Cinema Verite Page #8

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HARD.

YOU KNOW WHO TOOK I THE HARDEST OF ALL, DON'T YOU?

LANCE?

HE'S THE ONE

HE UNDERSTOOD THE LEAST.

HEY.

I'M CUTTING.

ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?

LISTEN, I KNOW

THAT WASN'T EASY.

COME ON.

ACTUALLY, I THINK

IT WAS MY BEST SCENE.

PATTY, I KNOW

YOU'RE UPSET.

BUT AFTER TONIGHT,

THE HARD PART IS OVER.

WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT.

ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO.

LET'S GO. COME ON.

COME ON, WE'VE GOT TO GE TO THE HOUSE BEFORE BILL.

COME ON!

BARBARA, IT'S PATTY.

LISTEN,

IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.

YOU NEED TO TELL BILL

NOT TO COME HOME TONIGHT.

I CHANGED MY MIND

ABOUT SOMETHING:

AND I DON' WANT HIM HOME.

HEY, MAN, YOUR MOM.

GRANT, HONEY,

CAN I TALK TO YOU?

EXCUSE US.

I NEED YOU TO BE THE ONE

TO TELL YOUR FATHER.

- WHAT?

- I KNOW.

HOW CAN YOU ASK ME

TO DO THAT, MOM?

HOPEFULLY BARBARA WILL

HAVE GOTTEN TO HIM IN TIME

AND YOU WON'T HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING,

SWEETIE. BUT IF SHE HASN'T--

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED

TO SAY TO HIM?

THE TRUTH. TELL HIM THAT I'M

TELLING HIM TO MOVE OUT AND THAT I--

I DON'T WANT TO HUMILIATE HIM

IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA, HONEY.

YOU'LL BE DOING YOUR FATHER

A FAVOR THAT HE'LL NEVER FORGET.

SOMEBODY HOLDS:

THE KEY:

BUT I CAN'T FIND

MY WAY HOME:

STILL I CAN' FIND MY WAY HOME

AND I AIN'T DONE

NOTHING WRONG...

MY BIG MAN'S BEEN HAULING

CONCRETE FOR A LIVING,

- YEAH.

- STRONG AS AN OX.

HAS YOUR MOTHER BEEN

DRIVING THE MERCEDES?

GRANT?

UH, THE MERCEDES.

YEAH. YES.

DID YOU TALK TO YOUR

SECRETARY TODAY?

NO, I HAVEN'T.

WHY?

NOTHING.

I WAS JUST WONDERING

HOW EVERYTHING WAS

GOING AT THE OFFICE.

I DON'T THINK YOU'VE EVER

ASKED ME THAT BEFORE.

IT MUST BE BECAUSE YOU'RE

EARNING YOUR KEEP THIS SUMMER.

NOW YOU CAN APPRECIATE

WHAT IT TAKES:

TO BRING HOME:

A BUCK OR TWO.

I SOMETIMES WONDER

IF YOUR MOTHER HAD TO WORK

WHETHER SHE'D HAVE MORE

APPRECIATION FOR THE OLD MAN.

HOW'S SHE DOING,

BY THE WAY?

MOM? SHE'S GOOD.

YOU KNOW MOM.

I SURE DO.

I SURE DO.

The changing

Of sunlight

To moonlight

Reflections

of my life

Oh, how they fill

my eyes...

Nixon devalued the dollar today.

Did you know that?

WELL, IT'S LIT UP

LIKE CHRISTMAS IN HERE.

HOW ARE YOU DOING?

YOU ALL RIGHT?

- I WASN'T EXPECTING

TO SEE YOU. - WHY NOT?

COME ON, BILL.

WE BOTH KNOW.

- KNOW WHAT?

- YOU DIDN'T TELL HIM?

DIDN'T YOU GET A CALL

FROM BARBARA?

I DIDN'T TALK

TO HER TODAY.

DIDN'T GRAN SAY ANYTHING?

GRANT?

ABOUT WHAT?

- BIG D!

- HI, DAD.

- OH.

- IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU.

AT LEAST SOMEBODY IS GLAD

TO SEE ME COME HOME.

NOW WHAT'S THIS ABOU BARBARA NOW? WHAT DID--?

BILL, DON'T YOU KNOW?

WHAT?

DON'T BE PLAYING

WITH ME, BILL.

WHAT THE HELL:

ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

YOU DON'T KNOW

THERE'S A PROBLEM?

NO. WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?

WHAT--?

WELL, THIS IS KEEN.

UH, LOOK, LET'S NO SPILL ANY BLOOD HERE.

I'VE BEEN TO SEE A LAWYER.

THIS IS HIS CARD.

YOU CAN GIVE HIM

A CALL TOMORROW.

OH.

I WANT YOU TO MOVE OUT--

TONIGHT, NOW.

JUST TURN AROUND AND GET OUT.

REALLY?

WE'RE DONE, BILL.

THE MARRIAGE IS OVER.

- JUST LIKE THAT?

- JUST LIKE THAT.

JUST LIKE THAT.

JUST LIKE THAT.

WELL,

FAIR DEAL.

I FIGURED:

YOU'D THINK THAT.

WELL, I THINK THA

IT'S A LITTLE--

A LITTLE SHORTSIGHTED

ON YOUR PART.

- DO YOU, BILL?

- I REALLY DO.

WELL, AT LEAS YOU DIDN'T PICK

THE MOST EXPENSIVE ONE.

HE'LL BE IN HIS

OFFICE TOMORROW,

EXPECTING A CALL

FROM YOU.

I'VE BEEN TO THE BANK,

MADE COPIES:

OF OUR TAX FORMS.

RIGHT.

AND YOU'VE GO THE KIDS

PRETTY SHAPED UP,

HAVE YOU?

THEY ALL UNDERSTAND

THE PROBLEM,

THAT IT'S ONLY

BETWEEN US.

WELL, I GUESS I DON' HAVE TO UNPACK NOW, DO I?

HEY, GUYS.

HOW ARE WE DOING

IN HERE, BIG D?

NOT SO GOOD, DAD.

NONE OF US ARE.

YOU DON'T HAPPEN TO KNOW THE

NUMBER TO THE LEMON TREE, DO YOU?

THEY ALREADY HAVE

A ROOM FOR YOU.

OH.

THAT'S HANDY.

I HAVE TO GO, DAD.

- WELL, STAY IN TOUCH NOW.

- YEAH.

- HONEY.

- YEAH?

WE'RE ALL GONNA BE FINE.

BYE, DAD.

PATTY...

IF GLEN BERNSON:

CALLS ME,

MAKE SURE HE CALLS ME

AT THE LEMON TREE.

WE'VE GOT A HUGE ORDER

IN DAYTON.

AND MERRIWETHER--

YOU REMEMBER HIM--

HE'S GOING TO TRY

TO SELL BERNSON:

THE SAME DAMN THING,

AND WE CAN'T HAVE THAT HAPPEN.

WE REALLY CAN'T.

ANOTHER ONE.

- LANCE?

- LANCE.

- JUST A SECOND.

- LANCE, CAN I GET A PICTURE?

- THANK YOU.

- ONE MORE, PLEASE.

WOW, LOOKS LIKE

IT'S A HIT ALREADY.

WELCOME TO TONIGHT'S

PREMIERE SCREENING.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

THE PRODUCER:

AND CREATOR OF:

"AN AMERICAN FAMILY,"

THE AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER

CRAIG GILBERT.

THANK YOU AND WELCOME TO EPISODE

ONE OF "AN AMERICAN FAMILY."

- CAMERON, LOOK AT THIS.

- BEFORE WE BEGIN,

I WOULD BE REMISS

IN NOT THANKING THE LOUDS.

- YOU SEE THIS?

- THEIR COURAGE STILL INSPIRES ME

AND THEIR TRUS HUMBLES ME.

SO WITHOU FURTHER ADO,

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

"AN AMERICAN FAMILY."

Six, five, four, three...

It's another New Year's Eve

for the Loud family.

But this year will be

much different.

For the very first time,

Pat and her husband Bill

are living separately

after 20 years of marriage...

"PATTY LOUD SEES NO WAY

OUT OF A FALSE MARRIAGE

EXCEPT BOOZE."

- Please, Lance.

- HOLD ON, LISTEN TO THIS.

"LANCE OOZES HIS

LEECH-LIKE HOMOSEXUALITY

WITH THE GLEE OF A GROTESQUE,

GOYA-ESQUE EMOTIONAL DWARF."

WHAT? NO NO NO.

OH MY GOD.

Oh my God,

what have I done?

I NEVER WANT TO SEE

THAT MAN AGAIN.

MOM, I'M--

I'M COMING HOME.

AND WE'RE GONNA WATCH

THE SHOW WHEN IT AIRS

TOGETHER, ALL OF US,

ALL OF US AS A FAMILY.

They are an American family,

the family next door

on the surface.

10 million viewers

watch them every week

on the most popular,

most watched series

that educational television

has ever tackled.

And those 10 million people

have heard the Louds say things

that many people wouldn't tell

their lovers or tax accountants.

You are a pathetic fool.

Why don't we

discuss this later?

You don't know

there's a problem?

No. What's your problem?

I've been to see a lawyer.

This is his card.

You can give him

a call tomorrow.

I want you

to move out.

It's a West-coast bourgeois

all-American freefall.

There is a tremendous amount

wrong with this family

and very little right.

I for one view them

as a true American tragedy.

But they have one child

who has not turned out well.

What they didn't

realize is that

people were not

going to look at it

as an art form,

that they were going

to begin criticizing them

as people.

People dissected

this family

in order to call

into question

not only an American family,

but the American family.

...role as a father, but that

that role was of a pal.

Have you seen Lance Loud

and that get-up?

Here was a family

with very serious problems.

Is there or is there not such

a thing as a sense of shame?

It's just-- it's shocking.

And I wouldn't want anybody...

SO SENSATIONALISM WAS

HIS GOAL FROM THE GET-GO.

IT'S MORE COMPLICATED

THAN THAT.

HE WANTED TO CREATE

A SUCCESSFUL SHOW,

BUT HE WAS ALSO:

ON A PERSONAL MISSION.

COULD THAT EXPLAIN

WHAT WENT WRONG?

CRAIG DIDN'T SEARCH

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