ShortHand: The Viper Room & The Death of River Phoenix

Summary

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Podcast Summary: RedHanded – ShortHand: The Viper Room & The Death of River Phoenix

Date: March 10, 2026
Hosts: [B] & [C]
Episode Focus: The rise and dark reputation of LA’s Viper Room nightclub, the tragic death of River Phoenix outside its doors, and the legacy of both.

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Episode Overview

This ShortHand episode dives deep into the notorious history of the Viper Room—Johnny Depp’s famous Sunset Boulevard bar—and examines the circumstances surrounding River Phoenix’s shocking 1993 death on its doorstep. The hosts trace the bar’s transformation from a Prohibition-era greengrocer to a legendary rock haunt, deconstruct LA’s celebrity subculture, and explore Phoenix’s impressive yet troubled life, with all roads leading to that fateful Halloween night.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Evolution of 8852 Sunset Boulevard (02:17 – 06:54)

• Origins as a Greengrocer: The building began as a produce store in the 1920s, reflecting Sunset Boulevard’s sleepy, rural past.
• Transformation via Hollywood: By the late ‘20s, Hollywood’s rise turned the street into the infamous “Sunset Strip,” a haven for bars, clubs, casinos — and organized crime.

  “The Strip is a roughly 2 mile stretch… it was in a bit of a legal gray area. Not under the jurisdiction of the LAPD, perfect for clubs to operate without the watchful eye of LA police, especially during Prohibition.” (03:07, C)

• Gangster Playground: Notorious venues like the Cotton Club attracted infamous figures such as Bugsy Siegel and Mickey Cohen, bringing illegal gambling, sex work, and drugs.
• Mid-century Hotspot: The location morphs into the Melody Room (jazz lounge), then “Filthy McNasty’s” (rock club frequented by celebrities, photography banned inside).
• Arrival of Johnny Depp and the Viper Room: Depp preserves the “your favorite band’s favorite bar” vibe, making it an even more exclusive but supposedly down-to-earth club for LA’s elite.

  “Depp and his co-owners gave it yet another new name, the Viper Room, but otherwise they kept everything else basically the same. All the while, Depp had used his star power to make sure its clientele stayed as star-studded as ever.” (06:11, B) “In other words, the Viper Room was a space for the rich and the famous to come together and sing Imagine and cosplay as if they were living some kind of bohemian dream…” (07:01, B)

2. River Phoenix: Stardom and Childhood in a Cult (08:09 – 14:23)

• Early Life in the Children of God Cult:

  “River was the first child of John and Arlen Bottom, who themselves were Children of God, and not in the sense we are all—no, the Christian cult founded by David Berg that we have previously discussed on this show…” (08:09, C)

  • Poverty, itinerancy, and street performances marked his childhood.
  • Family left the cult due to its abusive teachings—it’s noted as “probably the child rape” that was the final straw.

    “What the Children of God were going… literal instruction manuals of how to sexually abuse children is what the Children of God were going.” (10:45, B)

• Escape and Reinvention: With the help of a Venezuelan priest (Father Wood), they returned to the US, changed their surname to Phoenix (“because Bottom’s kind of a shit surname” (12:31, C)), and sought a new start.
• Meteoric Rise:
  • River supports family through acting, hitting it big with Stand by Me and Oscar-nominated Running on Empty.
  • Pressure of stardom, financial responsibility, and hangers-on took their toll.
• Notable Quote:

  “By 23, he was supporting his entire family, as well as allegedly up to 30 paid staff and assorted hangers-on, as well as also supporting a pretty intense drug habit.” (13:36, C)

3. The Fatal Night at the Viper Room (14:23 – 19:44)

• Seeking Musical Credibility: River hoped to be seen as a serious musician and went to the Viper Room mainly to see Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and potentially join Depp’s band on stage.
• Turned Away: Rebuffed from the stage, River’s disappointment precipitates a relapse.
• Speedballing and Its Dangers:

  “Speedballing is essentially a drug addict’s version of Russian roulette… just ask Chris Farley, John Belushi, Philip Seymour Hoffman to name just a few.” (17:17, C)

• River’s Overdose (approx. 18:27):
  • After ingesting cocaine and heroin, River deteriorates rapidly, vomiting and passing out.
  • Is dragged outside by his girlfriend and siblings—collapses, seizes.
• 911 Call Excerpt:
  • Joaquin Phoenix’s distressed 911 call played on-air, capturing the family’s fear and confusion.

    “It’s my brother, please come here. How old is he? He’s 23… My sister, the people. Okay, can you talk to her from where you are? She’s trying to give him mouth-to-mouth. Sir, calm down…” (18:54, D)

• Death and Immediate Aftermath: Flea begs to ride in the ambulance; River is pronounced dead at 1:51 am, October 31st.

4. Aftermath, Rumours, and The Viper Room’s Legacy (20:11 – end)

• Why No One Called Sooner?
  • Speculation about a cover-up is dispelled; hosts chalk up the delay to the normalization of drug use among celebrity circles, and fear of career repercussions.

    “There was always someone famous off their face crashing around the Viper Room… Rather, they were worried about River’s—who wants to be the guy that calls an ambulance on River Phoenix, only for him to sober up on the way to the hospital and have his career ruined.” (20:11, C)

• The Viper Room Post-1993:
  • The club survives its infamy; Johnny Depp runs it until 2004.
  • The business and real estate embroil Depp in legal (and possibly criminal) disputes, including the mysterious disappearance of co-owner Anthony Fox:

    “Anthony Fox went missing with his truck and revolver shortly after… neither Fox nor his body ever turned up.” (21:47, C)

  • Site sold and set to become luxury flats, marking the end of the era.

5. Legacy Reflections

• Phoenix Family Aftermath: Smatterings of commentary on Joaquin Phoenix’s roles (Walk the Line), and the poignancy of losing a sibling to tragedy.

  “There's a bit where their dad is, like, crying, and he's like, you took the wrong one. As in, like, you took the wrong son. And I just think it's, like, really poignant that it's Joaquin Phoenix.” (22:27, B)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On LA Celebrity Nightlife:

  “Just wear a disguise and go to an actual normal bar like the rest of us shipmunchers have to go to and watch a random person doing open mic with a guitar they can't properly play.” (06:54, C)

• On River Phoenix’s Background:

  “River often spent his days performing on the street with his younger sister Rain, playing the guitar and trying to get enough money from passersby to support the family.” (09:33, B)

• On Cult Abuse:

  “Literal instruction manuals of how to sexually abuse children is what the Children of God were going. True story.” (10:45, B/C)

• On the Viper Room’s reputation:

  “Unsurprisingly, the Viper Room was LA's worst kept secret. After the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Uma Thurman and Jennifer Aniston were spotted leaving, everyone wanted a piece.” (08:09, C)

• On the 911 call:

  “It’s my brother, please come here… She’s trying to give him mouth-to-mouth… Just seems like he’s sleeping right now. It just looks like he’s sleeping. Okay, that’s very normal…” (18:54, D)

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Notable Timestamps

• [01:15] Episode introduction and summary of River Phoenix’s death
• [02:17] The Viper Room’s origins and criminal history
• [08:09] River Phoenix’s childhood and cult background
• [13:36] Transition into Phoenix’s fame and family responsibilities
• [14:41] Context leading to Phoenix’s return to LA and the tragic night
• [16:32] River’s refusal at the Viper Room and relapse
• [18:54] Joaquin Phoenix’s 911 call
• [20:11] Aftermath: why no one called sooner and the club’s fate
• [21:47] Disappearance of Anthony Fox and the Viper Room's real end
• [22:23] Reflection on Joaquin Phoenix’s career and family tragedy

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Tone & Style

True to RedHanded’s signature, the tone is darkly witty, irreverent, and laced with gallows humor and pop culture asides. The hosts blend earnest empathy for River Phoenix with sharp cynicism about LA celebrity culture, cults, and the mythos surrounding historic Hollywood venues.

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This episode serves as a concise yet richly detailed exploration of LA nightlife’s shadowy side and the personal and public tragedies that unfurled in its wake, focusing on one of Hollywood’s most enduring cautionary tales.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Hello.

[C]

Sorry, hello and welcome to another episode of shorthand. On the 30th of October, the day after my birthday, 1993, River Phoenix crashed onto the pavement outside Johnny Depp's Sunset Boulevard bar, the Viper Room, and started convulsing wildly. The world knew Phoenix as a clean cut vegan and at 23 years old, already one of the biggest stars of the past decade. Yet here he was dying on the street, having snorted a lethal combination of cocaine and heroin known as speedball. River Phoenix died before the paramedics even arrived. Following his death, rumours swirled about exactly what happened that night. Who sold this former teen idol a fatal dose of class A drugs? Why did nobody call for an ambulance sooner? And what happened to Johnny Depp's infamous den of iniquity? This is the shorthand.

[B]

Before we can get into how River Phoenix ended up at the Viper Room, we need to talk about how the Viper Room ended up at 8852 Sunset Boulevard. The building that became Johnny Depp's infamous bar. Actually started out as a greengrocer in the 1920s. For decades, Sunset Boulevard had been a relatively sleepy three road in LA county that connected a few local farms. However, by the end of the 1920s, sunset began to change fast. And that all had to do with what lay at one end of it. Hollywood. What was once a dusty track used predominantly by farmers became a key avenue in and out of LA LA land and the money that came with it. So the Sunset Strip was born.

[C]

The Strip is a roughly 2 mile stretch of Sunset Boulevard that back then sat in a bit of a legal gray area. It was close enough to the Hollywood Hills and the city of Los Angeles to be frequented by the rich and famous. But it was also far enough away that it was technically part of Los Angeles county and as a result was not under the jurisdiction of the lapd. This meant that the Strip was the perfect, perfect place for bars, clubs and casinos to operate without the watchful eye of LA Police, especially during Prohibition. So through the 30s, the newly paved highway started to be home to some of the finest, most raucous drinking establishments any self respecting Hollywood star could hope to attend.

[B]

By June 1946, 88, 52 Sunset had already become a precursor to the den of iniquity it would later be. It was called the Cotton Club, after an infamous New York nightclub of the same name. And along with the rest of the Strip, it played host to some of America's most infamous gangsters. Illegal gambling, sex work and drugs were rife with gangsters like Bugsy Seagull and Mickey Cohen acting as de facto kings of the Strip. And during this time, what would later become the Viper Room went through several rebrands, first as an inn and then as a strip club, which was notorious for offering discreet services to some of Hollywood's biggest names.

[C]

Eventually, in 1951, the law caught up with the Strip and its many less than legal establishments. So 8852 Sunset Boulevard rebranded again, this time becoming the Melody Room, a jazz lounge that hosted such 50s famous icons as Billy Ward, Bobby Troupe and Cesar Romero. Despite the tighter restrictions, it still maintained a reputation as a buzzy hangout for the rich and famous. And for 18 years the melody Room was the hippest jazz joint in town. Then in 1973, the Melody Room got a new owner, his name, Filthy McNasty. Mr. McNasty was an LA music stalwart who co owned the local radio station and he rebranded the bar under his own name, upping the exclusivity and banning photography anywhere in the building. As a well respected LA disc jockey, McNasty was able to pull in big names and there are reports of Mick Jagger, Evel Knievel, John Wayne and even Elvis Presley himself joining the party. Quickly Filthy McNasties became an LA institution. Somewhere the rich and famous could go to listen to the best rock and roll in town or without the threat of cameras or journalists. It was a hub of emerging talent and established acts. Somewhere Elvis might rub shoulders with a homeless street performer and everyone was treated the same.

[B]

By the time Johnny Depp purchased a part stake in the bar in 1993, it had rebranded as the Central, but the reputation for being your favourite band's favourite bar had remained throughout the decades. Depp and his co owners gave it yet another new name, the Viper Room, but otherwise they kept everything else basically the same. All the while, Depp had used his star power to make sure its clientele stayed as star studded as ever. Through a carefully curated guest list, Depp the bar promised celebrities that they could come and watch gigs by Tom Petty, Oasis, Green Day, Johnny Cash, the Strokes and countless others, all while feeling they were just normal people at a normal bar.

[C]

It's just, just wear a disguise and go to an actual normal bar like the rest of us shipmunchers have to go to and watch a random person doing open mic with a guitar they can't properly play.

[B]

And also just like where like what a problem that needed solving. Thank God for Johnny Depp. In other words, the Viper Room was a space for the rich and the famous to come together and sing Imagine and Cosplay, as if they were living some kind of bohemian dream where everyone was talented and nobody cared who you

[C]

were, but you still got to keep

[B]

all of your money.

[C]

And yeah, just the fact that they're like, I just want to go watch some live music like a normal person. But you're seeing like the best bands

[B]

in the world, right? Yeah, super normal. This is available to everybody. Didn't you know?

[A]

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[C]

Unsurprisingly, the viper room was LA's worst kept secret. After the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Uma Thurman and Jennifer Aniston were spotted leaving, everyone wanted a piece. So if you were a 23 year old actor trying to convince the world that you were also a serious musician while trying to impress your mates, it was Hollywood catnip. Enter River Phoenix. For those of you too young to remember River Phoenix, he was the hottest of hot young things in the early 90s. Born River Jude Bottom. I didn't know that. On the 23rd of August 1970, river was the first child of John and Arlen Bottom, who themselves were children of God and not in the sense that we are all children of God. No, they were part of the Christian cult founded by David Berg that we have previously discussed on this show. If you haven't, go listen to our two parter. Sure, it's a two parter. Oh, it sure was on the Children of God. Yeah, it's. It's a lot. If you haven't listened to that episode, then go and listen. And also just take our word for it that it rings serious alarm bells. We're talking a huge scale cult of abuse involving some of Hollywood's biggest names. But importantly, as part of their mission, Aaron and John Bottom took themselves and their five children around Central and South America. Spreading the word.

[B]

Spreading the word of God can provide many things, but a sustainable income is not one of them. So river and his siblings Rayn, Joaquin, Liberty and Summer spent their early years with no home, no friends, and not much to eat. Which is why Joaquin Phoenix is so good in that film that's about Scientology, but isn't about Scientology the Master. So Philip Seymour Hoffman plays L. Ron Hubbard, but they. It's the closest anyone's ever got to actually making a film about what Scientology actually is. But they had to, in order not to get sued into the fucking ground, make it different enough. But it's very obvious. It's actually a really good film I would recommend. And I think the reason Joaquin Phoenix did it is because of Children of God. River often spent his days performing on the street with his younger sister Rain, playing the guitar and trying to get enough money from passersby to support the family. And this carried on for years until River's parents, John and Aaron, started to find themselves increasingly at odds with what the church's founder, David Berg was preaching, which was communal sex, sex with children, and loads of other fucking horrible stuff. Literal instruction manuals of how to sexually abuse children is what the Children of God were going.

[C]

True story.

[B]

As far as anyone knows, the Bottom family never engaged in any of these practices, which could well be true. The thing about the Children of God is that it's kind of the only quote unquote successful cult where they weren't all in one place. They really were spread across the world, living on various different compounds. And David Berg managed to control it from the top by never revealing himself. That's how he got away with it. But unlike a lot of other cults, I do think there were quite a lot of like pockets of the Children of God who didn't sexually abuse their children. But that is what they were being told to do.

[C]

Yeah, not for want of being told that's what they said.

[B]

Exactly right. Quite. It does seem to have been the catalyst for River's parents to leave. And I can believe it. It was for a lot of people.

[C]

Mm. What we do know is that Jon and Arryn wanted out for whatever reason. Probably the child.

[B]

Probably the child rape. Yeah.

[C]

And they wanted to get back to the usa. So I asked for help from a local non culty priest called Father Wood. There's a lot of earthy names in this. Father Wood had a church in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. Wood told them that they could have room and board in exchange for river and his sister Rain performing Christian songs at Sunday service. And it's easy to see why. Not only could river play the guitar, but age 7, he could already sing the Christo classics in English, French and German. The family stayed with Father Wood for four months until eventually he got them space on a cargo ship heading to Florida. When the Bottoms arrived in the usa, they changed their second name to Phoenix to symbolize a new beginning. And also because Bottom's kind of a shit surname.

[B]

Not long after returning to the States, the Phoenix family moved to Hollywood. And river, who had barely spent a day in school in his whole life, was once again sent back out to perform to get the family's bread buttered. Only this time it wasn't on street corners. It was on the silver screen. River's debut was in the 1985 film Explorers, an ET inspired kids adventure, which also featured a young Ethan Hawke. The film was a bit of a fizzle, but it was a foot in the door. And in 1986, river got his big break in his second feature film, Stand by Me. I always forget that. The coming of age drama featured a standout performance by river, who aged just 14, was an overnight sensation and lauded everywhere as the next big thing.

[C]

Yeah, he was a very, very good looking young man. Oh yeah, very good looking young man.

[B]

And he featured on the COVID of teen magazines, gave interviews, signed autographs, and most importantly, pulled enough money to support his parents and four siblings.

[C]

By the time he was 18, River Phoenix had been nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Running on empty. By 20, he was playing young Indiana Jones. By 23, he was supporting his entire family, as well as allegedly up to 30 paid staff and assorted hangers on, as well as a also supporting a pretty intense drug habit. Exactly when this drug habit arrived is up for debate. Although it seemed to have coincided with his role as a heroine using Rent Boy in the film My Own Private Idaho. Some sources claim that he explored drugs to better understand his role. Others say that they were offered to him by castmates, which included Flea, the basis from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

[B]

He was at the Dodgers Stadium when I was there in la. They put him on the big screen.

[C]

Flea and river would go on to have a close relationship for the rest of River's tragically short life. In fact, Flea was the reason that river went to the viper room on 30 October 1993. In the first place, river had just

[B]

come back from a few months filming his next big film, Dark Blood, which he'd taken for the opportunity to work with one of his acting idols, Judy Davis. He'd gone sober for the film and was hoping that the post apocalyptic epic directed by George Sluicer might be a critical success, especially with Davis on board. He even hoped to find himself back in Oscar contention. Unfortunately, his relationship with Judi Davis wasn't what he had hoped for. Davis, who was known to be a bit intense, made River's life hell on set. Even the director has admitted in interviews that Judi Davis was one of the most difficult actors he had ever worked with.

[C]

River had spent the next seven weeks increasingly unable to cope with the pressure. But come 30 October, that pressure was gone. They'd finally finished the bulk of filming and at least for the next few weeks, river was free to live his regular life. So he headed to la, where he stayed in a hotel and hung out with his girlfriend, Samantha Mathis, who was and still is a successful actor and trade union leader. On the evening of the 30th, river and Samantha were joined by his younger siblings, Rain and Joaquin. And on top of having his tightest crew in town, he had another reason to be excited. Because that evening, his mate Flea was playing in the Viper Room as part of Johnny Depp's band. And according to some reports, river got the impression that he even might be able to join them on stage. River really wanted his music to be taken seriously. He'd played and sung guitar since childhood and had always wanted to be a musician more than he wanted to act. This was going to be big.

[B]

Not wanting to blow his big break, river stayed sober and the four of them headed down to the Viper Room. When they got there, however, disaster struck. River left his girlfriend and his siblings in a booth and headed over to the stage with his guitar. But it was bad news. River would not be playing. Disappointed and embarrassed, river walked away from the stage and didn't go back to his family. Instead, he went to school. Nobody knows exactly where he found it, but it can't be that fucking hard. But shortly after his crushing letdown, River Phoenix, who had been clean for almost two months, took a large combination of cocaine and heroin, which, as we said, is known as a speedball.

[C]

Speedballing is essentially a drug addict's version of Russian roulette. It combines the ultimate upper cocaine and the ultimate downer, heroin, creating what's known as drug synergy, where the effects of the drug are said to cancel each other out to create a kind of perfect high. It's like a really ramped up version of a vodka Red Bull turbo. Wine, coffee, and a cigarette. Or a can of coke and a spliff. Or red wine and a spliff.

[B]

It's kind. No, that's. That's double down. Yeah, I think that.

[C]

But I get up from. I don't get down. So, yeah, the ultimate up down combo. Except speedballing is a notorious knife edge. Take a little bit too much of either drug, and it will basically kill you. Just ask Chris Farley, John Belushi, Philip Seymour Hoffman, to name just a few. Immediately after the speedball hit river system, things started to go wrong. His heart started racing, and he violently threw up. Some reports even say that he took a Valium from someone in the toilets in an attempt to take the edge off.

[B]

River spent roughly the next hour crashing around the Viper Room looking really unwell. He was slurring his words, vomiting and passing out in the booth with his girlfriend and siblings. Eventually, Rain and Samantha decided that river was getting worse, and they dragged him outside to get some air. As soon as he hit the pavement, River Phoenix started seizing, and it took another five minutes of panic before someone called an ambulance. And that someone was his younger brother, Joaquin.

[D]

This is the Viper Room. Okay, what's the address? Sir, do you know. What's the address of the closet? Okay, sir, sir, calm down a little bit, okay? I'm sorry. It's my brother. Please come here. How old is he? He's 23. Calm down, okay? If you can't calm down, give the phone to somebody else. No, there's no one else around, okay? I'm fine. I think he's at Valium or something. I don't know with him right now. My sister, the people. Okay, can you talk to her from where you are? She's trying to give him mouth to mouth. Sir, calm down. Tell her not to give mouth to mouth to mouth. You only give mouth to mouth if he's not breathing. What's he doing? Just seems like he's sleeping right now. It just looks like he's sleeping. Okay, that's very normal. Okay, that's very normal. Sometimes, in fact, sometimes they do actually go to sleep.

[B]

It took another four minutes for the ambulance to arrive and by that point, River Phoenix's heartbeat was barely there. The flashing lights of the ambulance brought punters out of the Viper Room, including Flea, who crashed through the crowd and begged to come with river in the ambulance. River Phoenix was pronounced dead at 1.51am on 31st October 1993, and the world lost a brilliant young actor.

[C]

A lot has been made of why nobody called an ambulance for river sooner. Was Johnny Depp pulling the strings, trying to keep the incident quiet so his precious Viper Room wouldn't get closed down? In reality, probably not. On top of the speedball, what really killed River Phoenix was most likely normalisation of drug use and his own celebrity status. There was always someone famous off their face crashing around the Viper Room. By this point, it was a big part of why it even existed. People were used to seeing celebs having a bad time and 99 times out of 100, nobody died. And in truth, people probably were cautious of calling an ambulance. Not because they were worried about the Viper Room's reputation that was already solidified. Rather, they were worried about Rivers, who wants to be the guy that calls an ambulance on River Phoenix, only for him to sober up on the way to the hospital and have his career ruined. As for his siblings and his girlfriend, they were just in their late teens and early twenties and God knows what they were on. And they probably had no fucking clue what an overdose looked like.

[B]

As for the Viper Room, did the death of one of Hollywood's golden boys taint its reputation? Not really. Johnny Depp continued to run the viper room until 2004. It went on to host the likes of a young Paris Hilton and her then assistant, Kim Kardashian, with her old nose. In fact, the real reason for Johnny Depp eventually giving up the Viper Room is a lot murkier. In the early 2000s, one of his business partners, Anthony Fox, accused Depp and the four other co owners of trying to defraud the Viper Room of millions of dollars.

[C]

Anthony Fox went missing with his truck and revolver shortly after his truck was found on 6 January 2002. However, neither Fox nor his body ever turned up. Eventually, Depp sold his share of the Viper Room to Anthony Fox's daughter Amanda in 2004, who herself sold it in 2008. And that seedy story really was the Viper Room's last hurrah, as the plot got sold with three other properties to a development company in 2018. And like everything else in the world, it's pegged to become luxury flats.

[B]

Well, have you seen Walk the Line where Joaquin Phoenix plays Johnny Cash?

[C]

No, I haven't.

[B]

Oh, it's so good. It's so good. And there's a bit in the beginning, Johnny Cash is a boy and his brother dies in, like, a, like, really quite intense, like, table saw accident. And there's. Yeah, it's. Yeah. And like, there's a bit where their dad is, like, crying, and he's like, you took the wrong one. As in, like, you took the wrong son. And I just think it's, like, really poignant that it's Joaquin Phoenix.

[C]

Oh, miserable. Well, there you go, guys.

[B]

Go and watch Walk the Line. If you're struggling for something to watch, if you're sitting around, what should I watch tonight? Walk the Line. The answer is always Walk the Line.

[C]

Brilliant. There you go. Don't say we don't give you any. So we hope you enjoyed that. And we will see you next week for another shorthand.

[B]

Right.

[D]

Bye, Sam.