Listen Up Philip Page #7

Why not?

Because he's a cocksucker

and a little piece of sh*t.

Oh, f***!

Jesus, God Almighty.

F***ing thing. Look at this.

Is this a meeting about something new?

Hmm? Well, potentially.

It's complicated.

We're hoping for some money

from a sale of movie rights.

Is that woman still your editor?

No. She's an a**hole

with no loyalty as well.

- What about...

- Are you here only to put me on the spot?

None of this is worth revisiting to me.

I've been betrayed by a lot

of small-minded and worthless people.

Do I need them to accomplish anything?

The answer is no.

They are altogether nothing.

Having once known me will always be

the most interesting thing about them.

Those f***ing vultures

have fed off me longer

than any sane man would have allowed.

That sounds like a horrible example

to set for your little student.

So what? He's not my kid.

'Ike's time with Philip

had been rejuvenating,

'restoring a sense of pride and vitality

'that the man at one point

subsided solely upon.

'The adoration and attention

was something he'd not felt in years

'and, during the summer months,

resulted in Ike feeling stronger

'and more productive

than he had been in some time.

'When Philip departed

in late August for the college,

'Ike was remiss

to find himself backsliding

'into a familiar pattern

of boredom and tedium.

'His friendship with Philip

eventually served

'as little other than a reminder

of the absences in his life,

'and of their increasing

presence and volume.

'Seeing Philip during

the previous weekend

'had left Ike in an even lower

state of self-pity,

'as he found himself unable to produce

a worthwhile thought.

'So consumed was he

with the solitude and self-imposed exile

'he had once coveted and manufactured

for himself so meticulously

'but now experienced only as an

infinitely replenishing prism of regret.

'The companionship of Melanie

was, at best, diverting

'and, at worst, a constant reminder

of the multitudes of relationships

'Ike had gleefully sabotaged

over the years,

'all in the name of preserving

and feeding his increasingly insatiable ego.

'When she asked, he would refuse

to be open or honest

'about the past several years

of his life,

'neglecting to satisfy her curiosity

about what had become

'of his many friends,

acquaintances and colleagues.'

Nobody's seen her

since she was a teenager.

Well, she stopped visiting

right about then.

Which is just as well.

She's a pain in the ass.

How so?

She asks too many questions.

She used to have all those cute friends.

- Have any of them been by?

- I'm...

I'm not here all the time.

I used to be a lion.

We all did.

I think we've become pathetic.

Want to hear a funny idea?

Come on up, come on. Hey, come on.

Here, take your coat off. Here you are.

Yeah.

This is my place. My humble home.

I know.

- You want to take your coat off?

- Oh, thank you.

Yeah, I'll set it right here.

- So, er... drinks?

- Sure, of course.

We have some wine, red wine, white wine.

- Erm... red.

- Red?

- Norm?

- Prosecco.

- Ah...

- Prosecco!

That's fancy, Norm.

You know, I love movies.

So here's a line from a movie.

You have to guess.

She says to a younger man who's trying

to woo her, to flirt with her...

And she says to him, "You don't want me.

You want somebody young and fresh."

And she goes,

"Armies have marched over me."

- All right, guess that one.

- Right away.

Thank you.

Are we supposed to guess who said that?

- Well, maybe. Yeah.

- What movie?

- What was your name again?

- Thank you. Flo.

Flow gently, sweet Afton.

It is spoken by Rita Hayworth.

- Do you remember Rita Hayworth?

- Of course.

- Yes!

- They don't remember Rita Hayworth.

In a movie called Fire Down Below.

Hey, you know that?

There's snow on the roof,

but there's fire down below.

- Sant! Sant!

- You're French, right?

Come here. It's more cosy.

- Yeah, come on.

- Is there anyone else coming tonight?

Well, I'm younger than Norm.

Oh, I thought you said

there was a party happening.

Oh, I'm sorry, I... Maybe I...

I have a secret weapon.

- Oh!

- I'll go get it.

Just hold it right there.

Yeah, he's young.

He's not tall, but he's young.

Philip. Philip, get over here.

No, now, as quick as you can.

Get here now.

So there was these two old men

sitting in deck chairs on the beach,

and one of them turns to the other

and he says, "It's nice out today,"

and the other one says,

"Sure, I'll get mine out in a minute."

Hey, let's hope it's a boy! Huh?

Philip!

Come on, stand up. Oh, you are standing.

Come in, come in. Hey.

- Hey.

- Hey.

Oh! In you come.

We will be social

with these women tonight.

Son, you're young. Come on.

Huh? What are you?

- Old.

- Yeah?

Wise.

And also rich, which helps.

Yeah, one day you'll be old, wise and rich.

Now get in there.

Come on. Enjoy yourself!

Call me son, yeah? Hi, I'm Philip.

My name is Philip.

- Hello.

- Hi.

I know who you are,

but it's a real pleasure.

- An old friend of Ike's.

- How do you know each other?

Well, I've never met him personally,

but, um...

- You've heard of me.

- I've read. I've read who I think you are.

- Wow.

- Yeah, he's... you know who he is, correct?

No, should we know who he is?

- Yeah, he's one of the...

- I don't know whether you should...

- I... I write.

- He's what they call essential.

- A writer.

- Like the profession.

This guy is like, they teach this guy.

- You know...

- Oh, really?

Yeah, I'm gonna just go check

really quickly on the lord of the manor.

Oh! Well, get yourself a drink.

You need a drink.

Well, I shouldn't, probably.

I've already taken, like,

all kinds of strange things

before coming over here,

so I don't know.

- Good, you'll be able...

- You look very put together.

You handle your things well.

I do handle them well, but...

I'm speaking of allergy medicine in this case,

'cause upstate really fucks with me.

All right, have yourself...

All right, have yourself a merry

little Christmas. I'll be right back.

- Good to see you.

- It's an honour.

- Sit down.

- Thank you.

Sit down.

What are you doing in here?

- They said they want you to come back.

- You f***ed up.

- Huh?

- Get back in there.

I could have made that transaction

in two minutes when I was your age.

Twice a week. F***ing get back in there.

Well, it's my understanding

that was a different time.

Women were, you know... looser then.

Also much more impressed by authors.

Yeah, authors like me.

Get in!

You wrote that book?

- Well, no. No, no, no. Listen.

- Oh, my god.

- Can we have an autograph?

- You wanted to know about Joseph Conrad.

And we're back.

Hey, hey, how about you give us

a little tune on the piano, huh?

- Uh...

- Come on, come on.

You want a little song?

A song from Philip?

Georgia on My Mind.

More upbeat. Upbeat.

Let's dance. Let's dance.

Oh, that's it.

Melanie! Hey, hey, hey!

Look who's here! Hey!

- Hey.

- Hi.

That's my daughter, huh?

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