02x05 - Literary Cruise

[bunniefuu]

[tannoy chimes.]

[woman over tannoy.]

Welcome to Birka Cruises's author cruise.

We will soon open for boarding.

So, we're going to board soon.

I'd like to remind everyone to think
of this as not just a working weekend,
but an opportunity to also have some fun.

To disconnect a bit.

[Denise.]
That'll be easy to do
when the entire industry hates us.

I'll admit that things have been
a bit messy
at the publishing house lately.

As CEO,
I take responsibility for my part in that.

But we're all responsible
for the situation that has arisen.

- So let's think of this as a fresh start.

- [Ronny.]
Yes.

- [Ronny.]
Good.

- Alright.

We're going to be sharing cabins.

So Max and I will be sharing a cabin.

Then we have Denise and Sofie.

[Denise.]
Yeah.

Yes.
And Ronny and Tom.

[Ronny.]
Yeah, great!
[Caroline.]
You and Friedrich will
[Ronny.]
He was just there.
[chuckles.]

Would it be that difficult
to drive another two meters?
I'm so glad I managed to convince you
to join me on this trip.

It's one of the few remaining venues
for literary conversations.

[chuckles.]

Which cabin are you in?
In case I need you.

My only job as your publisher
is to make sure
that you have everything
that you need.

[chuckles.]

Good.

Let's board.

I
I forgot my motion sickness pills.

Oh, well.

No worries, it's alright.

Perhaps there's a pharmacy nearby.

- [Max laughing.]
What?
- [Caroline.]
You're so slow.
You get
- What the hell?
- [Max.]
Yeah.

[Caroline.]
Eight hundred
Here!
[squeals.]

Get in here.

[Max giggles.]

[rock music plays.]

A lot of great names this year,
but I must say Jens Lapidus
is my personal favorite.

Definitely.
I'm hoping to get
my Easy Money trilogy signed.

He's amazing.

He can attract a wide audience
and still maintain quality.

That's just the kind of author we need.

[lively music playing.]

Hi.
A large beer, please.

A medium glass of rosé, please.

You can't start too crazy.

Wait Thanks a lot.

Wait, let's take a
Wait, I'll move
- Sorry.

- Sorry.

Can you smile? Smile a bit.

Perfect.

No, wait.

The beer can't be in the picture.

It will look weird if a beer pops up
on your Insta.

- Your followers wouldn't like that.

- Do you have some paper I could borrow?
- [bar staff.]
Yes.

- [Caroline.]
Let's go.

Thank you.

[mischievous music plays.]

GET TOO DRUNK
- Hi.
Another beer, please.
And a Jäger.

- [bar staff.]
Sure.

[playful music plays.]

[ferry horn blasts.]

We're leaving! Cheers, guys!
- Cheers!
- Cheers!
Cheers.

Yes, it's time to do some work.

I've booked conference room 12
here on the sixth floor,
so I'll see you there in four minutes.

- Wow.

- [Denise.]
What? But
- Where's Friedrich?
- Probably with Vivianne.

After consulting with the new owners,
I've decided to abandon the B-list idea.

The point of the list was so we could
keep them at the publishing house,
but since they didn't appreciate it,
they will have to find new homes.

To put it simply.

Let's instead look to the future.

Today, the individual author
has too much power over their own content,
which we'll now be looking to change.

[dial tone rings.]

[sighs.]

If we were to develop our own content,
we would be able to own the entire process
and also own the copyright.

- Hmm?
- Hmm.

So I've put together
three consumer profiles.

At first, we have
Anneli!
- She loves generic crime novels.

- [Ronny.]
Hmm.

Profile number two, Karin -
she's in the middle of her career.

- When does this finish?
- I don't know.

- [Sofie.]
She has kids.

- It's exciting.
Really exciting.

She struggles to achieve
a good work-life balance.

So she's attracted to the idea
of self-development
- It's Friedrich.
I should probably answer.

- Yes!
Ask him when he'll be choosing to show up.

Or perhaps he doesn't care
what happens to the publishing house.

- [Ronny.]
Oh
- [Sofie laughs.]

And our third profile is Viktor,
and Viktor doesn't read for pleasure.

He wants to read as quickly as possible
so that he then can discuss the book
in important social settings.

Did it not occur to you
that they might have pills on board?
Given that it's a boat, I mean.

Come on, Denise, please.
Not now.

- It's terrible.
What do we do?
- It's not that bad.

- You're not missing anything.

- But Vivianne is on the boat!
Then someone else
will have to babysit her.

Could you do it?
- Me?
- Yes.

No.

- Please, Denise.

- No.

- Vivianne means a lot to me.

- I won't do it.

- And there's her author talk.

What about it?
She doesn't want to speak to anyone
outside the publishing house.

I was supposed to moderate it.

Hello?
[ferry horn blasts.]

[Friedrich.]
Are you there?
Hello?
And for these three people,
the audio book is the perfect format.

[Ronny.]
Great.

Does anyone have any questions?
Yes?
Erm
Are we finishing soon?
Because these drinks vouchers
are only valid until half past.

[Ronny.]
Oh, so maybe we could
Is there more?
[loud and jovial chatter.]

[applause.]

Welcome, everyone,
to the year's first author cruise.

My name is Åsa Beckman
and this is my second year as moderator.

I've been looking forward to this
very much.

I will now invite
all of our authors on stage.

Welcome, Jens Lapidus,
[applause.]

Donia Saleh,
Vivianne Ivarsen,
Alex Haridi,
Kjell Grönberg,
and Lena Markstedt.

[applause continues.]

It must be difficult
to be both innovative
and feel these huge expectations.

Indeed,
but the most important thing for me
is to immerse myself
in the questions that concern me.

Right now my passion
is to find meaningful collaborations,
and to get people engaging
with the social injustices
that I believe exist in Sweden.

[woman.]
Thank you.

Here.

Give it to me.

- What are you doing?
- You have several of them.
Give me one.

- I have to speak to him.

- Okay, but get it signed "To Tom".

- Yeah, sure.
Go to the back of the line.

- No, but
We can't cut in line.
I'm working.

One more, please.

- [Jens Lapidus.]
There you go.

- Thank you.

Hi.
Ronny.

I'm a huge fan.

- [Jens Lapidus.]
That's great.

- Yes.

I liked what you said about
prioritizing meaningful collaborations.

That's exactly how I try to work.

Well, when it's possible.

Because as a literary director
you have to keep the ship afloat.

It's a balancing So I'm the
literary director at Lund & Lagerstedt.

- Yeah, I've heard about you guys.

- We're trying to diversify.

And to think creatively on all fronts.

We're very open-minded,
and we make safe and unsafe bets.

We're opening ourselves up
for new and exciting collaborations.

What unsafe bets
are you making at the moment?
Unsafe? So
Right now, we
For instance, we have
an exciting collaboration with young
writers from the suburbs.

Like an anthology, or?
Yes, exactly! It's an anthology.

There are so many
interesting voices out there
if you just widen your perspective.

- That sounds like a good read.

- Yeah.

Send me the best text you've got
and I'll look at it tonight.

W What?
If I find it interesting,
I can even edit it.

- Pro bono, of course.

- That sounds That sounds good.

[agitated music plays.]

[door opens.]

Tom, great! I need help.

Where's my book?
I need a text from the wider perspective.

A young guy from Tensta.

He's really talented,
his mom is burnt out.

Or she has cancer! She has cancer!
She works What does she work as?
She's a cleaning lady,
or a personal assistant.

And we have a serious crime too!
- Did you get the book signed?
- f*ck the book!
- I've got Jens Lapidus in the bag!
- It's dinner, are you coming?
Yeah I might come by later.

I have to write now.

[laptop keys tapping.]

How do you spell "keff"? Is it two "F"?
It's two "F".

I thought so.

[knock on door.]

[Denise.]
Hi.

- Have you lost your card?
- No, this is just easier.

Erm
Do you have five minutes before dinner?
I'd like to talk to you about something.

And I can't go to dinner
because of Vivianne.

- Sure.

- Hmm?
Erm
So
No offense, but I think
we need to work on the image you
exude.

Exude?
It would be good
if you made a public statement,
perhaps a long style interview
or something like that.

When you have time.

Preferably next week.

Why?
To shift the focus a bit,
from the article in DN.

And to
To show some positive development
for the publishing house.

It's not hard to see
everyone on board is gossiping.

Sticking our heads in the sand
isn't the right strategy.

- Everyone is talking about it.

- So, what are they saying?
That's not important.

It's to give you a chance
to highlight your work in a positive way
and show another side of yourself.

Because they hate me.

- Is that what you're saying?
- No, absolutely not.

No, it
I think it would be good for you.

Sure, absolutely.
Schedule it.

Okay.
Yeah, I'll take care of it.

Hmm.

Thank you, I'll
Bye.

- How did you find the lecture?
- [Max slurps loudly.]

- [man.]
Yeah
- [woman 2.]
It was good.

[woman 2.]
Have you read it?
[quiet ballad music plays.]

[woman 3.]
No.

Hi.

[woman 3.]
I figured I'd have time
but I guess not.

Hey! That's my plate, Max.

[Max.]
Sorry.

Is this even my seat?
- He's so f*cking annoying.

- [Ronny.]
He's been drinking
- [Max.]
Hey! Was this my seat?
- [Ronny.]
since we boarded.

Max, let's go.

- What? No, I'm not done.

- I think we should leave now.

No.

It's your turn.

Hello?
It's your turn.

You have to
er
do the dishes.

Excuse me?
You have to wash all this sh*t!
I don't know what
Don't take it personally.

- Max, come on.

- No worries.

Yeah.

- Yeah
- Oh, my
I'm sorry.

Doesn't Vivianne's author talk
start at half past?
- Yes.

- Right.

- [Tom.]
I don't want to miss that.

- Okay, great.

[mischievous music plays.]

[mischievous music continues.]

[chef.]
Hey!
What are you doing?
What the hell are you doing?
I'm just doing what I was told.

Er I
Well
They sent me here
from the cafeteria, so
They said help was needed.

It's my first day.

Yeah, okay.

But you can't wear that.

Grab a spare uniform from the storeroom.

- Second door next to the bathroom.

- Okay
Okay.

[mischievous music continues.]

[Caroline.]
Sit up.

What the f*ck?
Are you going to take a photo?
No, not now.

I can show my d*ck.

[drunken slurring.]

What?
You're too nice to me.

You're too nice to me.

- [Vivianne.]
very much.

- [Denise.]
Vivianne!
Hi.
Friedrich told me to tell you
that he can't moderate the talk tonight.

But it's starting in a moment.

Yes, exactly.
He missed the ferry.

He missed it?
Yes.

And how does he intend to fix this?
The idea is that I do it instead of him.

And you think that you can do everything
Friedrich was supposed to do for me?
Yes, I can manage that.

[over microphone.]
Hello.

My name is Denise Konar.

Welcome to this evening's author talk
with Vivianne Ivarsen.

Welcome, Vivianne.

Your latest novel, Body
has been called everything
from "a nostalgic tribute to eroticism"
to "an unprecedented
autobiographical depiction
of a woman's pursuit
of existential thrills.
"
Do you think these
are accurate descriptions?
- I'm not interested in reviewing myself.

- I see.

What I'm getting at is maybe more
how you perceive your own public image.

There are both positive
and negative opinions about you, and
Are you just going to come out with
other people's statements?
I'm just trying to lead a conversation.

No, you're not.

That requires the participants
to say what they really think.

Er
Shall we stop?
I want you to ask questions
that you really want the answer to.

[gasps and laughter.]

You want my opinion?
You've written many provoking texts,
but what provokes me the most is that
you don't seem to be listening
to criticism at all.

It's like you think
you're better than the reader.

I hope that what I write
makes people think.

You're dodging.

[whispering.]

[Vivianne chuckles.]

You're right.

[Vivianne chuckles.]

So you don't want people to understand?
Not if it comes at the expense of the art.

Then I might as well write columns.

But this is not a press conference,
it's a literary cruise.

[laughter.]

- [Denise.]
Shall we talk about the process?
- Yes.

[song playing on the radio.]

Tut-tut.

You lied to me.

You haven't washed a plate in your life.

Yeah
I mean
I'm sorry.
Sorry, I lied.
I'm like
I'm completely broke.

At the cleaners, I was paid cash in hand.

So I was hoping that would work here too.

Do you even have a ticket?
Don't worry, I won't tell on you.

What a relief.

- Thank you.

- So this is how you make a living?
Yeah, from time to time.

It works better abroad
than it does in Sweden.

So next week I'm heading back down
to Greece.

And then on to Goa.

- Goa?
- Yes.

That's nice.

It's super nice there!
Then we'll see.

I'm thinking of going away for a year,
or as long as I can stay afloat for.

I've heard that before.

You have to find yourself first,
before you can come home
and start your higher education,
decide what you want to be
Exactly!
It's exactly like that for me.

I'm just going to finish my first novel.

Right.

- You're a creative soul as well.

- Yes.

Right.

So you have
met other girls like me before.

A few.

Are you always so stern with them?
[cheesy music plays.]

When it's needed.

Mm hmm.

So is it needed now?
[heavy breathing.]

What the hell?
Is it working? No.

- No These things are so weird.

- [door lock beeps.]

You could at least smile.

It went well.

Let's celebrate.

You You want me to come in?
Yes, I would love for you to come in.

You're hesitating?
I thought you hated me.

Does it feel that way?
Like I hate you?
[chef.]
Well
Thanks for that.

So
now you just have to put the trash
in the pick-up spot.

And then you can leave.

[fast clacking.]

[sighs.]

Tom!
- Tom!
- Mm?
Tom.

I'm finished.

- It's two o'clock.

- I know.

It's good.
It's great, even.

Do you want to read it?
- [Tom sighs heavily.]

- Tom?
- [snoring.]

- Okay
- [computer chimes.]

- [cheers quietly.]

- Dad?
- What? No!
I can't handle all the thoughts.

I can't handle them.

I don't recognize myself.
I don't
I don't even know if this is me.

I don't feel real.
I don't know anything.

- Hey
- No, I'm not real in any way!
I can't do anything.
I can't care.

[shouting.]
I don't want this anymore.

I can't handle it!
I can't deal with this f*cking world!
I can't
I'll never learn how to.

Dad?
Dad!
Dad!
[strong wind blowing.]

[Max sighs.]

[frustrated sigh.]

Are you okay?
Has something happened?
[suspenseful music plays.]

[sorrowful music plays.]

Sofie?
Are you okay?
Sofie?
[mischievous music plays.]

[door handle rattling.]

[Denise.]
What the hell?
[door lock beeps.]

Hi, Jens! I brought you a cup of coffee.

I thought that we could use this time
to brainstorm about how to proceed.

At first we'll focus on the anthology,
but all doors are open.

Maybe you'll decide
to write a text for us from scratch.

And
We can't offer you the kind of advances
that you're used to, but
there are other things
that matter in life.

My heart goes out to the guy
who wrote this text.

Okay.

But to be totally honest,
he has no talent whatsoever.

No
It's one of the worst things
I've ever read, in all categories.

I didn't even feel sorry for the old mom.

I couldn't wait for her to die
so that the text would end.

But Oh
It's not even fair of you
to encourage him to write.

That guy will never be an author.

[tannoy chimes.]

[captain over tannoy.]

Good morning.
This is your captain.

We're approaching Stockholm
and are expecting to arrive in 15 minutes.

["You And I" by LÉON playing.]

You seem happy ♪
But you're a liar
If you say that you're fine ♪
That you wonder if I think of you now ♪
Done my best to stay away
But I think I'm going crazy ♪
[song continues.]