky gets on Fisher's back after Fisher gets jealous of Ben's winnings] 

  Fisher : Beginner's luck.

  Micky Rosa : Hey, Fisher. Win like a man, lose like a man.

  Fisher : Micky, I didn't play into a cold deck three times.

  Micky Rosa : You know what's worse than a loser? Someone who won't admit he played it wrong.

• [Micky see's Choi stealing from the casino room after arriving in Las Vegas] 

  Micky Rosa : Hey! You steal 'The Bible', you go to Hell. That's the way it works.

  Choi : Like I'm not going already.

• [Micky yells at Ben for losing $200,000] 

  Ben Campbell : Hey, I let you down, all right. I get it.

  Micky Rosa : Excuse me? You let me down? I don't care! Let me make one thing clear to you, I am not your father! You are not my friend. This is a business. You were only good to me as the money you make, and, right now it's not worth a hell of a whole lot!

• [Micky deals a deck of cards out to the team of kid card players] 

  Micky Rosa : What's the count?

  Jill Taylor : Plus 9.

  Micky Rosa : No.

  Fisher : Plus 11.

  Micky Rosa : No.

  Kianna : Dude, I lost count 20 cards ago.

  Micky Rosa : Don't call me dude.

  Choi : [Micky points to Choi]  Uh, plus 9?

  Micky Rosa : You're just following Jill. People, please. We had a total of 76 cards that came out of the deck. Twenty-three were high cards with the value of minus one. Seventeen were neutral with no value at all, and the rest were low cards with the value of plus one. How could you lose the count?

  Ben Campbell : [Ben speaks from the doorway]  Plus 13. The count. It's plus 13.

  Micky Rosa : [Micky smiles at Ben]  Yes.

• [Micky talks to Ben privately about being the next big player on his team] 

  Micky Rosa : Fisher and Jimmy have always been the big players. I want you to take Jimmy's place.

  Ben Campbell : I've never done this.

  Micky Rosa : I know that and I understand. But I don't trust the girls, and Choi is, well, Choi.

• [Micky realizes he's set up by Ben when he finds the chocolate cent in the bag] 

  Cole Williams : [in a flashback]  I never saw Micky Rosa after that.

  Cole Williams : [Cole stops his punch in front of Ben's face]  But I think I wanna see him now. And I want you to make that happen.

  Ben Campbell : I don't work for Micky anymore.

  Cole Williams : [Cole laughs]  Come on, kid. Your picture's all over the database, your Vegas gig is done. But I will give you one night. And I can guarantee you won't be bothered. You'll make a killing, and you'll keep it all. Hmm? Listen. My name's Cole. Cole Williams. You just bring me Micky Rosa, kid. I'll take care of the rest.

  Micky Rosa : [in the present]  Son... Of... A... Bitch.

• [Micky reminds the team that playing cards is a moneymaking business] 

  Micky Rosa : All right, guys, let's get something clear. This is not summer camp and I'm not your counselor. This is real, world-class moneymaking business. Kianna, slots are for losers. Fisher, peelers are stealers. Choi?

  Choi : Hmm?

  Micky Rosa : You made five grand last night, so would you stop stealing nine-cent pens and everything you can get yours hands on from the maid's cart. It's embarrassing.

• [Ben and Micky walk pass Fisher back on campus] 

  Ben Campbell : Hey, Fisher.

  Micky Rosa : [Fisher keeps walking without saying anything]  Uh. He's mad at me and jealous of you. But don't worry. Greatness evokes that reaction sometimes.

• [Micky teaches his class as Ben and him talk about their counting cards business in a metaphor] 

  Ben Campbell : [Ben from the back of the class, beat up looking from Cole Williams]  Isn't is true Cauchy stole from his students?

  Micky Rosa : Yes, I heard that. What's your theory on that?

  Ben Campbell : They say he used his students for their brilliance, then discredited them and stole their equations, stole their hard work.

  Micky Rosa : Well, that wouldn't be the first time a teacher was accused of that. I think what he's referring to is Vladimir Stupnitsky, yes? He was a student of Cauchy's who accused Cauchy of stealing his four-volume text on this analysis and publishing it under a pseudonym. Of course, nobody knows what really went on down there. They never did prove it, and without the proof, it's a little like it never happened. And, you know, it's a real shame, because if Stupnitsky had just realized that he shouldn't have crossed Cauchy, this was the dispute, if he'd been able to get beyond some of the personal mistakes that were made, I have no doubt Cauchy would've worked with him again, and they could have done great things together. But, as history shows us, some students never learn.

  Micky Rosa : [Micky comments on Ben's bruised eye]  You should get that eye looked at.

• [Ben tells Micky the two of them should be the big players and count cards together] 

  Ben Campbell : I was thinking maybe you should be the other big player. You know, two big players playing big?

  Micky Rosa : [Micky scoffs]  Hey, slow down, I haven't played in a long time, Ben. But Fisher's out. No one else on the team can be the big player, can they? And if we do well, if we do really well, then you get your grades back, go to Harvard Med, and I might even get that sabbatical.

  Ben Campbell : Well, amazing things can be done from the inside, right?

  Micky Rosa : [Micky shakes Ben's hand]  Hmm. Just went back to the head of the class.

• [Ben insults Micky for the first time] 

  Micky Rosa : You had very clear instructions, and you didn't follow them. You didn't do your job. You weren't counting, you were gambling!

  Ben Campbell : Well, why aren't you out there, then, Micky? Hm? I mean, we take all the risks. Seems to me like you don't do shit.

  Micky Rosa : This isn't about me, you arrogant little infant.

• [Micky tells Ben he's ready for a trial run] 

  Micky Rosa : I think he's gonna be ready for our little trial run tomorrow.

  Ben Campbell : There's a trial run?

  Micky Rosa : Mmm.

  Ben Campbell : Where?

  Micky Rosa : You'll find out.

  Kianna : [Kianna holds her hands up and wiggles her fingers at Ben, whispering]  Dun, dun, dun.

• [Ben is nervous when Micky introduces himself after turning in his paper] 

  Ben Campbell : Is there a problem with my paper?

  Micky Rosa : Well, you found a more efficient method for finding true zero than Isaac Newton and that, my friend, is not so much a problem as it is a major ass-kicking. Although Newton has been dead for over 250 years, so it wasn't exactly a fair fight.

• [Micky quickly teaches Ben the rules of how to play Blackjack] 

  Micky Rosa : It's really simple, actually. You play against the dealer. Um, you're given two cards. Face cards are worth 10 points. The closest to 21 wins. If you go over, you lose. If the dealer goes over, they lose.

  Fisher : It's the most popular card game in the world.

  Jill Taylor : It's a game of memory. Cards drawn are the past, ones to come are the future.

  Micky Rosa : And the best part, it's beatable.

• [Micky asks Ben to join him and the team of student card players] 

  Micky Rosa : Ben, let the car drive by itself. Listen, you not only have a gifted mind, but you're also composed. You don't give in to your emotion. You think logically. Ben, you were born for this. You'll have more fun than you've ever had your entire life. It's perfect.

• [Micky and the team of student card players teach Ben the positions of each team member] 

  Choi : So, our team is divided into two kinds of players, spotters and big players, right? So if you think that this table is the casino floor, then, um...

  Choi : [Choi uses the salt and pepper shakers on their dinner table]  Then salt and pepper shakers are your spotters. All right, spotters are just sitting at the various Blackjack tables and they're betting the table minimum. They never fluctuate their bet.

  Micky Rosa : That's right. Spotters never raise the bet or play any kind of progressive system. That's how we stay under the radar and that's why we never get caught.

  Choi : Exactly. Okay, they're just sitting at the table, betting the table min, and they're keeping the count waiting for one of these decks to get hot.

  Kianna : Right. And then when one of the decks gets hot the spotter at the table signals in the big player. This... mustard. Give me the mustard, honey. Please.

  Fisher : [Fisher positions the mustard on the table]  Well, I'm always the mustard, so... When I get the signal for the hot deck, I stumble over like some drunk rich kid, or some zoned out dot-com millionaire, and I throw down big money.

• [Ben plays cards in a casino room when he's suddenly dragged to another room with a bag over his head] 

  Micky Rosa : [Micky disguises his voice, talking to Ben through the bag]  What's the count?

  Ben Campbell : Please, don't hurt me.

  Micky Rosa : [Micky again]  I said, what's the count?

  Ben Campbell : I haven't done anything.

  Micky Rosa : [Micky yelling]  What's the count!

  Ben Campbell : [Ben hesitates before saying]  Plus 18.

  Ben Campbell : [the bag is taken off Ben's head when he see's the team standing around him]  Oh, you've gotta be kidding me.

  Micky Rosa : Congratulations, Ben. Sorry, we had to make sure you'd keep the count under pressure. Welcome to the team.

  Kianna : Aww. We didn't mean it.

  Choi : It's okay, Campbell, I cried inside that bag.

• [Ben agrees to join Micky's card team] 

  Micky Rosa : Look, I've been teaching more than 14 years, I've never had a student as impressive as you. Your brain is like a goddamn Pentium chip. You're gonna do great. You know how I know that? 'Cause you remind me of myself 25 years ago. You in?

  Ben Campbell : Yeah. Yeah, I'm in.

• [Micky tells Ben about the pressure of counting cards] 

  Micky Rosa : There's one more thing, Ben, and this is important. We're counting cards, we're not gambling. We're following a specific set of rules and playing a system.

  Ben Campbell : Right.

  Micky Rosa : Now, I've seen how crazy it can get at those tables, and sometimes, people lose control. They give in to their emotions. You will not.

• [Micky gives Jill her fake ID for the Vegas casinos] 

  Jill Taylor : Uh, I don't like my name.

  Micky Rosa : Why not?

  Jill Taylor : 'Sierra Sommers.' Do I look like a Sierra?

  Micky Rosa : Well, you have a lot of clever outfits. You'll figure it out.

  Kianna : Just pretend you don't speak English. Then you don't have to change your hair.

• [Micky talks to the team one last time before they play the Vegas casinos] 

  Micky Rosa : At all times, you don't know each other. Let me say that again, you do not... know each other... ever. Oh, and what's our motto?

  Jill Taylor : Don't get caught counting.

  Fisher : Don't get caught counting.

  Kianna : Don't get caught counting.

  Micky Rosa : Thank you very much.

• [Ben asks Micky why he doesn't play cards with them in on the floor] 

  Ben Campbell : How come you don't play?

  Micky Rosa : Oh, I did. I played for a long time and I was the best. But I'm retired now. Take my advice, Ben, it's always best to go out when you're on top. Welcome to Vegas!

• [Micky tells Fisher he's off the team] 

  Micky Rosa : You're off the team.

  Fisher : No. I was drunk, I was...

  Micky Rosa : I don't care what you were.

  Fisher : [Fisher shrugs his shoulders]  I'm not leaving.

  Micky Rosa : Yes, you are.

  Fisher : What are you gonna do about it, huh?

  Micky Rosa : [Fisher stands in Micky's face]  You've been a big man for a long time, but you just acted like a child. So I want you to pick up the ticket and go home, because if you don't, you know exactly what I'm capable of doing, don't you?

  [Fisher quietly walks off] 

• [Ben comes up with an idea to cash out their chips that are hot] 

  Micky Rosa : [Ben and Micky watch the strippers cash out their chips for them]  I love a parade, don't you? You know, there's a word I don't throw around that often, 'genius'.

• [Ben apologizes to Micky to get back in the game with him] 

  Micky Rosa : All right, look, Ben. I'm not gonna lie to you. You're good, you're very, very good. But you did exactly what I told you not to. You got emotional and then you got stupid. Now you tell me why in the world I'd ever get back in business with you.

  Ben Campbell : Look, I know I should never have disrespected you, all right? I know that. With this facial recognition software, our window of opportunity is closing on us. Now, I need this, Micky. I really, really, need this.

  Micky Rosa : Well, the take would have to be really, really good to get me even vaguely interested.

• [Micky plays Blackjack his final time in disguise] 

  Micky Rosa : [Micky responds in his southern accent]  Is this your first time, darlin'?

  Kianna : [Kianna at the table nervously plays]  I've been winning and losing for hours.

  Micky Rosa : Well, that's all right. I've been winning and losing for years.

• [Micky begins to teach his class about nonlinear equations] 

  Micky Rosa : Now, who can explain Newton's method and to use it?

  Miles Connoly : Uh, you can use it to solve nonlinear equations.

  Micky Rosa : That's impressive. That's really good. I mean, I'm very impressed by that, especially since my class is called Nonlinear Equations.

  Micky Rosa : All right, now somebody tell me something I already don't know. Anyone? Bueller. Anyone? Bueller.