Not An Artist (2023)

[bunniefuu]

(birds twitting)

- Dad, can I talk to you?

- Buddy, this thing is

like a Swiss army knife.

Look it, here's

my coffee station.

- - Dad.

- Hot and cold water.

I can't drink it,

but like dishes.

Oh, this'll blow

you away, buddy.

Look at this.

- - Dad.

- Just hang on one second.

This is for hot water.

I can take hot showers, buddy.

- - Some people when they...

- Did you see this heating air

- grow up like we did

- conditioning water heater.

with a single dad, there's a

time when we set boundaries

and we change the way

we relate to each other,

and it's called

divorcing your parents.

- That sounds ridiculous.

- No, it's important to

me because I'm about to go

to this very serious

artist in residency

that is very competitive.

- I know. I know.

- Like, think about...

I think we should

set some rules.

You can't call me

while I'm there.

- What? Why not?

- You can't email me.

You can't send me recipes,

you can't invite me

to a baseball game.

None of that.

- I won't be. I won't.

I'm gonna be camping

miles away from you.

I'm not gonna bother you.

- Dad. Good.

I won't bother you.

- I have a lot to

do, so that is good.

- Good.

- That's it.

- That's it.

- Okay.

I'm divorced from

my daughter, which-

- Shh, just don't talk.

It's done, hug me and

let's go to the airport.

- It's insane. It's insane.

- Okay. Love you.

Okay, let's go.

- Nobody does this, but yes.

- We did it. We did it.

- Okay, Okay.

- Okay.

- [Presenter] At the residency,

you'll find a bright,

refreshing, clean environment

to uncover your full

potential as an artist.

Learn from the Abbot the

ways of true artistry.

- Rise and shine and

open up your minds.

- [Presenter] Come and

realize your full potential

as the artist you

were destined to be.

(bell clanging)

(upbeat quirky music)

- Welcome.

- [Indigo] As

intense as this one.

- [Wesley] Thank you.

- [The Notary] Welcome.

- [Wesley] Much higher

altitude than you would think.

- [Christopher] Yeah, uh um um.

Thank you.

- Welcome, artists.

This is your new uniform.

The only self-expression

here is through your art,

- Thank you.

- not through vanity such

as physical appearance.

The Abbot is very

passionate about this.

If the uniform has become

soiled, please let me know

and I'll replace them

for you immediately.

Thank you, artists. Thank you.

Follow me, grab a pair of shoes

and I'll show you your

cabin assignments.

There are two

studios to a cabin.

You'll find that the Abbot

has outfitted each studio

to fit your individual

creative needs.

Claire, your studio's

to the right.

Alice, your studio's

to the left.

Please respect each

other's creative space.

Incivility will

not be tolerated.

Thank you.

- Hi, I'm Alice.

My project here is to

create an audiobook series

of Y A fantasy

adventure stories.

I feel that to tell

the best story,

I need to get more

personal than I've gotten.

Writer's block, it

really doesn't exist.

It's just a discipline and

we're all here to do it,

and I'm one of those

people to do it.

- I am Wesley. I'm a painter.

I know that I really need

to make my masterpiece.

Look at all this potential.

Van Gogh, he didn't start

painting 'til he was 40

so I think that, you know, I

have seven years on Van Gogh.

- Hi, I'm Kimmy.

I'm a professor and

I am a playwright.

Oh my God!

I'm very grateful because

I finally feel seen

for the first time in my life,

and I can't tell you

how huge that is.

- Greetings, everyone.

I'm Donte.

Quite frankly, to be honest,

everything that I

make is strange.

No one really connects, relates,

or even cares about

what I'm trying to do.

How does that sound?

Sounds good to me.

I know sometimes I

don't believe in myself,

but every day I'm trying

to put my best foot forward

and become a filmmaker.

- Hi, I am Indigo

Mayas Braithwaite.

My mother is Magenta

Mayas Braithwaite.

She's a very famous sculptor.

I am here to step

out of her shadow.

The first time I picked

up the clay I was four,

and then I had my first

exhibit when I was eight.

Of course, that was

a complete failure

so I started residencies

right after that.

(Christopher speaks German)

I am Christopher, I am a poet,

and I currently live in Berlin.

I will be successful.

I will be successful.

I started tweeting just

silly little whimsical poems.

Really little, little

rhymes, but they went viral

and I got a book deal.

So now I find myself

in this gilded cage.

Do I continue making

my silly little poems,

or do I find trauma

to source deep,

meaningful poetry?

- Hello, everyone.

I'm Claire. I'm a painter.

I was accepted to four Ivy

League schools plus Stanford,

but I decided to take a

gap year to explore art,

and see if this is really

what I wanted to do

for the rest of my life.

As we all know,

art is subjective,

but when it comes to the fine

art world, it's also not.

(bottle pops)

- [Artists] Cheers!

(glasses clinking)

- I admire the Abbot for

having a financial incentive.

It shows that he's not afraid

to show the role

of money in art.

- I completely disagree.

I think that money corrupts art.

In fact, the last time I

was at a Christie's auction,

the people applauded the

price and not the Picasso.

- Hey, does anyone happen

to recognize her over there?

Isn't she like

famous or something?

- So help me understand,

you got an MFA in

creative writing, yeah?

- Yes.

- Then what are you doing here?

- An MFA doesn't guarantee

you success in the real world.

- Well, if it doesn't

guarantee success,

then why waste the time and

the money getting a degree?

- I...

- Can we get some more please?

Can we get some more?

I've always said, if I don't

live up to my potential,

if I'm not fulfilling

my artistic goals,

I'll k*ll myself.

What's the point of living

if you're not living up

to your potential as an artist?

- I completely agree.

- Life is precious.

Why would you even

play like that?

- I know it's precious.

That's why you shouldn't

waste resources

or consume people's time and

attention doing something

that doesn't live up

to your true potential.

I know my true

potential as an artist,

and I intend to get there.

If I don't, I'll k*ll myself.

(door creaks)

- You know they say a picture

could paint a thousand words.

I always ask the question,

how many pictures can you

get from a single word?

And that word is artist.

You know, I first dreamed

of becoming an artist

when I was about nine years old.

I would go visit

my mother at work

and she worked over in the

garment district in Manhattan,

and on the way home we would

pass this street painter

who would paint the most

beautiful portraits of people,

and I saw how much

it amazed my mother.

And I said, "Mom, I'm gonna

be a great painter one day."

I thought that maybe I'll

make the next Mona Lisa.

It'll be a portrait of mom.

But then, my mother got sick

and necessity overtook me,

and I put down that

paintbrush, took my a*s

back to the garment district

and figured out how

to make a dollar.

And I became rich, but this

dream of being an artist

kept calling me.

Calling, calling.

I couldn't buy it away,

I couldn't drink it away,

I couldn't f*ck it away.

Check out what I did.

I went down to the south of

France and I bought the villa

that Van Gogh used when

he made his masterpieces.

I owned that sh*t!

And I thought being here

where this great

master once walked,

eating the vegetation

that he ate,

seeing the beautiful

landscapes that inspired him,

I would be inspired.

And I put my canvas up, got

my favorite palette together,

and I couldn't paint

a f*cking apple.

And I went back to

my room that night

and balled the f*ck up

like a wounded animal,

and I cried 'til

four in the morning.

But after that

cry, I felt relief.

I had a realization, an

epiphany, if you will.

And that realization

was, I'm not an artist.

I'm not an artist.

I am not a f*cking artist.

This residency is here to

accelerate the inevitable.

Are we committed

to being an artist?

Or are we just wanna be, gonna

be, who you're gonna be be?

These contracts are binding.

That means you can't break

these m*therf*ckers, all right?

If you open up the first

tab, you'll find what we call

the artist's pledge, and

I will humbly ask you all

to read it together.

- - [Artists] I confess

that despite calling

myself an artist,

I have yet to manifest

my creative potential

in a meaningful way.

In the next 30 days,

I hereby pledge

to complete the creative project

outlined in my application.

Upon successful

completion of my work,

I will receive a grant

of 100,000 US dollars

for my artistic career.

However, should I fail

to complete my work

to my full creative potential,

I vow to never again

call myself an artist.

- This contract is for life.

If you fail, no more art.

- Yeah, I saw the X-ray.

It's healing nicely, the

bone is healing really well.

It's actually quite beautiful,

and maybe in a few

weeks you can get back

to your Karate or TaeKwonDo.

- Karate. Yeah.

- Karate.

- Wait, a few weeks?

That's amazing.

- That toe is very infected,

and I think you neglected

cleaning it, to be honest.

- Out of your whole

medical school career,

how many days would you

say it was toe physiology?

- Toe physiology was never

a class in my medical.

- I need a second opinion.

- I don't know if

you can see this.

- Hold it up to the-

- This right here.

I had never seen that before.

I don't know what type of

bugs are around these days,

or like, I don't

know, I don't know

if some bugs have

venom, or poisonous?

- Sure, sure.

Pretty sure it's not

anything to be worried about,

but keep an eye on it, you know?

And if it gets enlarged, you

can, you know, try me anytime.

- I feel like this is, um..

I feel like you and me connect

on a way that I don't connect

with other people. Um...

- Um...

- Even Andy and Sarah,

my parents or whatever.

- I wouldn't say that.

No, no, I, I wouldn't say that.

And hey, can I say

something, buddy?

- Yeah.

- You're a special kid

and everything's gonna be fine.

All right.

- Thanks, doc.

- I mean it.

- Okay.

- Go spread your wings.

Go step outside the

door, all right?

- All right, man.

Uh..

I love you.

- Take care of yourself.

- Hey there.

Mind if I join you?

- Yeah, come on in.

Actually, I got extra hot

dogs if you're hungry.

- Oh, that'd be great.

Thank you.

- All righty. Yeah.

I'm Charles, nice to meet ya.

- Nice, isn't it?

- Oh.

It's just a total reset for me.

- Oh yeah?

- Recently my daughter

kinda jumped into a project.

She's at this artist

in residency thing,

and my practice back in

Portland, I'm a doctor,

kind of has gone south so I've

all of a sudden been freed up

to just do telemedicine

for my regular patients,

which has been a blessing

because I have an itinerary

to see 15 national parks

in the next two months.

- I only visit this one.

This is the only park I come to.

I come every weekend.

- Wow.

- It's crucial.

- Sure. Sure.

- You know,

if I'm not up here

unwinding, I'm gonna unravel.

All right, listen, I'm

just gonna tell you.

You're really loud.

I can hear every word you're

saying on those calls.

- I'm so sorry. Yeah.

Believe me, I must have

had a window or something

and I didn't realize

I was being that loud.

Maybe the echoes of this valley

make it a little more

amplified, you know?

- Sure, that's what it is.

f*cking unbelievable.

Really, that's really something.

You're gonna blame it on nature?

Nature, she's got this

delicate balance, right?

Apologize to the blue scrub jay.

She's fritting from one branch

to the next looking for food,

bring it back to her babies.

Next thing she knows,

she gets distracted.

She's on the wrong branch.

She gets turned around,

abandons those babies.

Apologize to those tiny

skeletons up in the tree.

Apologize to the black bear

and the North American

gray squirrel.

I got a shotgun in

the trunk of my car.

Every weekend when

I come up here,

I think I'm gonna stick

that shotgun in my mouth.

I'm gonna pull that

trigger with my little toe.

You know what?

Maybe this week

I'll use it on you.

Your hotdog's done.

See you around, Chuck.

(door knocking)

(door thumping)

- - [Charles] Yeah.

- Hi.

- Is there a problem?

- There is, yeah.

If you don't mind just

stepping outta the RV,

that'd be great.

- Okay.

- And bring your parks pass.

- My parks pass. Why?

- You know, we don't need

to escalate the situation.

Just bring it.

- Well, I'm not escalating,

I was just asking.

- Okay, just go get it.

Okay, so this is so

hard for me to do,

but we've been getting

some complaints about you.

- We're good, we've

cleared it up.

I was a little loud because

I was doing telemedicine,

but I know to keep

the volume down,

but there's no problem.

- Well, the big problem

is you doing telemedicine.

You are not allowed

to conduct business

out of your RV on federal land.

You need to get permission,

you have to fill out all

these papers, everything.

- I didn't know that.

I really didn't

know that, officer.

I swear I won't do it anymore.

I didn't know that.

- I'm sorry, I'm gonna

have to revoke your pass.

- You can't let me...

I have nowhere to go.

- I'm sorry about that, but

you need to figure it out.

Go home.

- I don't have a home.

I rented out my

place in Portland

because I don't have

my practice there,

and my brother, his wife

is not a fan of mine.

I can't go there.

My daughter divorced me.

- I'm sorry, what?

- My daughter divorced me.

- What is that?

- It's a hard boundary

she's setting.

She's going down to

this artist residency.

She's an amazing writer.

It's a very big break for her,

but in this moment she

decided that we're too close,

or I'm cramping her style,

or I can't email her,

I can't voice message

her, I can't text her,

I can't send her a

video that I find funny.

- Okay.

- It's like,

who does that to their dad?

- I mean, I feel

a lot of kids do.

Look, I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry you're going

through all of this,

but I have to do my job,

and my job is to take

this away from you

and make sure that you are

out of here by tonight.

- Tonight?

- Yeah.

Look, I'm sorry you have to go.

- Okay.

- Go!

- Okay. Okay!

Okay, okay, okay!

- Get outta here! Please!

Get the f*ck out!

Oh sh*t...

- The top rolls up.

Those stay flat

against the f*cking RV.

- It won't go flat.

- They do go flat.

- Make an L, make an L shape.

Clickitty clickitty.

There you go you f*cking idiot!

- Yeah. See.

- "Isabella's

Education" chapter one.

Isabella was a normal girl

who lived in a normal house

with her normal dad.

Every day they made

breakfast together,

they also made lunch

at the same time

at the lunch station.

This was a routine

that they had together

ever since her mom

moved away somewhere

and hadn't come back yet.

So that's where this

story begins, and um...

Stupid.

I mean, this is stupid.

Okay, every day they

made breakfast together.

This was a routine they had done

ever since her

mom became a worm,

which happens sometimes

in this world.

Don't touch that sh*t.

Still recording.

So yeah, there's this girl,

you could call

her Izzy or Bella.

Her name's Isabella, but

she doesn't honestly care

if you call her one of

those names or the other,

and then her dad,

he is just this...

"Isabella's Education",

chapter one.

Isabella's a normal girl

who lived in a normal

house with a normal dad.

Every morning, they

would make breakfast

together in their little nook.

Uh!

I am a writer and

this is my story.

Uh!

I can't do this.

I can't.

(gentle quirky music)

(whimpering).

- I knew it.

(Alice crying)

(door knocks)

- Hello.

- I'm so sorry to intrude,

but can I ask you a question?

It's you, right?

Fan Fic Chick with OnlyFans.

- No.

- This isn't you?

I'm not trying to be

a creep or anything.

I hate to be this

guy, but this is you.

You're Fan Fic Chick.

- Listen, listen,

listen, listen, listen.

- I really just

love your writing.

The way you take

these characters

- Thank you

- and you put them

in these roles.

- Thank you, thank

you, but I need you

to keep that to yourself, okay?

- No, honestly, I'm

just, just a fan.

It's nothing creepy or anything.

I'm not like a stalker.

- I understand that,

but I came here

to be someone

completely different.

That person, that person in

there is completely unoriginal

and is using other

people's work,

and I came here to

make my own work.

I came here to look at

what's inside me, okay?

And it would really,

really help me

if you would just leave

Fan Fic Chick out of this.

- All right, I

understand, and I'm sorry.

I'm genuinely sorry for

making you feel bad.

- It's okay. Goodnight, Donte.

- Why, why, why?

- So you have an OnlyFans.

You feel like that makes you

more of a creative or less?

cause I can really see

it going either way.

- Did you just hear

everything that I said?

Could you hear

everything in here?

- I heard you

screaming in your room.

I think I heard you kicking

the walls, heard you crying,

and then I heard most of

what happened outside.

You're a very loud person,

but I think that's amazing.

I really like that.

Do you think I could um...,

do you think I could

see one of your videos?

- Oh.

- You don't have to show me.

- I mean, they're

on the internet.

So um...

- What's your username?

- Fan Fic Chick, and

my most popular stuff

usually it goes cross

franchise or cross genre.

Like, I'll take

Marissa from "The O.C."

and make her have a threesome

with Legolas and Aragorn

from "Lord Of The Rings",

- Right.

- and my really popular stuff

is this gender fluid

Harry Potter stuff

that actually JK

Rowling tweeted about

cause she was so mad,

and that's really

what made me so popular. So...

- It's this one?

- That's the Harry

Potter one. So.

Embers still glowed

in the Gryffindor

common room fireplace.

Candle wax dripped as Harry

said, "I love you, Ron."

Huffing between thrusts,

his strong chest

gliding effortlessly up

and down Ron's sweaty back.

The ears are actually the

thing that I always wear.

That's how people no

it's me, Fan Fic Chick.

Hermione said with

a devilish grin,

you really ought

to be more careful.

Hermione allowed.

I think that's enough.

- No, no, no. I

wanna see the end.

- Revealing a stiff

c*ck bursting from

her lace underwear.

Hoping I could join

you as I really am.

- You painted a

stunning picture there.

Where do you draw

inspiration from?

- Oh, I just I read my books,

and then just think about

like least likely couples,

most likely couples,

grotesque sh*t

cause people love that stuff.

- Have you done

anything like this?

Like, have you pegged

someone before?

- Oh no, no, no,

no, no, no, no, no,

just only in story form.

Not..hm..hm...

- You're reacting like

it's a crazy thought.

I mean, obviously you've

thought about these things.

- Well, I imagine them,

but just because

they're in your brain

doesn't mean they belong.

I'm not close-minded, I just...

Have you done any of the things?

You're very confident.

- Thank you.

I like to try everything once

just to see if I like it.

- That's smart.

- I would like to try

something for the first time.

Is that okay with you?

- Okay.

- Can I kiss you?

- Okay.

(horn honking)

- Dude.

- Hey, brother.

- How are you?

- How are you, Dominic?

Yeah, great to see you.

- Great to see you.

- Yeah.

- Hey, we was just talking

over with Donna about like,

how long you can park in

our driveway, you know?

And we were thinking one night.

- One night?

- Just for, you know, uh, this

is the kind of neighborhood,

and anyone wanna know like.

- No worries, I'll take it.

One night's good.

- Awesome.

- I'll figure it out.

Do you want a drink?

- I would love a drink.

- It's no fun drinking

alone. Not really

You should borrow this thing.

Take the kids out to

Yosemite or Yellowstone.

- If I borrowed this, I

wouldn't let the kids near it.

- You gotta like,

relish what you have.

This is the golden times.

- They worship you right now.

- I know. I know.

We get those moments, you know,

and then there's the rest of it,

and there's an hour

a day making lunches.

- So what?

- So what?

I can't f*cking take it anymore.

- Alice, not a crust fan.

- No?

- No.

You know what?

- Not many kids are.

I don't know what it is.

- Yeah, she grew

out of it though

cause she'll eat crust now.

You're gonna miss that

when your kids eat crust.

You'll be like, I wish

they didn't eat crust.

- [Dominic] Oh oh..

- [Charles] Too hard.

No, no, hey, hey, hey,

hey, Dom, Dom, come on.

- Hey.

- What?

- What's that chick you

were going on and on about?

The one you really...

- Beth.

- Beth.

- I ghosted her, man.

- I didn't know adults ghosted.

- This whole lawsuit

was exploding

and the partners

were on my back,

and I just I didn't want anybody

around Portland for a while.

I don't know.

- You should just go.

- Just show up?

- Just show up.

Sometimes it's just showing up.

- Dom is down.

- I'm always down.

- Baby brother.

(bell clanging)

- Good morning,

beautiful people.

Is time your friend

or your enemy?

- Dom?

- Can I get a little room here?

I just need some

space for my process.

- What's your process?

- Oh, it's called power poses.

I've heard about

it in a TED Talk.

- Yeah, I saw that one.

- I look at you guys

and you're just at the

start of your life.

You get to follow the dream.

Oh my goodness, I would

k*ll to be you right now.

I did everything that

was expected of me.

I went to school,

got a straight As,

got into the college that my

parents wished they could have

just like the typical child

of immigrants, you know?

- Where did you go to college?

- I went Ivy adjacent.

- I stand here centered, and

then I go into pose number one.

I take a deep breath in and out,

and I feel real confidence.

- Real confidence?

- Yes.

- Come on Charles, just show up.

You can do this.

You're charming, she likes you.

She'll forgive you.

- Going into pose two.

- My roommate in undergrad,

we both were playwrights.

She wasn't even that good.

I mean, I was better than her,

but she went the

playwriting route.

She suffered, she had

breakdowns, she starved.

She attempted suicide.

- Why would you want that?

- She collected so many stories.

You do not want to

live the safe life.

You wanna go out and

just embrace suffering.

- I don't wanna suffer.

- You have got to suffer.

You've got to

suffer for your art.

You're so lucky you

have your whole life

to suffer and drink it up.

- Ha-ha-ha, slow it

down, slow it down.

That's good.

(door knocking)

It's been a while.

Is it a month? No, no.

Hey!

- Charlie.

- Hi

- You guys, I'll be right back.

- Hey, I was down in So Ca.

Man, you look great.

You look great.

- I'm going to work.

- Oh yeah?

- Yeah.

- How's practice? Good?

- Yeah, everything's good.

- Yeah?

Those are beautiful.

- Thanks

- God. You look good.

I...

- What do you want?

- I just wanted to say I'm sorry

for not emailing or calling

for the last few weeks.

- Yeah, that was really weird.

- I know, and Beth, I

didn't forget about you.

I was just swamped and

there was some ridiculous

peanut allergy lawsuit

that candy was processed

in a facility that had,

you know, had peanuts.

- Why are you here, Charlie?

- I guess to see if

you wanna hang out,

maybe... do something.

- Uh...

Thank you.

I don't want these.

An RV is perfect for you.

You can drive around

from town to town,

from person to person, and

never be accountable to anyone.

- Listen, would it be okay

just to hang here for a night?

I just wanna run the engine

and charge it up.

- What?

You wanna park your RV in

my driveway to charge it?

- I'm not talking about

using anything in the house.

I won't talk to anyone.

I just wanna-

- No.

- Oh my God, you idiot. (groans)

(bell clanging)

- All of you beautiful

people are here

to fulfill your potential,

and everyone has potential.

That's a fact.

Potential is a form of energy.

It flows in currents.

You know what else

flows in currents?

Money.

That's why they

call it currency.

Money is pure potential energy.

It moves sh*t.

Look, I'm prepared to

write a check for $10,000

to anyone who wants

to quit right now.

Seriously, I have a bell

out there in my front yard.

If you go out and ring the bell,

my notary will write the check.

If you think $10,000 represents

more potential than your

future as an artist,

ring the bell.

I mean, it's no shame.

It's actually the

smart thing to do.

Accelerate the inevitable.

Ring the bell.

(bell clanging)

- I hereby declare that

from this day forth,

I no longer call

myself an artist.

I free myself from the burden

of my unfulfilled potential.

Should I endeavor

to display, perform,

or publish works of

art for any reason,

I understand that I will be

held liable in civil court.

I make this declaration

freely without reservation.

- Now go.

You know, I once trained

with this Olympic athlete

who taught me about

this rule of thirds.

This rule of thirds

can be applied to

anyone chasing a dream

or trying to create art.

And it goes like this.

One third at a time,

it's gonna be all good,

one third so-so, and

one third hard as f*ck.

Are you willing to embrace

the hard, enjoy the good,

and persevere through the so-so?

$25,000 now for whoever

rings this bell.

- Excuse me, Abbot.

So, is this number going

to continue to increase?

Is that part of the game here?

- There's no game here.

We're here to find your

fullest potential, not mines.

My checkbook is unlimited.

- Respectfully, but if

the number keeps going up,

what's to stop someone

who has no intention of

completing the residency,

just waiting out the

highest number possible,

and then quitting.

- Oh, that's a good

question, Wesley.

Did you dig deep for that one?

My residency, my rules.

The 25,000 is there now,

but it might go away.

Back to work.

- Claire.

- How can I help you?

- So you're leaving?

- Yeah.

- That's cool.

- This place, it

reeks of desperation.

I cannot be here anymore.

- I thought if you just,

I thought if you stayed

we could just like make it fun,

and I just wanted to

say it was really cool

hanging out with you,

and I wish things could

have been even cooler.

- Things will be cooler for

you Alice, but I need to go.

- I thought we were

special friends.

- Oh, Alice.

We're camp friends.

Goodbye.

(engine cranks)

- f*ck!

(horn beeping)

Dad?

- Alice!

- f*ck!

f*ck... Stop

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

- Are you okay?

- What the f*ck

are you doing here?

-- Oh my God.

It's been a logistical-

- - What the f*ck

are you doing here?

- Are you okay?

- Are you okay?

You have to leave.

You can't be here.

- Okay, I'm sorry.

- You are not allowed here.

We can't have anybody here.

- OK. I didn't

know that, Allison.

Uncle Dominic said

he didn't have room

for this junk in his driveway.

- What?

- And Beth was super...

I don't understand.

- Dad! Are you okay?

Because if you are okay,

then you need to leave.

And if you are not okay, then

you need to tell me right now.

So are you okay, or

are you not okay?

- If I had to choose, I

would be obligated to select

the not okay option.

I'm not okay, Alice.

I'm not okay.

- Alice?

- Hey. Dr. Marigold.

I'm her dad.

This place is amazing.

- You know that no

guests are allowed here.

- I know, no guests

allowed here.

This residency is the most

important thing to me,

and I am here, I am completely

here and so is he now.

And now that he's here, I

can't unsee that he's here,

and I can't look at his

face without feeling

like I need to help him.

- Would you like

for him to stay?

- I can't in good

conscience ask him to leave.

- Show him to the

east parking area.

- [The Notary] Yes, Abbot.

(gentle quirky music)

- Hey, Wesley.

Sorry. I'm interrupting.

- No, it's okay.

Gotta go with it.

- Yeah, um, I forgot

my stylus tool.

The Notary said you might

have nails here or something.

- Oh yeah, there's

probably nails around here.

Sorry, I just.

- No, that's okay.

I really like this by the way.

- Thanks.

I think we're getting to

a place with this series

where it's finally gonna, you

know, rise above mediocrity.

- Trying to be great, you know,

never really leads to

greatness, does it?

- Yeah, well, I mean, you

gotta leg up on everybody.

I mean, it runs in your veins.

I was just gonna say

I think my parents

would be pretty tickled

we were talking to each other

cause they own like, three

of your mom's pieces.

- I'm gonna change the subject

because it's like a

really personal thing.

- Oh, totally.

- But I don't know you

well enough to...

exp...

It doesn't matter.

- Family sh*t is intense.

- It's intense.

- Yeah, look, I know

what that's like.

You know, I don't know if

you've heard of my family,

but, you know, the Pools were

kind of big in real estate.

So every time I just

try and get people

to look at my painting

for what it is,

they're like, oh, it's

one of the top, you know,

real estate families

in San Diego.

Rich with a B.

It's embarrassing.

- It's difficult.

- Yeah.

- Thank you.

- Have a seat.

Some tea for you.

This is my own special blend.

(Charles coughs)

Yeah, it's hot, and about

36 different herbs in there.

(Charles coughing)

It's good, huh?

- Strong.

- So, Dr. Charles, let me

ask you, why are you here?

- I guess I had

nowhere else to go.

- And you decided

you'll come here,

park your RV on my property,

and just live off the land.

That's your plan, doctor?

- No, the Abbot.

No, I did not have a

plan unfortunately.

I didn't realize that

this place was so serious.

To me, art felt

like a playground

where people were running around

and having paint

fights or something.

I didn't get how severely strict

and heavy handed it could be.

Alice mentioned you

actually sue people.

Like, you go after people.

- Yeah, I do.

There was a finger

painter who came here

and he quit before

the program was over,

and he went and

became a dentist.

Three kids, wife, happy,

and then one summer

he decided to throw a small

art showing in his community.

And I sued that m*therf*cker.

- Yeah, but how much

did you sue him for?

- Half a mil.

That m*therf*cker still

paying now, you understand?

- Wow.

- Because listen, listen,

it's not the money, doc.

It's the principle.

Principle is the most

important thing in life.

You know, the principle of life,

the principle of the

sun, moon, and stars,

and my favorite principle

of all is honesty.

You understand that

principle, doctor?

- I do.

I mean, I understand the

concept of honesty pretty well.

- Well, lemme ask you a question

and gimme an honest answer.

- Okay.

- Why the f*ck are

you really here?

- Well, um...

the truth is,

I don't know who I am

when I'm not being a doctor,

and I lost my practice,

and I don't know who I am

when I'm not being a dad,

and so I showed up here

cause I knew she

wouldn't push me away.

- That was honest.

For now, let's enjoy

some tea together.

- So I can stay here with my RV?

- Well, to be completely

honest with you, doctor,

Alice is not allowed to

have guests, but I am,

and I'll invite you

to stay as my guest.

- All right, thank

you, thank you so much.

- Please.

- Oh my gosh.

- Have some tea.

- I've had a lot.

- Drink the tea.

This is Dr. Marigold.

- Hey.

- He'll be joining us.

He's a personal guest of mine.

- Can I sit anywhere?

By my daughter?

Oh, oh yeah, I'm her father.

This is my daughter Alice.

I guess that was worth noting.

Sorry.

(Artists chuckle)

So where's everybody from?

- It's a silent meal.

- What?

- It's a silent meal.

We eat in silence.

We don't talk.

- Okay.

(upbeat percussive music)

- f*ck yeah.

- One time, Isabella's dad.

- Are you getting a read?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Your heart rate's going down.

- What's the problem, Alice?

- Wake the f*ck up!

Time is passing.

- It's not that hard.

- Stop procrastinating.

Is time your friend,

or your enemy?

- Why can't I do this?

(bell clangs)

- Something bad happened, doc.

- Oh no.

If you see right here,

like, I don't know

if it was like a fire ant

or something or a wasp,

but like, it does

not feel good, sir.

I'm hurting right now.

- Okay. All right.

I'll tell you what,

get some Benadryl.

Do you have some Benadryl?

You can put your foot down.

- I don't know if

I have any of that.

- Okay, well then

go to the store

or have Sarah or Andy.

- All right, all right.

- Dad!

- Yeah, we're just gonna

have to reschedule, okay.

What's up?

- I've been having...

I think there is a big

way that you can help me.

- Okay, what do you need?

- I'm having trouble

creating my deliverable,

which is a story that I

proposed in this proposal.

So the story is about a

girl who is discovering

that she has these

magical powers

and she grew up.

- Oh, that's good.

- Yes, she's like the

hero of the story.

Like, it's very inspiring.

This is gonna be for

young, young audiences,

and she lost her

mom just like me,

and she grew up with

just her dad and her.

- Okay.

- So in order to win the

hundred thousand dollars,

I need to write from

a place of truth.

And for me, that

story includes mom.

Honestly, I've been I

wonder things about her.

Like, I don't know

much about her,

and I figure, you

know, I'm not asking

for the really big things.

Just like, okay, if you ever

had an experience by the ocean.

- But why do you have to fixate

on maybe the most painful

part of our family?

Like, isn't art

supposed to be fun?

Can't you find something else

in the world to write about?

- It's fiction. She's ...

There are dragons in this story.

- Then write about,

follow a dragon.

- No one's gonna know

that it's about you.

It's fiction.

- Then if it's not even

you or Camilla, then why

do you need any detail?

- I just have to

start from somewhere.

- I don't wanna

revisit it, I don't.

- Then don't read the book.

Then don't read.

- - And if you were a parent

and you lost your spouse,

you wouldn't wanna

revisit it either.

You wouldn't, even for your

kids' stories you wouldn't.

And honestly, we have

a very functional,

healthy relationship because

we don't go into the past.

- Oh, wow, wow! Really?

- Yeah.

- No, that's not right.

- Boo-hoo poor, pitiful me.

Guess what?

The bills don't get paid.

- That's...

- - You don't go to soccer

practice, we don't eat.

That's what life is.

You don't linger in the past.

You try to move forward.

- You're just carrying it all

on your back like a backpack.

I'm trying to put it out there!

- I let it go, you're

holding onto it.

- Oh my God.

- Alice, Alice, come on.

Alice, Alice.

- No, no! No.

- A lot of my friends who

have, you know, daughters

say that the father-daughter

relationship is really fraught

so I feel for you.

It's hard to parent.

- It is single

parent, even harder.

- Yeah, that's something I've

not gotten to experience,

but I would've k*lled to.

It looks like you are

doing a great job.

- Thank you.

I don't know that that's

true, but I'll take it.

- It is true.

I mean, what kid

wouldn't love their dad

to be there for them

the way you are?

I can't tell you how

badly I wanted my ex

to be the kind of

man that wanted a kid

and that wanted to be with him.

- Can I ask you a

question, Kimmy?

- Of course. Ask away.

- As a woman.

- Yes.

- Single.

- Yes, I am.

- I'm sort of in

this relationship

with a woman named Beth.

We're dating and then I blew it.

I can't stop thinking about her,

and I was just

wondering, as a woman,

is there anything I could

do to sort of warm her heart

or to win her back, or at

least get her to understand

I'm seriously

working on who I am

and I'm seriously interested

in us working out?

- Okay, well, let's role play.

This is what I do

with my students.

- Oh.

- Yeah.

- Oh, I didn't know

you were a teacher.

- Oh yeah, so you will be Beth.

I'm gonna be you.

- Good luck.

Good luck being me.

- And I am going to respond

in the way I think

you should respond

in order to win her back.

- I appreciate this.

- Okay, let's try.

Knock, knock, knock.

Beth.

- Charles.

- Beth, I know what

you're going to say,

but I've been giving

it a lot of thought,

and I behaved very badly,

and I am...

I am so lonely

and barren without you.

And in this moment right

now, looking into your eyes,

I can see that you

are the partner

I have longed for my whole life,

and I am not going

to miss this chance.

I'm not going to leave here

wondering what could have been,

what would've been.

I am going to take a chance,

and I want you to take

that chance with me.

- Yes, Charles. Yes.

- love you, Beth.

- I love you.

I'm Beth and you're Charles.

- Oh yeah, of course.

- I didn't wanna

put anything out.

- Oh, no, no, no.

- This was really helpful.

- Okay, good. All right.

- Thank you Kimmy.

- Sure.

- Yeah.

- Okay. Bye.

- I thought I'll take

a moment to, you know,

check your temperature,

see how you're doing.

- I guess my

internal conversation

is that writing is

an isolating pursuit,

and that's what making art is.

It's a lonely, solitary project

and you have to

still do it, right?

Isn't that right, Mr. Abbot?

- I mean, this whole

time I've been trying

to separate myself from my

mother and my mother's gaze.

Not the friends she hangs

out with, but her viewpoint.

At first I thought that

was what I needed to do,

but now I'm sort of thinking

like art's a conversation

so is that not a valid reaction?

(Indigo screaming)

(objects clattering)

- Am I behind in my journey?

Is there...

It's not a race, right?

- I mean, you're just,

you're gonna be so impressed

with what I've come up with.

At this point, it's really more

about editing than anything.

Wahhh!

- I think that I'm

giving my best effort.

I'm not even halfway done,

but I'm trying my

hardest, Abbot.

- I know that someday

this is just gonna be

considered my early work.

It's okay to do my

"Rubber Soul" right now

so that I can make "Revolver."

This is a small sample of a

larger work that I'm working on,

and I need somebody

to just look at this

and tell me what

it does for them.

- I'm an unqualified eye.

I mean, honestly.

I don't know.

- That's good for me.

No, all I ever have

is qualified eyes

and people trying to make

me happy with their opinion.

I'm looking for

the pure experience

when someone looks

at a painting,

and I think you can

give that to me.

- Okay.

- Great.

- Okay.

I'm at a gallery and I

see this on the wall.

Well see, I like the turtle.

That to me makes sense.

That's an animal I care about.

The sort of washed out red

and sort of lazy bleeding

of everything into one another.

It has a sort of chaotic

indifference, which I find sad.

I would walk past this painting.

Some paintings are

curious enough for me

to go deeper and

go, what's that?

Or how does that relate to this?

This doesn't have that quality.

But again, I don't

know anything about art

so I'm not a qualified observer.

Are you okay?

- Yeah.

- Are you?

Look, but also, you know, I

would get a second opinion,

especially someone

who's qualified.

- No, thank you, thank you.

- Are you okay?

You... what?

sh*t.

- You.

It's you.

And this is yours.

- Thank you.

- You can thank me by

keeping this in your family

until the end of time.

This is so that in a way,

I can be part of your family

forever, but just in intention

cause the enlightenment

that we've had here,

none of us that have

been here on this day

at this time should ever

forget what we felt,

and I just feel calm.

I feel like time

has slowed down.

- I want that feeling.

- You can get it. Yeah.

I've done stuff

like this before.

Like, I've gone long

periods without talking,

I've done the fasting

thing and everything,

but it just took this moment

where I wasn't expecting it

to just jump up and bite me,

and now I can just, I can see

it all so f*cking clearly.

I have spent so

much money and time

chasing this feeling in my life.

You know, I went to Tibet.

I've met the Dalai Lama,

I met the Dalai Lama

and this was better

than that. (laughing)

I've followed gurus

and enlightened people,

and, you know, no one in my

life had ever told me the truth.

That's never happened

for me in my life.

Nobody could ever tell me

the truth until your dad.

- My dad?

- Your dad.

- What the f*ck

did he say to you?

- Listen, I know that you may

not be in a position right now

to recognize your

father's brilliance.

Accept this painting as an

heirloom for your people,

and let me go do what

needs to be done.

- No.

No.

f*ck.... f*ck.

(gentle quirky music)

Indigo.

Anyone of these canvasses

could have been the "Mona

Lisa," or "Guernica",

or "Starry Night", and

now they can't be that,

and that's okay.

- Yeah.

Why is it okay though?

- I think it's so exhausting

trying to live up to

some abstract goal.

- I know.

- I really thought that I

would have no reason to live

if I couldn't make this work,

if I couldn't create

something worthwhile,

but it's just not true.

I have so many things

to be grateful for,

and this has made me so unhappy,

- So unhappy.

- So, so terrible.

- I'm so unhappy.

(both laughing)

- [Indigo] My God.

- It's awful.

- It really is.

- But, you know,

I... I... I don't need

approval or attention.

I just, I really just

wanna try and be happy.

- What are we gonna

do with our hands?

(bell clanging)

(Indigo and Wesley laughing)

- [Indigo And Wesley]

I hereby declare

that from this day forth,

I no longer call

myself an artist.

I free myself from the burden

of my unfulfilled potential.

Should I endeavor

to display, perform,

publish works of

art for any reason,

I understand that I will be

held liable in civil court.

I make this declaration

freely without reservation.

- All right.

- Okay.

- Oh, no, no, no, no.

- No, thank you.

(Indigo and Wesley laughing)

- Hey, listen, who would've

thought an hour ago

that us three...

Hi, Christopher.

- Pardon me.

- How are you?

- I'm okay. Do you mind?

- Oh, of course

not. Have a seat.

- Thank you.

Well, I wanted to seek you

out specifically actually.

You know, as a professor,

I think you could give

me some good feedback.

- Okay, but here's the thing.

I'm not a professor

here, I'm an artist.

- Oh.

- But I'm here for you

as a fellow artist.

- Right.

- Let's hear what

you've written so far

and we can go from there.

- Okay. This is untitled.

- Oh, okay.

- I know you watch me sleep,

see how I turn in the night,

view how I dress in the morn,

feel when I turn out my light.

Oh, goldfish, I've

never touched you,

but I wanna hug you so tight.

- Okay.

- Hm...

- That's, no, what I thought

was lovely about the poem

is that I can feel

a sense of sorrow,

a sense of loneliness,

a sense of loss,

and that is quite touching.

It's, it's...

No?

- No, this is comedy.

This is not art.

- A lot of comedians actually

come from a very dark place.

- Oh God, I do not

wanna be a comedian.

- Oh, okay, so what do you want?

- I want to hear

some of your stories.

I feel like you have trauma,

and you look like you've

lived a really hard life.

- I look like I've

lived a hard life?

- Yeah, I mean, you're

old, you're a woman,

you're Asian.

I mean...

- And first of all, before we

go any further, I'm not old.

I'm older than you.

- Right. Of course.

- And being Asian is not

traumatizing like it must be

to be a Black man in America.

- Oh.

- Who's not like

everyone else. Not...

- Right.

- I mean, it's not

really accepted

the lifestyle you may

want to live, right?

- Yes.

They don't want me

to be an artist.

- Right.

- They don't want

me to be a poet.

They wanted me to go

to business school.

- Right, and anything else?

- Pretty much just that.

So if you'll just

indulge me, professor,

imagine I'm in your class.

I'm a student, I'm stuck.

I'm asking you to do your job

and give me trauma

to write about.

- If you were in my class,

I would've told you to

access your own trauma.

Go deep, and if you

can't access your trauma,

if you want to keep bearing it,

then go on writing your

silly little poems.

- I'm sorry this wasn't

more productive, professor.

- I'm sorry too.

- Donte.

Let's get f*cked up.

- Cheers.

Here's to not quitting.

- Oh yeah.

- I'm so comfortable here.

I could sit in the

kitchen all day.

- Don't remind me

of the kitchen, man.

I used to have a shitty

job washing dishes

from like one in the afternoon

'til one in the morning.

It really sucked.

- Oh my God, I

washed dishes too.

My parents had a restaurant.

Every time the dishwasher

didn't show up.

Lemme see your hands.

- I always wish I worked a

blue collar job, you know,

just so I could have

some of that shame

just to carry it with me.

I feel like it

could be inspiring.

- Well, yeah, and

you get people skills

by doing these rough jobs too,

which I'm sorry you

might have missed out on.

(plate clinks)

(cutlery clinking)

- Regrets.

There's nothing more

damaging to the human spirit

than the word regret.

It's a burden that we

put upon ourselves,

a weight that we force

ourselves to carry,

and it withers you down.

So I know some of you

have some deep regrets,

but I want you to be

at peace with them

and share them

with me right now.

Donte, come on, man.

Your deepest regret.

You could whisper it

right in my ear, please.

- My deepest regret is

getting all these tattoos

just to be cool and

to fit in with others.

- Brother, that's not a regret.

That's a lesson.

- I regret the day

that I joined Twitter.

- That's not a regret.

That's a lesson.

- I regret giving up

all my dreams for a man.

- That's not a regret,

that's a lesson.

Learn from that.

- I think I need to say

mine out loud, Abbot.

- Good doctor, good doctor.

You always impress me, man.

The floor is yours.

- As many of you may not

know, I'm a single dad,

and Alice's mom, my wife,

passed 20 years ago,

and I, uh...

uh...

I regret, Alice, that

I didn't give you

much information about your mom.

Camilla was her name,

and being here...

has helped me realize

I didn't talk about her

because I was always afraid

of where it would end,

and it was about the thing

I didn't ever want you to

know that you can't know

and I can't say.

I can't, I can't, I can't.

- Charles, brother,

breathe it in, let it out.

- When I was cleaning the house

out after your mom passed,

I found two months worth of

Gleevec in her closet hidden.

Gleevec was the

drug that was found

to be very effective

for a type of leukemia,

which was a m*therf*cker.

And I ... felt so

guilty for a long time

because I missed it.

I had no idea she

was checking out.

- What are you saying?

- She quit. She quit, Alice.

And I didn't ever

want you to know that.

You were a kid.

You just needed a life,

and we had a life.

I should have told

you a while ago.

I got busy.

I got ...

Alice.

Alice.

- [Abbot] Let 'em go.

- Alice...

Alice.

- No.

- Alice, please.

- No.

- I just wanna, I

just wanna talk.

Alice, please...

- No.

Alice please, please stop.

- Move. I need to go.

I need to go to my cabin.

- You always tell

me I have to talk.

- No.

- I want you to talk.

Are you okay? Sorry.

-

Mm...mm...mmmmm...mm...mm...mm..

mmm!

Do you know, dad?

I have spent my entire

life trying to protect you.

In middle school,

you would work late,

you would call me and say

30 minutes, always delayed,

always I will be home, and

then no, you're not home.

I am hungry, I was very hungry,

and I would make us dinner.

We would sit and eat dinner,

not even talk about it,

no acknowledgement.

And I don't say anything

because I don't want

you to feel bad.

And then in high school,

I make no plans on

the weekend never ever

because maybe you

wanna do something

and I should be there,

and I am always there.

I don't tell you things.

Do you know how I make money?

I wear skimpy outfits, dad,

and write erotic fan fiction

and display it on the

internet and people pay me,

and I didn't tell you because

I wanted to protect you.

And now I realize that I

was trying to protect you

with incomplete information.

- I didn't know you were

trying to protect me.

I feel terrible.

I just thought you

were a great kid.

I didn't...

I protect you.

I was protecting

you this whole time

before I told you all this,

and I was making sure

we had everything.

- This is exactly...

See, you're... you're hurting,

and this is what I

didn't want to happen.

I didn't want you to get hurt.

- Okay. I'm not hurt.

Thank you for telling me

about your internet writing.

I didn't know that.

And are you safe? Is it safe?

- Yes. Yes.

- Is it?

- Yes.

- I mean, it's kind

of like telemedicine.

You make people feel

good on the internet.

You're just like me.

Alice, I think it's

time for me to leave

as long as you're okay.

- You have no place to go.

- Don't worry about me.

I'm okay if you're okay.

- Okay.

- I'm gonna leave

and you're gonna win.

- Okay.

- Okay.

- Okay, let me walk

you out here I guess.

- I'm really sorry.

I know that wasn't great timing.

Do we keep these,

or do I return this

onesie to the Abbot?

(RV Honks)

- Hi.

- Hi.

- How are you? What

are you doing here?

- Nothing, I just,

I'm gonna tell you

without looking at you cause

that makes me feel better.

Um...

I will. This is fine.

I like this.

- Aw, aren't you lovely?

- You remind me of a mom,

and I will sometimes

go outta my way to...

be in a space

that feels closer

to people like you.

So this is your space

where you usually work

so I thought I would come here.

- That makes me feel so good.

- Why? Why?

- I can't tell you, that

is like a dream come true.

- Why?

- Because I've always

wanted to be a mom,

and for you to say

that means so much.

And you're gonna be a

great mom someday too

because you end up

being more of a nurturer

when you know what

you're missing.

Yes, you will be.

I had a friend who

once told me that

you never know

the kind of love that a

parent has for a child

until you give birth

to your own child,

and that always made me so sad.

But I promise you right now,

you sitting in my lap,

I realize in this moment that

you can actually love somebody

just as much if they didn't

come from you as you can.

Just knowing somebody,

and feeling their energy,

and feeling their need.

I think that's why

I love teaching.

I didn't realize I

loved it until just now.

- You do? You do?

- Yeah.

- Because you have so many kids.

- I have so many kids.

You know what?

I think I'm gonna

ring the bell now.

- What?

- Yeah, I gotta go.

- What about your writing?

- Ugh, I haven't written a

word since I've been here.

- What?

What? Are you serious?

- This has been the absolute

most honest moment

I've had here.

Okay. Goodbye my dear.

(bell clangs)

- Look at you guys

looking all sad and sh*t.

Listen, don't mourn

those that left us.

Nah, celebrate them.

I mean, it's a beautiful

thing what they achieved.

Clarity.

Buddha had to sit under a tree

for years before he saw it,

Jesus on the cross, me 40

years of trying to be something

that I was not.

Look, you got another

week here, right?

I'll say instead of wasting

my m*therf*cking time

and wasting yours, I

wanna raise the ante

to $50,000 for you

to quit right now.

I'm available for

one-on-one meetings

in the arts and craft cabin

after our delicious breakfast.

- I am doing so well here

and I would like to ask though,

if I may, for just

a little more time

so that I can fully soak in

your teachings and marinate.

- There are no extensions

here, Christopher.

The contract clearly

states 30 day residency,

which is more than enough time.

- Well, you know what?

I'll just think about it.

I'll take some time.

Okay, yeah, maybe

in a couple of days.

I guess 50,000 isn't so bad.

- No, no, no, no, no,

Christopher, no, no.

Let me be clear.

The 50,000 is different

from the other offers.

It expires tonight.

So either you take the

50,000 and quit now,

or you finish off the residency

for the remaining week.

Donte, $50,000.

Why don't you just go out

there and ring that bell?

- Don't you believe in me?

- Belief is for people who

go to church on Sundays.

- So you don't believe in me.

I thought you saw

something in my art.

I thought you understood

how hard it is for

me to even be here.

People like me where I come from

don't get picked to be at a

residency, and you know that.

- Oh, you thought that

since you're from the hood

and I'm from the hood I should

understand your struggle,

and I should just kinda

like open up my doors

and let you come on in here

and make your way to the top?

I didn't pick you for

no special reason.

My selection of

you was just random

as me picking a

jellybean from this jar.

I get thousands of

applicants every year,

and I just pick randomly.

Alice, I'm gonna invite your

dad to the presentation.

- Are other people's

parents coming?

- No. Just yours.

I mean, if you don't

want him to come,

you could just quit

and take the 50,000,

but he'll be my guest of honor.

I'm very fond of him.

Charles makes me laugh.

- Is this a test?

- Yeah, it's exactly

what this is.

I mean, look, Alice, it's

obvious that your fantasy world

is based on your mother,

and you're terrified to

show that to your father

because you know that

it will hurt him.

So, no better person

to be in the audience.

Don't you agree?

(gentle pensive music)

- Greetings, Alice.

Are you okay?

- Yes.

- Are you sure?

Because it seems like you're

about to give up right now.

- I'm just, I'm

trying to figure out

if I'm embarrassed or stupid.

Like, I could convince myself

that I'm any one of

these things right now,

and I'm just trying to think

and decide which one I am.

- You're neither

of those things.

You're an amazing,

talented writer

who deserves to be in a

happy place right now.

We're creating, we're artists,

we're surrounded by artists.

We should be inspired,

we should be motivated,

we should not be down right now.

- Why are you being

so nice to me?

- Because no one's

ever nice to me,

no one ever tells

me nice things.

It's just blah, you know?

- Yeah.

(door chiming)

- I couldn't help but

notice you both out here

enjoying the night.

Can I offer you a

map of the stars?

The Abbot is very passionate

about star gazing.

- - [Alice] Is he?

- Yeah.

- Alice, I have one story.

I hope it works for you.

I met your mom at medical

school at Columbia

and she was an

undergrad in journalism,

and when my first

residency was in Portland,

I was terrified that we

weren't gonna make it,

that we'd break

up, and she said,

"One day you and I are

gonna start a family,

and that's final."

If she wanted something

and she knew she wanted it,

there was nothing

that could stop her.

So, I hope that helps.

Okay. It's dad.

When is that time we went to?

Oh, the camping story.

We went camping in the

Badlands, your mother and I,

and this storm rolled

in out of nowhere, like,

just right over the plains.

And every other camper

in that park left.

Like, literally cars

were rolling out

and we stayed in the tent,

and we both got pneumonia,

which was so dumb to

stay out there, so dumb.

Anyways, this is dad.

Super competitive, some

of our worst fights

were over like

backgammon matches.

She loved pudding, that was

probably her favorite dessert.

She was crazy about pudding.

Hated using tinfoil.

She loved black coffee,

black coffee no mix.

We had bunk beds

when you were little

because your mom thought

we might, you know?

You're most like your mom

when you're mad at me,

and when you're sleeping.

When you're sleeping, you're

both just so peaceful,

and poised, and wonderful.

- Isabella opened

the dusty old scroll.

So this was the secret

about her mother

that the elders had kept hidden.

Chapter 14, "Mommies

and Monsters."

- Yes!

f*ck yeah.

(upbeat sanguine music)

(camera click)

(camera click)

- Beautiful people,

today you will find out

if you will walk away with

a hundred thousand dollars

to further your art, or

leave here with nothing

to never create art again.

Now, I would love to give

each one of you 100K apiece,

but that's only if you have

reached your fullest potential.

It's all or nothing,

now or never,

or as we said in my old

neighborhood, do or die.

You said that you wanted

to remove commercialization

with your verbalization.

Are you ready for that?

- Yes.

- You, your imagination would've

overcome your stagnation.

Are you ready?

- Yes.

- And you, would your

aspirations overcome

your hesitations?

Are you ready?

- Yes, Abbot.

- In that case, let my guests in

and we'll begin

the presentation.

(door opens)

- Thank you, the Abbot.

- That must be Beth.

- Yes, this is Beth, everyone.

She is my girlfriend or

whatever it is you call

when two adults are

committed to one another.

- Hi, Alice.

- Hi.

- I'm Beth. Nice to meet you.

- Alice.

- This is Alice.

Break a leg.

- Excellent.

Now that everyone's

here, take your seats,

and the presentation

shall begin.

- This is a collection of poems

that I wrote titled, "Under

the Table with the Lights Out."

There's a bluebird in my

heart that wants to get out.

But death wants more death,

and its webs are full.

I remember my father's garage,

how childlike I would

brush the corpses of flies

from the windows they

thought were escape.

I say these are my

hands, my knees.

I may be skin and bone.

Dying is an art like

everything else.

I do it exceptionally

well, unlike the flies.

That's my first poem.

- Does that represent your

full potential, Christopher?

- Well, isn't that

for you to decide?

- Only you can judge

your own full potential.

What the Abbot does is judge

whether or not you're

being honest, so.

- I mean, these are

objectively good poems.

There's no arguing that.

- You know, I know you

think many things about me,

but I didn't think you

thought I was stupid.

Plagiarizing Charles

Bukowski, Emily Dickinson?

Total contradiction

to everything you

said you represent.

- You read Emily Dickinson?

- She's one of my favorites.

I'm disappointed, Christopher,

because I wanted you to

embrace your own voice.

- My own voice?

My own voice isn't good enough.

You say you're

disappointed in me,

everyone's disappointed in me.

My parents, my grandparents,

my whole family, my teachers,

that guy who changed his address

after we went on that one date,

and I thought it was

a really great date.

I don't even know

why. Uh...uh...

Christopher... Uh... uh...uh...

I'm not good enough.

I'm not good enough.

Are you happy?

- And that was beautiful,

that was honest.

It was definitely

in your own voice,

but it wasn't part

of your presentation,

so you're gonna have to leave.

- This isn't an

artist's residency.

This is an exercise

in narcissism.

What, you aren't comfortable

with your own failures

so you have to create

these circumstances

by which you can

manipulate all of us

to join you in your mediocrity?

You waste our time

with aphorisms

that you source

from, I don't know,

some middle-aged white

woman's Pinterest

so we won't look at your

low rent monastic aesthetic

that really is no more than

cultural appropriation.

I mean, it's sad really.

God, you remind me of my father.

You know what?

f*ck you, f*ck you

Alice, f*ck you Donte.

Beth was it? f*cking b*tch.

Get outta my way! Move!

- Who's next?

- Greetings, Abbot.

This is a story of

"Donte and Unicorn."

Chimes from video

- [Unicorn] Donte, what's wrong?

- [Donte] Everything.

- [Unicorn] How come...

you don't move your

mouth when you talk?

- [Donte] Because I'm

talking to a unicorn

that only exists inside my head.

- [Unicorn] You could

at least try to smile.

- [Donte] Uni, come

on, my life's sh*t.

I'm a depressed broke artist

who nobody believes in.

- [Unicorn] You just need

to believe in yourself.

- [Donte] Easy for you to say.

You're a rare species

with a horn sticking

out your damn forehead.

- [Unicorn] You're

a rare species too.

How many people

from South Central

get to make animations

at a residency?

I'm proud of you, Donte.

The world needs to

hear your story.

What do you have to

lose by believing me?

- [Donte] Damn, Uni.

You know what? You right.

I got this sh*t.

- [Unicorn] Now that's the

spirit, and I love to hear it.

Let's go, baby.

- [Donte] Let's

go uni. Let's go.

Music from video

And that's my film.

(trio applauding)

- Donte, was that your

fullest potential?

- I think so.

- Donte, is that your

fullest potential?

- I really hope it was

because to be honest with you,

if it's not, and if it doesn't

live up to my potential,

then I really have

nothing else, man.

I just, I just don't.

It's not in me.

- Yo, it was perfect, man,

honest, and beautiful.

Congratulations. You made it.

- Really?

- You made it, man.

- Really?

- [Abbot] Alice, you're next.

- Hi, I'm Alice

obviously, and um

I am here to present

my audiobook novella

about Isabella and her

magical middle school,

and I invite you to put on

your headphones and press play.

(gentle poignant music)

- Alice, Alice,

Alice, Alice, Alice.

You made it through the 30 days,

you've created a piece of art,

but do you seriously believe

that this piece of work

deserve 100K grant,

and more importantly, in

front of me, your father,

your fellow artist, and

Beth, do you honestly believe

that you have expressed

your fullest potential?

- Yes, I do.

- So do I.

- Thanks.

- The illusion of luxury

has trapped so many

people inside of its web.

Money becomes the only

lure for their creativity.

This camp was never about money.

This residency was

about creativity.

May this hundred thousand

fuel your journey.

You two are f*cking artists.

(Cheers and claps)

- Yeah!

- [Charles] Picture,

picture, come on.

- Yes, Abbot.

- You're free to go.

- Free to go where, sir?

- Head down to the

arts and craft cabin.

- And weave you

another dream catcher?

- Nah, weave one for yourself.

(gentle bright music)

(guitar strings thrumming)

- Oh wow.

(guitar strings thrumming)

- Bye.

- Bye.

Call me when you land

if you have time, okay?

- Okay

- Or not. Or not.

- I will, I will, I will.

- Oh, and I have

sandwiches in here

if you and your

buddy Donte want-

- She doesn't want

your sandwiches.

- Right. Why would she?

You're right. Okay.

All right. Love you.

- I love you.

- All right.

- Have fun.

- Put that check in the bank.

- Uh...

- Yes.

- [Beth] Bye, Alice!

- Bye!

- We're wearing real clothes.

- I am a real person.

- [Alice] I just though of

an idea for my next story.

About dragons.

- [Donte] Dragons?

- [Alice] Dragons rule! Yeah!

(bell clanging)

- Ahhhhh

(guitar thrumming)

(upbeat bluesy rock music)

The colors are

built up in my mind

And bleeding

through my heart

But nobody knows

that they exist

Look at my bursting veins

Now do you see the red in me

It's a sign for the end

Only the ends of the red

Will show you my blue side

Only the ends of the red

Will show you my blue side

I've been given

my precious plate

Where will I pick my life

And will the fire in the sky

Believe in what I dream

It's so hard for

me to explain

What I will miss to my self

Only the ends of the red

Will show you my blue side

Only the ends of the red

Bap, bap, bap, bap, bap

bap, bap

Bap, bap, bap, bap, bap

bap, bap

Only the ends of the red

Will show you my blue side

Only the ends of the red

Will show you my blue side

Only the ends of the red

Will show you my blue side

Only the ends of the red

Will show you my blue side