Sorry to Bother You
Sorry to Bother You is a 2018 science fiction black comedy film written and directed by Boots Riley, in his directorial debut. It stars LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun, and Armie Hammer. The film follows a young black telemarketer who adopts a white accent to succeed at his job. Swept into a corporate conspiracy, he must choose between profit or joining his activist friends to organize labor. Principal photography began in June 2017 in Oakland, California. Sorry to Bother You premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 6, 2018, by Annapurna Pictures. The film received praise for its cast, concept, and soundtrack, as well as Riley's screenplay and direction.
If you're ever gonna be a Power Caller, you gotta know when to bag 'em and when to tag 'em. Yeah? Hey. Um, what's baggin' and what's taggin'? Bagging is when you drop the call. Like a dead body into a bag, you drop that shit 'cause it crossed the line. Tagging is when you claim that money. It's a sale. Cha-ching! Like when they put the tag on the body at the morgue to identify it. That's mine. Maybe you already bagged that dead body, right? And you're just about to walk away, skip town, lay low for a little while. But instead, you drag that heavy fucker on out into the alley and... then you tag it! Okay. Uh, I... I just... I feel like these metaphors have not been cleared for this pep rally. - Ah, okay. Diana? - Oh! Yes. Uh... hi. I'm new, so forgive me for not knowing everyone's name yet. My name is Diana...
Sorry to Bother You
"No." Okay, but what is capital? Right? I would argue that social currency now is more important, and don't take it from me, take it from the news. Take it from media, all kinds of media: digital, paper, otherwise. Media is changing, so is capital. Get with it. I don't want to scare you, but it's a new world. Okay, Team Members. Let's, uh... thank you very much, and let's all get back to work. Remember! Hit your contacts! Up the ante! Work the grid! And... - Stick to the script. - That's right. Any one of you can turn Power Caller and be rollin' in dough!
Sorry to Bother You
- What, about us getting paid? - Yeah. I mean, I just think it's kind of silly that we have to be all excited. - I know, right? - It's bullshit. Exactly. I mean, you just cut straight to the chase, man. That's awesome. A player gotta mob up with us for some scrill and bennies. Well, what the fuck does that mean?
Sorry to Bother You
- Who are you? - That's Squeeze. - Squeeze. - He works with us at RegalView. Squeeze, Detroit. - Detroit? That's cool. - Yeah. My parents wanted me to have an American name. Nice! And Detroit is a brilliant visual and performance artist... No, my art is not twirling signs. ...who's about to open her first show. Okay, "Mr. Embarrassing Intro Guy." Squeeze, in high school, Cash was... Shit! Stuck... brake.
Sorry to Bother You
Why do you always talk about what I did in high school? I mean, like, look at our high school football team. Literally. Look at 'em. All they do is work at the home furniture store and play football all day. It's, like, they're stuck or something. Man, what the hell you talkin' bout? I mean, they're friends.
Sorry to Bother You