Arthur picks out three bottles, which he then brings back to
his desk, where he begins arranging them with his back to
Monk. The bottles set how he wants them, Arthur turns and
shows us what he’s put together: three types of Johnnie
Walker -- Red, Black, and Blue -- aligned in that order.
ARTHUR
(CONT’D)
Johnnie Walker Red, twenty-four
bucks. Johnnie Walker Black, fifty
bucks. Johnnie Walker Blue, one-
hundred-and-sixty dollars. You see
the metaphor?
MONK
No.
ARTHUR
These are all made by the same
company. The Red is shit, the Black
is less shit, and the Blue is good.
But fewer people buy the Blue,
because it’s expensive, and at the
end of the day, most people just
want to get drunk. For most of your
career, your books have been Blue --
they’re good, they’re complex, but
they’re not popular, because most
people want something easy. Now,
for the first time ever, you’ve
written a Red book. It’s simple,
prurient. It’s not great
literature, but it satisfies an
urge, and that’s valuable.
(off Monk’s face)
What I’m trying to illustrate is
that just because you do Red
doesn’t mean you can’t also do
Blue. You can do it all, like
Johnnie Walker. In fact, you’ve got
Johnnie Walker beat, because you
don’t even have to put your real
name on it.
Monk mulls over Arthur’s point for a moment.
MONK
(shaking his head)
Jesus. Do we drink now?
INT. ARTHUR'S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER
Monk and Arthur clink their glasses and drink. A bottle of
Johnnie Walker Red sits between them. They’re both looking at