01x02 - George Saunders

[bunniefuu]

MAN: Could you please, just

for once, say something?

You're here! At Realton College!

Mediocrity's capital!

I think I inspired myself

to work on my novel.

Well, I love it when you

start your second novel,

it's usually a wonderful

time in our marriage.

It should be painfully

clear to you by now,

your time, sir, it's up!

All right, let's all

be, uh, careful here.

I can't be canceled, I have tenure.

This is Marni Cole from

your father's office.

[♪♪]

[RAPID TYPING]

["I'LL FLY AWAY" BY THE

MIGHTY INDIANA PLAYING]

Some glad morning ♪

[MAN NEARBY LAUGHING]

When this old life is over ♪

[LAUGHING LOUDLY]

Oh, I ♪

[LAUGHING CONTINUES]

[♪♪]

[LAUGHING CONTINUES]

I'll fly away ♪

Listen! ♪

I want to hear ♪

David play the horn ♪

Form, content,

both of these play a part,

but what do you think is more important?

Well, I think form should

follow content, always,

but, you know,

sometimes, form can be

its own kind of content.

Right, right, so interesting.

Now, let me take a moment to

ask a more prosaic question.

How did you each get published?

Well, I slept with his father.

Ah!

[LAUGHTER]

Right there,

the secret to success,

ladies and gentlemen.

A more prosaic question.

How did you each get published?

Well, I slept with his father.

Ah!

[LAUGHTER]

Right there,

the secret to success,

ladies and gentlemen.

That's how you play the game.

I'll fly away ♪

[♪♪]

[♪♪]

[♪♪]

- [HANK] I'm not doing it.

- Of course you are.

- No.

- Hank!

No, I don't see the value of it.

In having a live, onstage conversation

- with George Saunders?

- No.

Booker Prize-winning George Saunders?

British prize. Very pretentious.

Also a finalist for

the National Book Award.

Mm

Named one of the 100 most

influential people by Time magazine.

Time magazine isn't what it used to be.

He had a MacArthur Fellowship.

I have kidney stones, so we're even.

I'm sorry about the kidney stones.

Take your pills. I

have some if you want.

But there are other issues.

With the impending budget cuts,

it's distasteful to be paying this

guy 10 grand, for a one-hour talk.

Ten grand, I wish.

What, 20 grand?

Thirty?

Fifty? For Christ sakes!

This was settled weeks ago.

Why are you bringing this up now?

I'm concerned that I might

accidentally say something

really consistent with my personality,

but inconsistent with

a modern college campus.

- That's valid.

- Yeah.

And I don't want to talk you

into doing anything that

you don't want to do.

He didn't want you either.

But the public at large does.

Wait, what did you just say?

He he wants you to be okay with this

because he's okay with this.

Why wouldn't he be okay with this?

Look, Hank, I spoke

on the phone with him.

When he gets here, you guys chat.

You're old friends, right?

I know that. What did you tell him?

I told him you'd be honored.

I am honored, but I still want out.

- No.

- Why not?

Because there's thousands of posters

plastered all over campus,

and I know that you're

gonna be great at this

because there's not a fiction writer

within 50 miles who's in your league,

and everyone knows

that, and you're our guy.

Get Finny to do it.

Finny will ask a question for 45 minutes

and it won't even be a question.

- Well, who is it?

- What?

The writer within 50 miles of here?

Okay! Get out of here.

[♪♪]

[HANK SIGHS]

[HANK, THINKING]

You get to a certain age

and you lose all faith in experts.

[WINCES]

I know how well I do my job,

and to think others are

working at the same level

that's completely unacceptable

especially doctors.

I'm not denying your symptoms,

but their cause isn't kidney stones.

[HANK] And as a teacher,

I see through guys like this.

I mean, he was right in

the middle of his class

maybe in the bottom third.

[HANK] in excruciating pain.

I'm looking at a B-minus

assessment of my medical problems.

I mean, I'm sweating.

I almost pass out during racquetball.

I think you're ignoring

some obvious facts.

My father had kidney stones.

[DOCTOR] You've mentioned.

And his father did.

[DOCTOR] You don't want kidney stones.

Little monsters with jagged edges

that can tear the lining off your penis.

Jesus.

What did you really need

You know what?

If it's not too much trouble,

I think I want a second opinion.

- What about you?

- She's not a radiologist.

She's not allowed to evaluate results.

It could be due to stress.

That's your go-to, right?

- All doctors say that.

- I rarely say that.

You have the floor.

She's not going to contradict me.

Okay, I guess you've

thought of everything.

[LILY] So you're saying

there's no way that

this could be stress?

It's embarrassing.

[SIGHS]

We started on the same level.

In fact, I think I was better

regarded, for about 10 days.

My book review was on a Wednesday,

and then the sales figures

came in the next Thursday,

so eight days.

Eight days.

Hank, you

you're sharing the stage with him.

Yeah. The last time

I did that, it sucked.

It's an honor.

There's a fine line between honor

and "I wish I never met that dickhead."

[HANK, THINKING]

What is it about writing

that attracts so many dickheads?

I mean, somehow,

the need to tell everyone

about your rich inner life

it's irresistible,

but why would anyone care

about somebody else's rich inner life?

Have a rich outer life for

the rest of us to enjoy.

"The warm wood on her forearms."

[MADISON] Oh!

Oh, yeah, I did use that.

I'm so sorry.

I plagiarized myself.

No, no, no, no, no. No.

Don't pass judgement.

You just

you have to press yourself.

You have to think past

the images that you

already own so that

[ENGINE REVVING]

- That's the way

- [ENGINE REVVING]

Why don't we take three minutes?

- [ENGINE REVVING]

- I swear I don't even remember writing that.

[ENGINE REVVING]

[ENGINE REVVING]

Dickhead.

[SOLANGE] I don't understand

why you don't just talk to him.

[GRACIE] Professor Rourke

is not the kind of man

who responds to reason,

especially not from someone like me.

Hmm.

He's a misogynist, isn't he?

Sometimes, the male brain

isn't developed enough

to understand its cruelty.

He bullies you.

[♪♪]

[CAR HORN HONKS TWICE]

Right here.

[♪♪]

- George.

- Hank.

Hey, man, thanks for inviting me.

Yeah.

My students are so excited,

they've been talking about

nothing else for weeks.

I mean, they can't believe

that I actually know you.

Oh.

Well, my students can't

believe I know you.

[HANK] Your students don't

know who I am, do they?

[GEORGE] A couple do. You

know, I told them about you.

[HANK] Oh, okay.

I gotta introduce you to the

department or they'll k*ll me.

"I am not exactly dressed

for standing on the moon,

which, as I understand

it, is super cold."

That's from my New Yorker

Your victory lap, yeah,

New Yorker, October 2009.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Well, thanks.

Oh

Your editor's wife is

our friend's sister.

Oh. Well.

How's your hotel?

I take it they have you

at the Moderna Center?

[GEORGE] No, it was all full.

There's a field hockey

team staying there.

Big game tonight.

Oh.

Yeah, they have me at The Drake,

which is really lovely.

Although there's a

crane outside my window,

and I had a dream last night

of a talking wrecking ball,

and it said I was going to

be late for the presentation,

that I suck, that

nobody likes me, like

Grace DuBois.

Oh, nice to meet you.

You must leave there at

once. Come stay with me.

- We have a guest room.

- I have a guest house!

- You do not.

- It's above the garage. You've seen it.

It sounds lovely, but I

But there's no lock strong

enough to make you feel secure.

It even has its own fridge

and a hot plate if

you are a tea drinker.

[CHUCKLING]

I'm so sorry.

They have me on a bit of a schedule,

but I hope to see you

all at the talk later.

Yes, yes.

I might make it.

I have stuff to do.

I hope you can come by.

I probably won't be there.

All right, well, I'll

just, I'll walk you out.

Yeah.

"Charming eagles was a family trait.

He didn't know how he did it,

he just looked at them

and thought about them

crashing into a cliff's face.

The white-chested eagle,

commanded by a mysterious

force it didn't understand,

smashed itself."

Interesting.

Should I read more?

[HANK] No, no.

- Go ahead.

- Uh, okay, thanks.

Um, yeah, you're always escalating.

I love that.

That's a very rare thing,

and it seems to come

very naturally to you.

Yeah, yeah, it does.

So we want to enforce escalation,

even on the line level.

If the eagle has a white chest,

we can assume the reader

already knows that, right?

Cut.

And if the force is mysterious,

do we need to say the

eagle didn't understand?

That's implied. Cut.

You know, and a lot of

this is just habitual.

Yeah, he's just saying edit yourself.

Yes, but if you want to be excellent,

you have to reject the habitual.

That is where mediocrity

lives, in the habitual.

That is how you will distinguish

yourself from other writers

and start to sound more like you.

Holy sh*t.

Uh, yeah, I kinda always knew

there was this whole other level,

but just didn't know how to get there

because no one ever really

taught me how to do that before, but

Okay, that's enough.

That's good from you

We do have other

You know, we're almost out of time.

I have plenty of time, actually.

Well, we're running out of time.

Are you sure? I thought

you said we had

Yeah, my watch

I don't know if you

It's earlier than you said it would be.

I'd like a word, Paul.

Paul.

You don't have to say my name

every time you talk to me.

I've spoken to you about

the loudness of your car

There's nothing wrong with my car.

before and nothing has changed.

Or ever will change.

It disrupts my class.

Huh.

Not more than your teaching.

How did you get like this?

What mis-turn did you take?

I am allowed to drive

the car that I want.

I'm allowed to take care of it,

and it likes to be revved.

It's good at it.

What I don't understand

is how anyone has come to think

that they have the right

not to be impacted by others.

How about that wrong turn?

Basic consideration wouldn't k*ll you.

Well, it so happens that

I am an at-risk individual

with regards to basic consideration.

I can't risk it.

"Paul "

"Paul "

[CHUCKLES]

Why'd you say that to George?

Do you think he noticed?

Yeah.

Oh

I don't know why I do this.

It's only people I admire, you know.

Rude stuff just comes out.

Mm.

You want some advice?

From you, no?

Ah! Sorry.

I'm like a freight train

that can't stop with insults.

[♪♪]

Excuse me, is Myrna here?

Myrna.

Professor Du-Boise.

Green Subaru Outback,

RBG bumper sticker.

Green Outback, RBG bumper sticker.

If I remember correctly, Myrna,

you

are a top-shelf tequila gal,

am I right?

Flannery O'Connor said,

"If you live till you're 10 years old,

you'll have enough to

write about for a lifetime."

Do you think that's true?

Uh, I think it's true,

but it would not be a very good story.

[LAUGHING]

Does art have to be so painful?

I mean, do we all have to

end up like "van Goch"

with an ear missing?

Uh, it's van Gogh in this room.

So, Jack Kerouac wrote "On the Road"

on this long, continuous,

teletype scroll.

What sort of paper do you write on?

Uh

I just use a computer.

Well, I guess we have

time for one last question.

Yep.

Yeah, Mr. Saunders,

if there was one piece of advice

that stood out above others

to help us become the writers

that we want to be, what

what would it be?

Well, I'd say trust

that your taste is good.

Have that good taste exert

itself onto your prose.

Then just write every day.

Just write.

Maybe that's my problem.

I've been doing the

once-every-decade method.

[LAUGHING]

No, actually, thank you for that,

'cause that's awesome.

Even great writers get stuck.

That's just part of it.

I hate my first draft,

but I love it because it

leads to my second draft

and my third draft.

It's all part of the process.

Hank?

What keeps you from writing?

Lunch.

We have that lunch

- Oh, right.

- Lunch.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, guys.

You're all amazing.

So exciting.

I think I learned more in that

one hour than I have all year.

It's it's just frustrating, you know?

'Cause, like, now I know

what it's like to sit in a classroom

with a great teacher who's

who's totally engaged,

and, like, really

really trying with me,

and, like, putting in

effort and listening and

and after I've experienced that,

it's like

I don't want to go back

to Devereaux's class.

I don't want to go back without you.

Well, I'm going to

be going back, Lester.

That's not my point.

[SOLANGE] Maybe if you spent

more time on your writing

than fighting with your teachers,

your stories wouldn't suck so bad.

The fact that you don't understand them

just proves their value to me.

I heard your family donated

a building to Notre Dame

and you still didn't get in.

Everyone's heard that story,

Solange, okay? It's boring.

Just like your stories.

Oh, next time, I'll add necrophilia.

"You'll know when true

excellence presents itself

because the mediocre

will be in confederacy

against that person."

I'm paraphrasing the

Confederacy of Dunces

to make a point about excellence,

something I think we

should all be entitled to,

no matter who we are

or where we're from.

Is this a club or something?

I'm just trying to eat my lunch.

This is not a club.

Maybe it is.

You're right, maybe it is.

That was interesting.

It's a public space,

I can be as interesting as I want.

I'm Ellen's roommate, Ava.

Okay, Ellen's roommate, Ava.

And, um, you went to

East Lake Country Day

with my brother, but

he was a year younger.

Brooks Noon?

Uh, yeah, sure, Brooksy, yeah.

- I'm Bartow.

- I know.

So what do we do now?

No, I'm certain it was at Bread Loaf,

and we went into town to

get dinner, and at the bar,

Colum McCann was singing

songs with the locals

I'm sorry, what was that back there?

What?

When you put me on the

spot about not writing.

No

Wait, you brought it up, so I

It just seemed a little hostile.

Hostile?

I mean

Hank, maybe you're

being a little sensitive?

I

I'm fine, just

Jacob Rose told me that you said

that this might be a problem here.

What? No. No, I

no, that's not

I didn't want to impose on you.

I didn't know if you wanted to do it.

I am thrilled to be here.

I haven't seen you in

30 years, and I'm just

I'm really glad you're doing it.

Okay.

I'm I'm excited, too.

This this is going to be fun.

What is this guy up to?

I'm pretty sure it's

short-story writing.

Yeah, well, he's acting really weird.

Oh, no, let's not add salmon

because it's the only thing

that you like at Nora's.

We're eating there tonight?

Tomorrow night. We are.

Because

Because?

Julie and Russell want

to have dinner with us

because, in their words, they have news.

They have news?

- They have news.

- That's code for ?

[SIGHS]

I missed the window.

What window?

The window.

Young dependent grown,

before new dependent arrives.

You know, a distractionless window

in which to write.

Maybe just try the window

between waking and going to work.

And you're happy about this?

Mm.

I'm adjusting to the

idea, with modification.

I looked up how to say "grandma"

in every single language.

Swahili is "Bibi", which is pretty cute.

I mean, I think George just hit a nerve.

Why you don't write?

You ask me why I don't write?

Hey, hey, 'cause I got two jobs, okay?

I'm a teacher and I run that department,

and you know my co-workers

are pains in the ass, right?

Also, I actively raised our

daughter with you, right?

And now I'm going to be a grandfather.

Knowing Julie,

that's going to be a

third full-time job.

She's gonna want me there

You think they're gonna

want you to raise the baby?

I've been waiting for this. Stop it.

You're spinning out of Just stop it.

Stop exaggerating.

- You do write.

- [PHONE RINGING]

You started something a few weeks ago.

Go write that.

Hello. Hi, Mr. Nerhand.

Thank you for getting back to me.

["READY C'MON" BY THE WEEJUNS PLAYING]

[MEG] That table's reserved.

For who?

For guests.

Don't you have an office or something?

Oh, yeah.

My office is not for work.

It's to gather with friends,

where all my cares and responsibilities

can slip away.

[♪♪]

[HANK, THINKING] Why is

it to fun to draw a d*ck?

I mean, am I wrong to

think we all like doing it?

I know I do.

Yeah, you can come,

just don't stuff your

pockets with cheese.

Okay.

[HANK, THINKING] Maybe because

there's no wrong way to do it.

I mean, all dicks are different.

That's how we should

identify each other.

Forget face recognition.

Unlock your phone with your d*ck.

I mean, you've already

got it in your pocket,

so it's right there.

So

when's the last time you saw him?

This morning.

He's obviously very

featured in my dissertation.

He was?

You jerk, you didn't read it.

I skimmed it.

Fair enough, boss.

I only skimmed your novel.

[♪♪]

[SIGHS]

[♪♪]

[♪♪]

[BARTOW] In light of the conflict

that I've been having

with Professor Devereaux,

we want to form the

Excellence Committee.

It's a group of students, like us,

that aim to both celebrate

excellence where we find it,

and discourage everything

that is less than.

Look, there's a process

for starting new clubs

that usually does not

involve me in any way.

I'm sure my assistant, Jill,

could steer you all

in the right direction.

I am the Dean of Faculty.

Right, well, this concerns the faculty,

that's why we chose you.

Some of the faculty are

intentionally resisting being better,

and it's affecting us as students.

We want to create a system

of incentives and deterrents

to hold them accountable.

Bartow

I understand

that it's difficult to move on

from this incident that you

had with Professor Devereaux.

No, it's not, because I am past it.

I'm over it.

It's over.

He's the one who won't apologize to me.

Needing an apology is

really not moving past it.

If we had the Excellence Committee,

I wouldn't need the apology.

I can give you a common room

twice a week for an hour,

I'll buy the pizza,

and you can have access

to the photocopy machine.

Yes!

Hey! What are you doing!

Put her back down!

Put her down!

Hey, you! You! Stop doing that!

Get away from there!

Do you know how many

professors had to die

for me to get this spot?

Four! Four professors!

And two of them suffered!

Here you go.

I was thinking about

the 92nd Street Y thing that we did.

Kinda jogged a memory.

Oh, I loved that night.

That was the first night

that I met your father,

at the reception after.

Yeah, we kept in touch for years.

We wrote letters.

You did?

Yeah. Yeah, it was so

illuminating and stimulating,

and it pushed me.

I don't think I'd be the writer

I am without his influence.

Me neither.

Where's Gracie?

Gracie! Are you here, Gracie?

Or are you too chickenshit to face me?

I'm standing right here, Paul.

You took my parking spot?

[GRACIE] I took nothing.

You should have paid

your parking tickets.

I am a tenured professor of the

English Department of Railton College.

I deserve a parking spot and the freedom

to rev my car's engine

whenever I see fit!

[GRACIE] Are you done, Paul?

[PAUL] Not even close.

You have no right.

You are a cruel,

petty, vindictive woman.

I liked "Tenth of December".

Come on, come on.

[HANK, THINKING] Maybe

all my father's cheating

was an attempt to ej*cul*te

out his kidney stones.

It seems like it's the same tube.

Phew, that was something.

Oh, trust me, that was nothing.

[URINATING]

You know, I do write.

To-do lists, grocery lists.

Important texts.

Yeah, very important.

Meaningful. Moving, even.

I just haven't written a second novel.

[URINATING]

Look, Hank, I

I shouldn't have asked

you that question in class.

That was that was stupid.

Don't worry about it.

No, actually, it's not okay.

You know, I get into this teacher mode,

and I forget that

everyone's not my student,

and I put you on the spot

in front of your class,

and I am sorry.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

Yeah, I mean, it's just writing, right?

It's not like everyone has

to write their whole life.

Harper Lee only wrote one book.

Second one was just a draft.

Man, I hope nobody

publishes my unfinished books

down the road for a quick buck.

Yeah, that would be the worst.

I mean, maybe somebody has

said all they have to say.

Big deal.

Hey, Hank, this has been great.

I really enjoyed hanging out with you.

Yeah.

Hey, I'm looking forward

to tomorrow night.

How is 19th-century poetry

different than 21st-century poetry?

It's difficult to really see

without a side-by-side comparison,

so let's do that.

Let's compare Walt Whitman

to say, oh

Professor DuBois,

our own poet in residence.

On the left is Whitman's

"Song of the Open Road",

and on the right

is Gracie DuBois's

"Follow the Lilac Sheet".

Now, let's start with

the titles themselves.

"Song of the Open Road"

has a mythic quality to it, does it not?

[SAYS MEEKLY] "Follow the Lilac Sheet".

[CLASS LAUGHING]

[SAYS MEEKLY] "Follow the Lilac Sheet".

All right, Whitman, one, DuBois, zero.

Go ahead.

Wonderful! I can see again.

What is that?

Is that a stain on your shirt?

Honestly, Hank

you cannot teach classes

in stained shirts.

It debases our profession.

It's not a stain, Mom.

It's a reminder of a

sauce that I loved once.

Did you see this?

Yeah.

Your father's retirement is big news.

He's done quite well for himself.

You know, without you and I

dragging him down for the past 40 years.

He always did have extreme focus.

Here it is.

My first, and maybe last, book review.

That was a very positive review,

as I recall,

though a tad poorly written.

Too much plot summary for my taste.

They always do that

when they can't form a

clear opinion on their own.

I always wonder if I

got this positive review

because Dad called in a favor.

I find it hard to believe

that a reviewer would

give a positive review

without really meaning it.

Unless they really loved your father.

And that reviewer loved your father.

I mean, really loved him.

So, you're right, can't be discounted.

[HANK] Maybe the second

novel's the charm.

Still working on it.

[MOM] You made family choices, dear.

[♪♪]

Family choices.

Hey, Mom

I think Julie's pregnant.

Really?

- Oh!

- Yeah.

Oh, my goodness.

Oh! Goodness, hold on.

It's not like she's going

to go into labor right now.

You don't have to pack for

the hospital or anything.

Here.

This was given to me by your grandmother

when I was pregnant with you.

It was given to her.

I don't know how long

it's been in the family.

And now it's for Julie.

Why didn't you give it to Lily?

You look

not unhappy.

Yeah, I'm a smidge

up from neutral, so

- Hello!

- [HANK] Oh, hey.

All right, babe.

- Hi, baby.

- Hi.

- Hi.

- Hey.

Everybody good?

- You look radiant.

- Oh, thank you, Dad.

How are you guys doing today?

Did you have a good day?

- Yeah, pretty good.

- Yeah. yeah.

Great!

Okay, okay,

I bet you're wondering

what this is all about,

what the news is.

The thought had crossed our minds.

All right, but first,

Russell has something

he wants to tell you.

Yeah, um, so, as you both know,

our yard has a flat area

before the hill starts.

Yeah.

Yeah, and as you probably remember,

my old roommate installs swimming pools.

I don't I don't remember that,

but go on, go on.

Yeah. Um

Show them the show them the thing.

It's pre-fab. He's got a company.

You don't have to put

any money up front.

It's actually a really

cool business model.

You put five percent down,

you pay the rest over time.

Right? So the pools start at 6,000,

but the one we want is 10.

You can go up to 15,

but we're only doing 10.

Yeah.

So, uh, five percent of 10,000

- $500.

- Yeah!

So who wouldn't want a pool for $500?

Could we just cut to the news?

No, yeah, that's what

we're trying to tell you.

- We're building a pool!

- We're building a pool.

A baby pool?

[JULIE] No, just a regular pool.

[RUSSELL] Um, but we're

not just building a pool.

No, we have a whole business model.

And the business model

will pay for the pool.

Okay, let me just stop you there.

No, listen, Dad, let

me just stop you there,

'cause here's the best part.

There's three groups of people out there

that can't communicate, right?

Swim students,

swim teachers,

and people with pools.

Our app connects those three groups

for a percentage

and we get part of the

whole of that percentage.

Hank, will you, um,

run up to the bar and get me a martini?

And get one for yourself, too.

Oh, I'll have a beer.

Yeah.

- Hey.

- Hey.

Can I get a martini

and another martini

and a sh*t, while I'm waiting?

And I guess, a beer.

All right, just give me a sec

because I am down a bartender.

Oh, yeah? You're hiring?

Yeah.

Can he be an idiot?

Sure.

[SOLANGE] It was horrible!

He humiliated you

in front of the whole class!

That man is an effing monster.

Now, now, Solange.

We have to be tough.

Tougher then they.

We have to have skins like rhinos

and souls like children.

What he does, it's just not important.

But in front of everyone

What is important is the work.

The word.

Okay.

Okay, everyone, let's settle down.

Come on, come on.

How come you always

drag out that old chair?

It doesn't even look ergonomic.

This chair

has a personal history.

It was in my family growing up.

It was part of our

dining-room collection.

Um

my father,

the lieutenant colonel,

he always sat at the head.

Now, no one else

was permitted to sit until

my father entered the room,

and my brothers,

four of them,

they would try to elbow each other out

for the chair next to my father.

But I had a different strategy.

"Sir," I would say,

when he entered the room,

and he would acknowledge me,

"I've written another poem."

And he would say,

"Please recite it for me."

And then, for those moments,

and

well, only those moments,

which would last for

the duration of the poem,

I would have my father's

undivided attention,

and then he would nod,

and he put me in the seat next to him,

which was this chair.

Wow.

That's messed up.

What what do you mean?

Like sh**ting the bird

perched on the end of your r*fle,

but what hunter could resist?

John Barth.

This is so exciting.

I just wish you would

have read him first.

I'm just going to introduce him,

and when he starts yapping,

I'm gonna lean over

and quietly fart in his direction.

You're really wound up right now,

so you going to be able

to hold it together?

I'm fine. Why Why

Why do they have to have

so many pictures of him?

He's sitting right there.

He's wearing the same jacket.

[LILY] That's a slightly

different jacket.

[HANK] It's not slightly different.

It's not slightly different.

Come on, honey.

Don't ever let me sit under

three pictures of myself

in my favorite stupid old coat.

[PLASTIC CUP BREAKS]

Okay. So now, I think you

have to get out of here.

- What? No, I'm the moderator.

- Take that.

I'm going to tell them

that you have GI issues

and I'm going to get Finny to do it.

No! Finny can't do it!

He's going to do a beautiful job.

You're a crazy man right now.

Do you want another

headline in the newspaper?

Okay. All right, get Finny to do it.

Get out of here.

Where's he going?

Just

you just have to trust me.

This is better for everyone.

Where's Finny?

[CROWD CHEERING]

[HANK, THINKING] Ah, field hockey.

It's one of my favorite distractions.

I hope no one confuses my

presence here with school spirit,

which I find pointless.

There's so much wasted effort

that goes into manufactured pep.

For what?

It benefits no one,

except, well, maybe cheerleaders,

who feel, you know,

less alone and stupid.

Hey, your talk over already?

Nah, I just left.

How can a moderator leave?

- Where's Smith?

- Oh, ankle.

She limped off the field.

Yeah.

I don't know why I

love this game so much.

Yeah, I started smiling

when I came over the hill

just at the sound of

the wood on the ball.

It's just the hustle, the

elegance of a perfect pass.

Still, I wish our school had

one other half-decent team.

All our banners are field hockey.

It's a little sad.

What? She tripped her!

Come on! You gotta call that!

Head in the game.

Why'd you leave?

Turns out, George

Saunders is an assh*le.

Oh, that's too bad.

Yeah. He plays with people.

Meaning you?

Well, he messes with

other writers' heads.

It's demeaning.

He demeans people.

Meaning you?

Yeah.

Did you tell him that?

No, I just walked out.

You should've said something.

People love to hear

when they're A-holes.

Oh, good dig!

[♪♪]

You know I was kidding, right?

[♪♪]

It is my honor to welcome you

to tonight's very special event.

I'd like to start with your childhood,

if there's been any abuse or trauma,

that would be great,

and then I'll ask you about your

real relationship with your mother.

What?

"O human race, born to fly upward,

wherefore at a little

wind dost thou so fall?"

Dante.

Yeah, I know.

Enter Prospero, here to conjure a storm.

Funny. You had me there for a minute.

Admit it.

You don't respect me.

You think I'm a hack whose

father got him published.

You didn't even read my book.

What? Of course, I did.

Paula and I both read it on

Block Island with the girls.

We read it and we loved it,

and we sent you a bottle

of wine with a note.

Because I remember shipping

was a pain in the ass.

And I read it again last night.

It's really good.

I mean, it really holds up, Hank.

I mean, that scene by the bus,

where he's trying to tell her

[DEAN ROSE] George Saunders

in conversation with Hank Devereaux, Jr.

[APPLAUSE]

For someone with that kind

of talent to quit writing,

I'm against it.

[APPLAUSE]

[CHEERING]

Um

you, uh

Before you wrote,

you were an engineer, right?

Are you a little drunk?

[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]

Um

can I get a little drunk?

Yeah. Can we make that two, please?

[LAUGHING]

Um

the chronological order

of "Tenth of December",

is that something that

you planned beforehand,

or after you wrote them,

you decided they should

be presented that way,

because I think that

that order really affects

how those stories land.

Yes, and that is a question

that only a great writer could ask.

All right, stop patronizing

me. They're paying for you.

[LAUGHING]

is part of the impact.

Most writers start with

an ending or a beginning

Feeding the story into the

The majority.

[LAUGHING]

["A RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS"

BY KEVIN MORBY PLAYS]

You're getting paid,

but I'm in charge here.

- Yeah, okay.

- All right?

I'm not against e.e. cummings,

but I feel like that's

where it should have been

So it seems ♪

The big letters, gotcha.

The nightmares ♪

[HANK] So I'm glad you're here.

Ladies and gentlemen, George Saunders.

[APPLAUSE]

Lift me up ♪

By my hand ♪

Lift me up if you can ♪

Lift me up, be my friend ♪

Through a random act of kindness ♪

One that's done from blindness ♪

[♪♪]

Sun came up ♪

[♪♪]

Sun came up ♪

[♪♪]

Sun came up ♪

[♪♪]

Sun came up ♪

[♪♪]

Sun came up ♪

[♪♪]

Sun came up ♪

[♪♪]

Sun came up ♪

[♪♪]

Sun came up ♪

- [HANK] I should have known.

- [LILY] Known what?

[HANK] I could have

been as good as Saunders.

It wouldn't have mattered.

[LILY] What wouldn't have mattered?

[HANK] I would never

have gotten my father's

you know

["LE TOURBILLON" BY JEANNE MOREAU PLAYS]

On s'est connus, on s'est reconnus ♪

On s'est perdus de vue ♪

On s'est reperdus de vue ♪

On s'est retrouvés, on s'est séparés ♪

Puis on s'est réchauffés ♪

Chacun pour soi est reparti ♪

Dans le tourbillon de la vie ♪

Je l'ai revue un soir ah-la-la ♪

Elle est retombée dans mes bras ♪

Elle est retombée dans mes bras ♪

- What's wrong with you?

- I was too happy.

I'm trying to bring myself down.

Hey! This isn't my stuff!

Have a nice day.

Your ex-husband abandoned us.

He abandoned you.

Jason!

I'm going to New York to

interview at the Arlyle School.

My friend in history said

there were gonna be cuts.

Can you not be yourself and be

straight with us for one minute?

Do you hate it here?

I take the fifth.

♪