>Toby Maguires creepy gangster man was just weird. Did it add anything to the movie?

It seemed like a direct reference to Alfred Molina in Boogie Nights. You can also see the contrast between the party they go to with Tobey and the party from the beginning of the movie. The party at the beginning seemed fun while the party with Tobey was perverse, showing the progression of Hollywood.

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>Manny asks Sidney to wear charcoal in the most super awkward scene. And god damn the actor (i forget his name) man that shot of him playing with his face covered was ferocious. That man absolutely fucking crushed that scene. But the issue i have is that Chazelle doesn't use the scene to further (anything) Sidney quits in the next scene and he's not seen again till the end.

Think Sidney was used as a contrast to the other characters in show business. The ones who have fewer morals/allow their morals to be compromised usually last the longest, but suffer the harshest endings. Sidney is shown at the end continuing to do the thing he loves while the other characters are either dead or in a completely different industry. I don't think the specific point of the scene was to explore racism within Hollywood. I just think that's the vehicle they used to show Sidney's morals being compromised. I feel like him pretty much disappearing for the rest of the movie was intentional to align with his character no longer being a "star".