In The Deal, featuring an all-star cast including LL Cool J, Elliot Gould and Jason Ritter, Macy plays Charlie Berns, a veteran Hollywood movie producer who has a run of bad luck until opportunity literally knocks on his door. When his idealistic screenwriter nephew comes bearing a fantastic script, Charlie decides to postpone his self-pity to option the script and pitch it to the studios. Soon Charlie is making deals, pulling off one of the biggest hustles in the history of the movie industry. Only Charlie's sharp-witted development executive, Deidre Hearn (Ryan), who is contending with her own problems, catches on to his scam.