So the person I am, that doesn't count.
The only thing that counts are these stupid numbers.
- That's some society. - We're not talking about society, E.
We're talking about your SATs.
The idea of standardized tests is racist.
- You know that, right? - It's how things work.
What is that supposed to mean, you'd love me more if I got better numbers?
Don't go down that one. It's a dead end. You know it.
I don't know anything. I'm stupid, remember?
That's what the numbers say.
The tests measure how well you can take a test,
but the higher the number, the better the odds.
Of what?
Of things turning out the way you want.
And when was the last time that happened?
I want the scores to match the kid I know.
What if they already do?
I know what you can do, E. I know what you can do.
- I-I can see things that you don't. - Right. Dad-O-Vision.
Knows all, sees all.
You do your job, I'll do mine. Deal?
I guess.
- Go to bed. - Okay.
Numbers don't lie. If it was any other client,
we'd be billing him for all this work,
but since he's the great god Drentell, we don't bother.
I know you don't like him. That's established, okay?
- Hey, maybe I'd like him if he paid. - He pays.
No. Not since May. It's been all tweaks and polishes
and "I need to see a larger sample of the marble before I commit to a color."
This is an incredible commission. We're designing a major building,
not planning a wedding for a fickle bride.
I'd say the bride is getting cold feet.
- What do you want me to do? - Go to permit or we stop work.
Put up or shut up? What do you think he's gonna say?
Well, it depends on the size of his checkbook, doesn't it?
Look, if you don't want to do it, I'll do it.
Yeah, I know you will.
Oh, look, the great man is already here.
How do you know?
Her. You know what she's got in there, don't you?
- What? - The launch codes.
Hi, Miles.
Rick, young David. Don't worry. You're not late.
I'm early.
The thing about architectural renderings is they never give you the context.
You... you see a picture of an astonishing building,
but you don't realize the clouds were airbrushed in
and they neglected to mention the nail salon next door.
Knocks the wind out of the whole pilgrimage.
Real buildings stand in the real world, Miles.
What do you suppose we could do about that?
- About what? - Reality.
- Drugs? - Ah, David,
- always so close to clever. - Thank you, Miles.
Everybody tells me to work on people skills.
I think I'm being direct. They say I'm a pain in the ass.
This thing with Miles Drentell? It's different.
Gentlemen, there need to be changes.
Changes?
You'll need to adjust your mind to a new scale.
Otherwise, my building will seem out of place.
The building is appropriate to the context, Miles.
The context is about to change.
It's like he's the alpha male
and everyone's supposed to urinate submissively.
I simply refuse to squat, and he doesn't like that.
[Miles] These are interesting times.
Companies are aligning themselves like so many planets.
Soon the world will live under, perhaps, a half dozen flags,
not of nations, but of corporations.
What do you know about a company called Atlantor?
Computers, telecommunications.
They make that new two-way pager thing, right?
Mm-hmm. They are poised to buy a movie studio
which holds a television network that controls a satellite system.
They also own the makers of a very popular brand of sour ball.
Try one?
- [Miles] David? - No.
Recently the good people of Atlantor came to me
with a plan to consolidate their holdings,
a centralization of their private and public spaces,
which they would like to blossom from the seed that is this building.
How big a complex are we talking about?
Big enough to lift its designer to a very high,
very exclusive plateau.
But why would an outfit like that be interested in us?
Because I am.
Before is over.
After is about to begin.
[Miles] So I'm thinking that it will lean
that way, that way and this way.
Much, much more space to play with.
I must carrot in a word of caution.
There is some slight skepticism about you
- on the part of the people at Atlantor. - Skepticism?
It can be dispelled in a matter of minutes under the right conditions.
I propose the convivial atmosphere of dinner, Saturday night.
- I can do that. - And I think it should be here.
- In Chicago? - In this office.
Even the best of men can be overpowered by the wrong restaurant,
especially if the people serving the food look better pressed than he.
Here, in your element, and with just a little art direction,
their concerns will evaporate.
Stabbing hors d'oeuvres with paper clips,
- sipping wine from pencil cups? - No, we'll supply glasses.
You're serious.
Almost always.
I suppose. If... if you think it'll put us over the top.
I'll make the arrangements, and as an added bonus,
I get to meet your significant other.
Oh, okay. Well, I-I'll have to call her.
See if she can make it work.
- Kids, you know. - Apply gentle pressure.
I think it'll be an enlightening evening...
...for everyone.
I thought we were already on for Saturday.
We are, but Miles Drentell wants me to meet some people here.
At your office?
- Don't ask. - What kind of people?
- Well, they're pretty important people. - Oh.
Look, I know it's short notice,
and this is the first time
that we'll be meeting business people as, you know, a unit, but, uh...
I think "couple" is the word you're groping for.
- He's looking forward to meeting you. - He is?
You should have the experience. He's a piece of work.
- Will there be other units? - Um, yeah,
Who's Drentell bringing?
Madeleine Albright or Madonna. It depends who's in town.
I think I'm intimidated.
- I think it'll be fun. - I'm still intimidated.
- But you'll do it? - Sure.
Great, great. Uh, I'll talk to you soon.
- Okay. Bye. - Bye.
- I don't like this. - If you feel that way, don't come.
- I didn't hear anyone invite me. - I took it for granted.
He's gonna have guys with sunglasses and no necks to keep me out.
With such a vivid fantasy life, why bother paying for cable?
You're the one he wants to flash. Golden boy.
- Will you knock it off? - I mean it.
If I'm not there, you'll be less inhibited.
- Why do you say that? - You won't pretend you don't like it.
Excuse me, but the party people are here. Mr. Drentell sent them.
That was fast.
Yeah. Probably had them stashed in a van up the alley.
Uh, excuse me, how disruptive is this gonna be?
Uh, we take some pictures, make some measurements,
check elevators and circuit breakers.
We're out of here till Saturday. We're the surgical strike force of events.
It's going to be perfect. Don't worry. We're not about to boot this one.
- Why do you say that? - I've seen the guest list.
Mr. Sammler, if you'll come with me,
- The driver is waiting. - Why is the driver waiting?
A gift from Mr. Drentell. You'll be back in an hour.
- What kind of gift? - It's a surprise. He loves surprises.
It depends on whether you dress to the right or to the left.
- Right or left? - Yes, sir.
I mean...
...to, uh, which side?
Oh, to which side.
Well, I have to tell you the truth,
I'm... I'm not sure I ever noticed. Does it make a difference?
I think you'd be a much better judge of that than I would, sir.
Oh.
Well, uh, to the, uh, to the left.
No, right. No, left, actually.
- I guess that would be balanced. - Balanced?
Well, yeah. I'm... I'm...
- ...right-handed. - I see.
It's a dinner. You've had dinner before. I know, I've seen you eat.
- But what's my role at this dinner? - Your role is the girl.
That's the one who doesn't open the door.
You're not listening. It's business.
Rick's business, Rick's client, Rick's big client.
- Who? - Miles Drentell.
- The shaper of corporate images. - I saw his picture in Newsweek,
That's the sort of face they used to stamp on Roman coins.
You see? That's my point.
I'm having dinner with a Roman coin. What's my function?
- I'm telling you, you're the trophy. - I am not a trophy. Am I a trophy?
Rick wants to show off to you, and he wants to show you off.
You should be flattered being a trophy, a woman of your age.
That's a very reductive way of looking at it.
So, what do you think I should wear?
There's a point in a man's life when he begins to face the fact
that it's not gonna happen for him, you know?
Whatever the dream, it's not gonna come true.
He ran out of time, or didn't get the breaks,
or he's just not as special as he thought,
and in that terrible clear moment,
he kind of opens the fist that's been holding so tight
to what it was he was dreaming of, you know?
He... he gives up. He lets go.
And now I'm wondering if all that time
the universe wasn't just waiting to give him what he wanted.
It was waiting for that... that hand to open
so it could put the prize right in his palm.
I'll take this one.
You'd make a really cool bad guy in a James Bond movie with a suit like this.
Look out for the cyanide cuff buttons.
- You're in tonight? - Yep.
Great chance to do some studying.
- It's Saturday, Dad. - It's an opportunity.
You know, I do study during the week, and pretty hard.
- I didn't say you didn't. - Okay.
E, it's my job to keep after you, okay?
You got to make an effort if you want to get what you want.
You want to remind me what they are? Seriously.
You seem to have a clear idea of what I want.
- You could print me a list. - Eli!
I'm getting to work.
That doesn't look very sexy.
- What, honey? - Never mind.
[Doorbell rings]
Oh, you guys set for tonight?
Got the phone numbers and everything?
Yeah, we're fine. So is this a date or what?
I think it's an "or what." A business thing for Rick.
So are women supposed to wear sexy clothes to business things?
Well, that's a very long conversation, Zoe,
and I'll be glad to have it with you
once I get through this particular evening.
Mom, you got to see this.
Wow. [Whistles]
I don't know if I'm wearing it or just helping it move through the world.
Where did you get this?
Actually, it was a gift from Miles Drentell.
A client bought you a suit? Isn't that a little...?
Not for this client.
- [Rick] You look great. - Thank you.
Who bought you your clothes?
- Oh, little elves came in the night. - Well, they did nice work. You ready?
- I hope so. Mind the store. - We will.
- Bye. - [Grace] Good night.
[Both] Bye.
[Rick] Hey, guess what. I finally told off Miles Drentell.
Is it okay for a guy to buy another guy clothes?
I think it's okay, as long as it's not, like, underwear.
- Yuck. - Come on.
[Man speaks through headset]
- Good evening, Mr. Sammler. - Uh, good evening.
I'm John. I'll be looking after your guests.
If you need anything, I'll be there.
Okay, thanks.
- Have a nice evening. - Thank you.
You're welcome, Miss Manning.
[String quartet playing]
- Holy cats. - Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
[Miles] Rick.
I hope this mild transformation pleases you.
- It's very impressive. - It's supposed to be.
- Hi. - Hi.
Oh, Miles, this is Lily Manning.
- Lily, Miles Drentell. - Pleasure.
- Nice to meet you. - Rick speaks of you well.
- He's talked about you too. - It's all true.
Rick, Lily, I'd like you to meet Dr. Camille Nardo.
Camille, my architect and his lady.
- Hi. How do you do? - Nice to meet you.
Shall we? Cocktails await.
Doctor of what, if you don't my asking?
- Thoracic surgery. - Wow.
- Camille performed my triple bypass. - [Lily] Oh.
There were a lot of people involved. It was a team effort.
She's being modest. Try the braised beef and plum sauce
while I steal Rick for a moment.
[Woman] Camille, how nice to see you.
It's good to see you. Do you know Lily Manning?
[Lily] Why is it at parties
that the sexes still seem to separate into two camps?
It must be from a very old part of the brain,
buried in there along with breathing air and walking on your hind legs.
Have you thought about how you might fill this space?
Yeah, some.
There's no need to be specific with these people.
However, you should try to sound specific.
Miles, I thought this was just about them getting to know me.
It is, but it's also about getting them to trust us
to understand their desires and make them concrete.
Well, you make this sound like less than a done deal.
The more monumental the endeavor, the more fragile the negotiations.
Great monuments are built on a foundation of spun glass.
How much glass am I supposed to spin, Miles?
You dropped this on us 36 hours ago.
I thought this was a party, not a presentation. No, thank you.
Are you apprehensive?
What's the thing just below apprehension?
Lesser apprehension. Use it.
You'll need to be alert with these people.
Who exactly are these people?
They are a three-headed beast that is Atlantor.
It began in the '70s with Warren Wyler
who founded the company when electronics
meant transistor radios and adding machines,
and over the years he's managed to devour several larger enterprises
following a business philosophy somewhere between
Manifest Destiny and Mein Kampf,
The person who's prepared Atlantor
for the third millennium is that man, Todd Monroe.
He's a confirmed bachelor who likes to appear in public with
I believe the phrase is "arm candy."
You may recognize his friend, Greta.
Oh, my God, she was in the swimsuit edition...
When she was five, she appeared nude
in a commercial for baby shampoo produced by my ad agency.
I'm sure that's significant. I'm just not sure how.
The other force at work is a woman named Sybil Testamanti,
a warm maternal spirit
who I'm told eats Harvard MBAs for breakfast.
She's pregnant with her third child.
As far as I can learn, no one has ever actually seen her husband.
You're looking a little clenched.
Perhaps you don't feel completely prepared for this.
Don't worry. You're not.
This is the deep end of the pool,
deeper than you ever imagined.
I can't tell whether you're enjoying this, Miles.
- Enjoying what? - My discomfort.
Not as such, but I like the biochemical soup it produces.
Good things can come from that, which is what I am counting on.
Otherwise, we both fail.
There's a balls-to-the-wind quality to the thing I like.
It's big bold American in the best sense of the word.
Miles has an audacious sense of scale.
He doesn't restrict his thinking. We respond to that.
I like to clear the ground for people such as Rick
and see what they're capable of.
Looks like you've cleared quite a bit of ground here.
- You feel up to the job? - Well, it is a challenge.
You've never done anything like this before.
That's why it won't look like someone else's work.
Sybil is full of hormones. It makes her cautious and maternal.
- Remind me to marginalize you later. - Yes, dear.
How are you gonna get control of all this land?
- Carefully, I presume. - This project shouldn't be monolithic.
- It has to feel like there's choice. - The appearance of choice is important.
It puts people at ease. Makes them more pliable.
How do you integrate the retail and corporate spaces
so that one or the other doesn't end up looking like a cheap afterthought?
Well, as I said,
that's one of the interesting challenges of the project,
because you have to have a sense of what the proportions should be
in order to balance the industrial,
or, as you said, the corporate with the retail.
Because one can overpower the other, and you don't want that.
No, we don't.
So, how long has your husband been an architect?
Rick's not my husband. We're not married.
Didn't you mention a daughter?
Two, from a former marriage.
Rick has children as well.
Two. That's how we met... our kids, school.
Wow. Four kids.
- Two. I have two, Rick has two. - Right. Four.
Well, we know what you do all day, huh?
Oh, boy, I'm gonna have to make my mind up
- about having a baby pretty soon. - At your age?
- You've got plenty of time. - Not really.
You can't get good swimsuit work if you have ovaries.
- No way to get flat enough. - Really?
It never occurred to me.
Would you excuse me for a second?
[Man] So then he turns to me and he says,
"Look, you want to play golf or you want to screw around?"
[All laughing]
- Hey. - Hey.
I thought I'd check in on this side of the room.
[Rick] Well, that's nice.
When are you due?
Two weeks and not a day later.
She hates not being able to fly.
Trapped in one time zone, it is barbaric.
- Your first? - No.
Well, I guess I'll... I'll get a refill.
Yeah, okay.
[Man 1] When did you get back from Lisbon?
- [Man 2] Friday. - [Man 1] Oh.
The kind of architecture this firm is looking to do,
and I think the kind of work
that attracted Miles to us in the first place,
is that we're anxious to help people.
You know, clients, certainly, but really the public in general,
to see things a different way, you know, beyond the conventional.
- Why? - Why?
The public likes the conventional.
They like the new thing they've seen before.
[Sybil] People don't like to be threatened.
I'm not sure you want a design that doesn't at least take some risks.
What's the point of pleasing the New York Times if the customers stay away?
Creative people, even architects, who are creative in their own way,
so often lose sight of the mission in their projects.
Thank God for clients to keep us on the straight and narrow. Hmm?
[Sybil] I like your concern for the public, but they don't decide anything.
They think so, and everyone at this table agrees
that our goal is to keep them thinking they do.
Isn't that cynical? You sound as if you wanted
to cut people out of the process altogether.
Obviously... there would still be a dialogue
between the space and the people who use it.
Rick, people don't want to be bothered figuring out how to react to the world.
It's to their advantage and to ours
to let them know what they're supposed to feel.
That's what they want. That's why they put music in movies.
Popular culture is pretty simple-minded,
but isn't that why you have to include people?
Otherwise, it'll get all inbred.
That's certainly preferable to widespread mongrelization.
Now you're getting pretty close to eugenics there.
I mean, we're talking about a shopping center,
not the new world order.
It's just, I th...
[Miles] How fortunate for all of us
that politics has been rendered irrelevant.
[Guests chuckle]
You have to re... You have to remember...
...the key, uh, to understanding this project...
You have to remember
that this... this project is what people will see
from the air.
You know, from the windows of planes flying in to O'Hare,
this is what's gonna catch their eye,
this new signature on the city.
Think of it as all flowing from a gateway,
this gateway.
The corporate space becomes
a sheltering topography.
Okay? Like a mountain range.
Substantial, yet beautiful.
The retail spaces will be nestled,
contained within the sheltering valley.
Its paths won't be straight, but will meander...
...like a river, flowing from one experience to the next.
This shop, that restaurant, this theater.
And always, wherever they turn,
on the horizon the corporate buildings,
protective, dependable, solid...
...a new urban valley.
Oh, I like that. You can see it from the air.
Technology, what it is, you could see it from space,
- couldn't you? - It's just a matter of scale.
We would become the perception of the city itself.
If that's what you want.
A little more wine, Lily?
That's okay. I can get in by myself.
Okay.
- You want to tag up tomorrow? - Yeah, that sounds okay.
- Thanks for tonight. - Don't mention it.
- Night. - Night.
Don't ever give me that look again.
- What look? - I think you know what look.
That silencing look, that editorial look.
I'm sorry.
Okay. Thank you.
Are you okay?
I think so.
I just...
Tonight wasn't what I expected.
I think you did well.
Miles was pleased,
assuming that's what he looks like when he's pleased.
Yeah, everybody seemed pleased.
- You want to come inside? - No, I better go home.
- Okay. - See you tomorrow?
[Car door closes]
I'm really very sorry about the look.
I felt it happening, and I couldn't stop it.
I felt my face going into this... "dad" mask.
It's just... this is important.
It's important, and I-I want it.
Yeah, I can see that.
So I'm very sorry about the look.
- It won't happen again. - I hope not.
- Good night. - Good night.
They're giving teachers bonuses based on how kids do on standardized tests.
Not how much they've learned, how they learned to take a test.
It's diabolical.
Yeah. Yeah, I suppose.
I never really thought of it that way. I guess you're right.
Yeah, well... Wait. Hold on.
- Dad, it's for you. - It is?
Yeah, your client, that Drentell guy.
He seems pretty cool.
Miles?
Rick, you have a very engaging son.
- Uh, thanks. - My plan was to call
and commend you on the evening.
Well, I did the best I could.
[On phone] That was my plan,
but I just finished talking with our pals at Atlantor,
- Uh-huh. - They are onboard.
- They are? - Completely, due in no small part
to your image of that urban Danube
and its embracing corporate mountains,
They were almost as impressed as I.
- So it's gonna happen? - It's going to happen and more.
Don't they have to check with somebody, Miles?
[On phone] They are the people with whom others check,
You've done us both proud, Rick. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Take that son of yours to a sporting event and bond.
- We'll talk Monday. - Thank you, Miles.
My pleasure.
Yes!
- Morning, partner. - Morning, yourself.
- You're unbelievable. - Not really. I'm shooting 40 percent.
I can't believe you don't want to know how it went Saturday night.
So, Rick, how'd it go Saturday night?
We got it, David. We got the whole damn thing.
It was like the first time we got anything,
except a million times better.
Aw, David, do yourself a favor
and open up just a crack and let this in, because it feels so good.
- So you were brilliant? - Well, yeah, damn it. I was.
I was brilliant up there on the high wire
with adrenaline buzzing in my head, and I was brilliant,
and you should have seen this place, completely transformed.
All back the way it was now, like it was a dream.
All he left was a silver bullet.
I'm gonna have that thing mounted. Can you frame a glass? Sure.
- Nice shadow box, black velvet. - Miles must have been happy.
In his opaque way.
If you hadn't impressed those people, the dream would have fallen apart.
It's a good thing too.
After all that, doing just Miles' building would have been a letdown.
He wouldn't have one if it wasn't for those people.
What are you talking about?
I made some calls. I talked to an ex-girlfriend.
She's married to a venture capitalist.
Remember last May when Miles was being fussy?
It was about that time that the funding for this magnificent edifice
was going down the toilet.
- What do you mean? - There's more money behind this model
than there is behind Miles Drentell.
The consortium of Spanish, German
and Luxembourgian bankers, they got cold feet.
He's holding them together
by sheer force of his personality, which I can believe.
But last spring, the herd got spooked
- and there was a stampede. - Your friend told you this?
- Mm-hmm. - How does she know?
Apparently, it's common knowledge.
We don't run into many Luxembourgian bankers in the carpool lane.
- Last May. - Mm-hmm.
Around the time that all those tweaks and polishes
and "Why is this wall curved?" Crap started.
He didn't invite Atlantor in. Without them, he's nothing.
You saved his ass the other night,
and I'll bet you were the one who said "Thank you."
I'm sorry.
It wasn't something I thought you needed to know,
but I would have told you if you'd asked.
I was afraid such earthly cares might distract you.
You didn't have the money for your building, Miles.
Rick, in this day and age, what exactly does "have" mean?
- What does "money" mean? - You lied to us, Miles.
And now we have the money for many buildings.
What is truth?
You sculpted the air the other night.
You made up a dream on the spot. That was a kind of lie.
Only now you'll get to build it.
How many men get that?
What is it that's worrying the edges of your conscience?
The Atlantor people? Does it offend you that they're hacks?
It offends me, but great temples
have always been lifted to honor the mediocre.
You manipulated me, Miles.
You made me perform for those people, and I hated that!
No, you didn't.
There was reluctance and fear, but not hate,
and once the fear fell away,
it was like nothing you've ever felt before.
No, you used me to get the money!
Because I knew you could.
But if you are so wounded,
if your confidence in me is so corroded,
then I'll release you from your pledge
and get myself another architect.
[Telephone rings]
[ringing]
I'm going to answer the phone now.
Yes.
Sure, put him through.
[Judy] I heard there's somebody that reads the residue of a latte.
They look at the muck at the bottom and the foam at the sides
and they tell you your future and your character.
Okay, give me a clue, Lily, 'cause I'm running low on banter.
Was the party a bust?
Did you throw up on somebody? Did somebody throw up on you?
- The party was very interesting. - Ooh, that bad?
No, really, it was good.
Rick impressed them, which was the whole point.
He was focused, in charge and all business.
You were always good at picking men with a gift for striving.
I've been down that road before. I really don't want to do it again.
Some women go for a nice ass. You go for the success-driven.
There are worse things to find attractive.
What if I'm not attracted to this type of man?
What if they're normal well-adjusted guys
until they meet me, then I trigger something,
and they get competitive and ambitious?
- Suppose it's me. - Like you produce a pheromone?
I don't know. Some kind of Midas touch curse thing, maybe.
- That is certifiably creepy. - Not to mention borderline paranoid.
- I wasn't gonna mention that. - You know, what if it's in every man?
And relationships make it kick in, like a second puberty.
All the civilization and post-feminist theory in the world can't change it.
Oh, God, when will our hormones catch up with our social skills?
Right after we get those personal jetpacks
and they put in the moving sidewalks.
[Pouring coffee]
So is this a speed bump or is it something more substantial?
Good question.
- This is what? - Retail space.
Hmm. The curves keep you from seeing
the end of any given path, right?
That's what I was thinking.
These are corporate structures on the outside, right?
Yeah.
So we have a castlelvillage thing, enclosing, protecting?
- I was thinking more like a valley. - Yeah, sure.
I've ordered the survey for the larger site.
Oh, boy, you sure told him off, didn't you?
David, this is an incredible opportunity.
It got off to a shaky start, ethically speaking, but something like this
comes once every 50 years, maybe, and not to anybody.
You think I don't know that? Look, it's real simple on paper,
but that is a lot of land in the real world.
- This is not just some development. - I know.
- Do you trust him? - You caught him up on this.
Now he knows he can't pull anything over on us.
No, forget about us. Do you trust him with this much of a city? Our city?
That's an argument for us to be the ones.
We can watch him, we can handle him.
- You think I have a rich fantasy life? - We can, David.
You base this assumption on what, hmm?
You're crazy to think you can handle him,
crazy if you think I'm gonna hang around
to watch you build his palace.
Then maybe you would just hang around and watch my back.
God knows somebody has to.
Look, in a year's time, you'll see, okay?
Maybe less. You want to bet?
No, I don't,
'cause I really don't want to win.
You should be studying.
I will. I just needed to practice.
E, that's for after studying, okay?
It's the break, the reward.
Think of it as a kind of carrot, you know?
"I'll study this much and then I can goof off."
Dad...
This is my work too.
Is this gonna be it for you...
...music?
Is this what you really want?
Well, I'm good at it. I like this.
But is this what you want for your life?
I don't know what I want yet.
And I worry about that for you, E, I really do.
It seems like there used to be time for a man to,
I don't know, wander, but not anymore.
Nowadays they throw things at you so fast, you have to make up your mind
before you know if it's an opportunity or a trap.
You know, brass rings and hand grenades
coming at you 100 miles an hour.
A fella has to... has to choose.
You got to make up your mind what you want for your life, E,
and start the fight to get it.
Yeah, I know, but not now,
not today, not this week, okay?
I just don't want you to wake up one morning, E,
and find that somebody else has made that decision for you.
That's all.
'Cause then you don't have anything that's your own,
not even your mistakes.
My dad's got the eye. You know...
...Dad-O-Vision.
You can feel it drilling a hole
in the back of your head sometimes.
He's also got the eye that sees how things go together.
I mean, he makes connections,
He builds things,
I didn't get that eye,
You know, I watch my dad work sometimes,
and his pencil just flies across the page like it was music.
Me writing a sentence
is like walking through mud up to my neck.
Makes me kind of jealous.
I think when he thinks about me not having it, he gets angry.
I don't know why or whether he's getting angry at me,
but he just...
...gets angry.
From here to the river, one and a half square miles.
You realize this is gonna be a zoning nightmare.
Probably.
That neighborhood is packed with agendas and sacred cows.
Once people get wind, there's gonna be a lot of screaming.
I wouldn't be a bit surprised.
There's gonna be a fight, Miles.
A hard fight makes for a sweet victory.
Perhaps you're experiencing a vestigial twinge
from wanting this to be a world
where good work ascends of its own value
without the sully of compromise and politics.
I know how hard it is to let go of that dream,
but it will be all right.
You've made the correct choice, and you will be rewarded.
The monument will be built,
and though the poets disagree,
monuments are what count.
This I know
because I am closer to the end than I am to the beginning.
Come, let's pace off the kingdom.
There remains the minor problem of your partner, young David,
but I assume you can handle him.
Yes, I can.
[Rick] Have you been hired to fight the Atlantor project?
My work is my business.
Your dad and I made an appointment for you.
Do you have to tell the world I'm crazy?
Maybe the next time you could come in alone without Jessie here?
You're going with your ex-wife?
So, everybody knows. How bad is that, really?
It's very bad.