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Added summaries to the first six stories. More to come. |
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|colspan="5"|Hobby is asked to give a tour of the studio to some special guests. He is introduced to a Indian nobleman and his adopted son, who claims that Hobby may be his biological father. Confused, Hobby leads the pair on a lackluster tour during which they walk onto a working set, thus spoiling the filming in progress. The pair leave Hollywood, but only after thanking Hobby for the tour and offering him a cash allowance that will be paid monthly, the only exception being in the case of a war involving England, which would complicate Indian finances. Hobby gets drunk to celebrate his good fortune, but wakes up the next day to read a declaration of war in the newspaper.
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|colspan="5"|While tending to his broken-down car, Hobby is mistaken by a wealthy tourist couple for a guide to the homes of movie stars. Hobby takes their money and attempts to visit the homes of some minor celebrities he is acquainted with, but the couple demand to be taken to the home of Shirley Temple. Hobby leads them to an empty house which he claims is Temple's, but as the couple explore the house, Hobby observes his producer, Mr. Marcus (the home's actual owner) arriving. Unable to improvise an excuse, Hobby flees, leaving the couple behind.
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|colspan="5"|While attempting to borrow money from an actor, Hobby accidentally walks in front of the rolling camera and spoils a shot. The leading actress, put off by the commotion, storms off the set. The next day, Hobby is confronted by Mr. Berners who scolds him for the trouble he caused but then informs him that he will be forced to act in the film to explain his appearance in yesterday's shot. On his first day of shooting, Hobby is outfitted with protective armor so that he can be run over by a car. Just before the fateful moment, Hobby loses consciousness and wakes up later that night, alone and still encased in the metal suit. He is informed by a guard that he must have been forgotten in the chaos after the actor driving the car caused an accident and broke his leg. Hobby reflects with pride on the way he fulfilled his role, even unwittingly.
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|colspan="5"|After learning that he might be stripped of his screen credit, Hobby plans to attend the premiere of a film which he co-authored. He meets a beautiful young woman on the studio lot and invites her to attend with him. When he attempts to claim his tickets, Hobby is informed that the premiere is sold out, but is given the tickets left behind by his co-author, Wainwright, who has refused to attend for unknown reasons. When Hobby arrives at the theater with his date, he is refused admittance; the tickets he presents at the door are actually for a burlesque show. Adding insult to injury, Hobby is told that the film is a disaster, and he will be allowed to retain his screen credit after all.
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|colspan="5"|Hobby encounters a series of people at the studio, including a beautiful young actress, a non-working director, an unstable executive, and a callboy with fresh story ideas. In need of an assignment, he puts together a team and tries to sell their idea for a film. After collaborating with Hobby's ex wife on a script, the team pitches their idea to Mr. LeVigne, who rejects them outright, pointing out their crippling inadequacies, including the actress's inability to speak English. The callboy is offered a job writing, and Hobby is given another month of work, though still without an assignment.
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|colspan="5"|Out of habit, Hobby wanders around the studio despite not having a job there. He steals the hat of Mr. Marcus from the commissary check room, since he hasn't enough money to buy one of his own. When he is asked to help think of a title for a film set in a tourist motel, Hobby fears that his own secret job as a night clerk at just such a motel has been discovered. Finally, Hobby drinks the brandy that he finds in an unoccupied office and in his drunken state accidentally supplies a title for the story.
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|colspan="5"|While visiting the studio, a European Princess takes an interest in Hobby and asks that he be loaned to her to pose for a painting. Hobby interprets the request as a sign of romantic interest, but is disappointed when he finds out that the Princess is only interested in making art. His disappointment supplies the perfect mood that the Princess was so drawn to.
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|colspan="5"|Hobby and Phil Macedon, an aging actor, are taken into custody by the police after having a drunken argument on the street. As they wait to be charged, Hobby explains to Sergeant Gaspar that the argument stemmed from Macedon refusing to believe that he and Hobby were acquainted from having worked together in the old days. Gaspar professes to be a fan of Macedon's films, but when Hobby tells a story that embarrasses Macedon it shatters the policeman's illusions about the movies. Hobby is eventually released.
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|colspan="5"|While having his shoes shined, Hobby meets a director who is in the middle of an argument with a young writer. The writer is dismissed, and Hobby is hired as his replacement. While the young writer returns to the East to write a book, Hobby and the director work together for a month, completing the script. Another argument with the original writer causes the director to fire Hobby in his rage. Later, Hobby and the writer cross paths and remark on the hard life forced on writers at the studio.
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|colspan="5"|Hobby's secretary drives around Los Angeles, failing to find a place to dispose of some unknown objects. She calls Hobby to complain about the task, but he cuts her off as he is about to visit a college campus where he hopes to create a stir about the possibility of writing a college-themed film, and perhaps to borrow some money while he's at it. During his meeting with the faculty, Hobby's secretary is brought in by a guard who caught her on the campus with a large sack of emptied liquor bottles; remnants from Hobby's most recent studio assignment. His image compromised, Hobby leaves before his idea for a film can be rejected.
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