Should I even write any more about this hotel saga? It ballooned into such a huge pain in the ass. Anyway...

The final act of this drama is Dan Grodnik approaching me this evening after I had eaten my meal and was completely wrapped on the movie...

DAN GRODNIK
John, can I talk to you for a minute?

DUCEY
Sure. What's up?

DAN GRODNIK
Has this been a good movie for you?
I mean, have you had a good time making it?

DUCEY
Yes. I would say it's been an enjoyable experience.

Then why do you insist on costing me so much money?
What are you doing to me?

Yes, it was time for Grodnik to release all his financial frustrations and I was to be the brunt of it. Piecing together the 15-minute conversation would be impossible, but let me jot down bits and pieces of Grodnik wisdom...

• If you want to be in other movies, the producer is not the guy to piss off.
• I have to pay for your hotel and now Rick won't pay and Brittany wants to fly first-class, and Alix's wrecked car is going to cost me 2000 dollars.
• Why do you have to stir everybody up? You've really created a motherf---er.
• People made special arrangements. Groove and Sean wanted to be together and they agreed to stay in a two-bedroom. (Not true.) And Rick had agreed to pay for the difference in the two places and now because of you, he won't pay it.
• Why didn't you just come to me and we could have taken care of it? Why did you have to call SAG and get everyone riled up?
• I want you to know I didn't talk to SAG. I moved you over to the Residence Inn because I wanted you to be happy.
• I've flown back and forth ten times for this movie and every time I fly coach. There's no double-standard here.
• My studio fee is 750,000 dollars. I waived that for this movie. I'm not making a cent on this movie.
• My job is not to "save money," it's to make the best movie possible.
• Some actors show consideration for the project. They're willing to waive a meal penalty or give a little leeway on a turnaround time.

He really had me stuck. At the time I kept thinking I should be nice, I should be polite. Don't piss off the producer any more. And so he had the upper hand because I couldn't really attack him. Just try to smooth things over. Backpedal. Make everything OK. And now it makes my blood boil looking back on the conversation with all the bullshit he was slinging to make himself look so caring and considerate and me the trouble-causing asshole who's trying to run the movie into the ground. Oh, so many things I want to say in answer to his propaganda!

But gosh darn it. Isn't it better that I didn't? What would it have accomplished? Grodnik didn't start talking to me so that I could help him see the holes in his logic and then allow him to accept how wrong he's been for the last three weeks. He wanted to try to rationalize his positions by mouthing off a bit at someone who doesn't have enough power to do anything about it. No retaliation. No back-talk. Just a puny little actor anxious to make more movies. So he ranted at my expense. And you know what? Who cares?