are either older women or gay men. Though detained by Joe in his office, Lucas nonetheless apprehends a belligerent young shoplifter who identifies himself only as "Warren Beatty". He is taken away by police but vows to return seeking revenge. Encouraged by Gina, Corey indulges her schoolgirl crush on Manning by attempting to seduce him, but winds up humiliated and dejected; A.J. then chooses this inopportune time to confess his love to Corey, which she rejects. After Gina and Corey argue, Gina has sex with Manning. When the staff discover this, A.J. attacks Manning, Gina reveals Corey's addiction to amphetamines, Corey hysterically trashes the store, and Joe tells Manning to leave. Deb surprisingly attempts to cheer Corey up, and in return she holds a mock funeral for Deb with the whole staff. The shoplifter "Warren" returns with a gun (ultimately loaded with blanks), and Lucas defuses the situation by revealing that he himself was a troubled youth until he was taken in and saved by Joe. He in turn offers "Warren" a job at the store. After the police leave, Lucas admits defeat, and suggests confessing the truth about the missing money to Mitchell. However, the staff try to replace the missing money but can raise only $3,000. Suddenly inspired, Mark runs in front of the news crew covering the holdup, announcing on live TV a late-night benefit party at the store to "Save the Empire". An impromptu concert on the roof by Gina and Berko, another employee, raises funds so Joe can hand the money raised to Mitchell to buy the store. Corey finally finds a dejected A.J. on the roof fixing the Empire Records sign, and confesses that she loves him too. He decides to attend art school in Boston to be near her while she attends Harvard. They kiss, and the staff ends the long day with a dance party on the roof. Cast Production New Regency got into a bidding war with Warner Bros. over the script. Carol Heikkinen was offered $325,000 up-front and $200,000 if the film was made. Heikkinen was also to receive 1% of any soundtrack royalties and 5% of merchandise sales. Heikkinen based the film on her time working in Tower Records store #166 (Christown Mall) in Phoenix, Arizona. Tower Records went into bankruptcy, and all Tower stores in the U.S. were closed by 2006. Two days after Regency Enterprises executive Michael