Taglines: He’s been humiliated, kicked and spat on… and it’s only 10:00 am.
Swimming with Sharks movie storyline. Buddy Ackerman, an influential movie mogul, hires Guy, a naïve young writer, as his assistant. Guy, who has just graduated from film school, believes that his new job is a golden opportunity. Despite warnings from Rex, the outgoing assistant who has become hardened under Buddy’s reign, Guy remains optimistic.
Buddy turns out to be the boss from hell; he treats Guy like a slave, subjects him to sadistic (and public) verbal abuse, and has him bending over backwards to do meaningless errands that go beyond just his work life. Guy is humiliated and forced to bear the brunt of his insults.
Guy’s only solace is his new girlfriend, Dawn, a producer at Buddy’s firm. When Buddy apparently fires Guy in a phone call, Guy snaps and takes Buddy hostage in order to exact revenge. He ties Buddy up and subjects him to severe beatings, torture and mind games. It is later revealed that due to a botched call waiting function on Buddy’s home phone, Guy hears Buddy and Dawn arranging a rendezvous at Buddy’s house.
Once in Guy’s power, Buddy reveals for the first time a human, vulnerable side. He tells a tragic story about his wife’s death on Christmas Eve 12 years prior and reveals that he, too, was once a bullied assistant to powerful, tyrannical men and spent a decade putting up with such abuse to get to where he is today.
He also reveals that abusing Guy was his way of teaching him that he must earn his success. Dawn arrives at the scene to find Guy aiming a gun at Buddy’s face, whereupon Buddy tells Guy that he has to pull the trigger in order to get ahead in the business. After a moment’s indecision, Guy fires the gun.
Swimming With Sharks (also known as The Boss and Buddy Factor) is a 1994 American comedy-drama film written and directed by George Huang, and stars Kevin Spacey, Frank Whaley, Michelle Forbes, Benicio del Toro, Jerry Levine, T. E. Russell, Roy Dotrice, Patrick Fischler, Jerry Levine and Matthew Flint.
Swimming with Sharks (1995)
Directed by: George Huang
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Frank Whaley, Michelle Forbes, Benicio del Toro, Jerry Levine, T. E. Russell, Roy Dotrice, Patrick Fischler, Jerry Levine, Matthew Flint
Screenplay by: George Huang
Production Design by: Cecil Gentry, Veronika Merlin
Cinematography by: Steven Finestone
Film Editing by: Ed Marx
Costume Design by: Kirsten Everberg
Art Direction by: Karen Haase
Music by: Tom Hiel
MPAA Rating: R for some scenes of psychological/physical torture and pervasive strong language.
Distributed by: Trimark Pictures
Release Date: April 21, 1995
Hits: 103
