Thank you.
Can I get either of you gentlemen anything else?
You want another drink?
No, I'm fine, thanks.
We'll take another bottle of the Chateau Margaux.
You'll be fine.
Listen, I'm sorry Michael isn't here yet.
His plane got delayed getting into Teterboro.
Oh, that's fine. It's fine.
He likes to meet all the executive candidates.
It's kind of a tradition or a neurosis.
It's nice of him, though.
It is actually. Until he does his one joke.
"I thought you said he wasn't handsome."
That's an oldie but a goodie, I guess.
So what time you heading out tomorrow?
Well, actually, Sue's up there now.
I was gonna get the last bus tonight
and get an early start tomorrow morning.
You know, when we called the office out west,
you were the only name they gave us.
That's nice of 'em.
Listen, Steve, we're a nine billion dollar company. Yeah.
Someone's recommending you, it's not nice, it's numbers.
I appreciate that.
Now let me ask you something.
You guys have closed more towns
than the team behind you by almost triple digits.
But the price point that we pay out on your leases
is half of everyone else's. How do you do that?
Well, I'm from Eldridge, Iowa.
Meaning?
It might as well be Rifle, Colorado,
Dish, Texas or Lafayette, Louisiana.
Any of these towns we've sold.
I know them, they know me.
Well, unfortunately, the rest of our road teams don't find it quite so easy.
I grew up in a large farming community.
Football Fridays, tractor pulls, cow tipping, all of it.
I mean, I'm one of two guys in my graduating class who went to college
and studied something other than agriculture.
It's the biggest fight my grandfather and I ever had.
Just the pride, I guess.
No. It's delusional self mythology. It's bullshit.
We had a Caterpillar plant down in Davenport a few miles away.
They closed that down my junior year.
I didn't think anything of it.
By the time my senior prom rolled around
I got to see, first hand, just how little legs we had to stand on.
I mean, the whole farming town fantasy was just shattered.
The truth was, without the plant,
without the industry, we had nothing.
And my whole town was...
I'm not selling them natural gas.
I'm selling them the only way they have to get back.
Best of luck, Steve.
Is this the guy? I thought you said he wasn't handsome!
Sorry I'm late.
Had to stop at home on my way down.
My daughter, it's her birthday today.
She's turning 13 already. I can't believe it.
Thank you.
Good morning, boss.
Oh, stop it.
Am I supposed to call you "boss" now?
They'll let me know.
That's the best you could do?
No. But I wasn't looking for the best, was I?
You know what I mean.
Stick.
You do it on purpose.
You're right, I do.
Mmm-hmm. And was it worth it?
Suck it!
"Rob's Guns, Groceries, Guitars and Gas."
God, I wish I'd thought of that.
So where'd they put you up? The Sheraton?
Oh, Four Seasons.
What? Mmm-hmm.
Jesus! Yup!
And I was right, this is the entry point for the whole state.
Well, I like that. It's like dominoes.
Yeah. It is.
Hey, what season is it? Is this... They still wearing flannel up here?
Place like this, they always do flannel.
Yeah, or camo.
I am not wearing camo.
You need work gloves?
I never use them.
That's a yes.
Okay, you 'bout ready? Yep.
Hey... Boots!
Huh? No. I'm not going over this with you again.
These were my grandfather's boots, and they're made in America.
Yeah, like in 1947!
Yeah, they're an heirloom.
Oh, my God! They weren't kidding about the guitars.
I guess you're not here to buy a guitar.
You're the natural gas people.
I'm sorry?
Apologizing right off the bat, I like it.
It's endearing and vulnerable and yet honest and direct.
Your ID card, it's kind of a dead giveaway.
It's about time you all showed up.
Yeah? Well, hell yeah.
We can't sell the scenery, can we?
Oh, that's good.
You wanna come work for us?
What, and leave all this?
Cash only.
Really? No.
Shut it.
Oh, go ahead. If you have to, go ahead.
No, I'm just... I just think it's great that you're making friends.
Now shut up.
I can't believe this is right outside the city. It looks like Kentucky.
Two hours outside any city looks like Kentucky. You should know that.
Something weird about those horses?
No. Not really.
Wait. Are they small?
They seem very small. They seem small to you, right?
My eyesight's going.
Maybe they're ponies? Those are not ponies.
Remember, new region, so we can go as high as 5,000 and 18%.
Don't ponies have big heads? I mean, like, proportionally?
Hello, there.
Are you the owner of this place?
No, sir.
No? Well, how come you're doing all the work?
I don't know.
Well, who do I talk to about that?
My dad. Your dad. Okay.
I'm gonna find your dad, I'm gonna straighten all this out.
Oh. Oh, hi. I thought the census was over.
No, I'm with the natural gas company.
You got a second? Oh, hell! Why didn't you say so?
Come on in.
You been shopping?
Sorry? I said, you been...
Here, you got a tag.
Huh? Oh. There you go.
Oh. Well, so much for trying to look local.
Nice boots.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir. That is some wild color, right?
Is that Thor? Iron Man.
Let me see. Oh, yeah.
God, it's nice. Can I have that?
My kid would really like that.
I'm kidding.
Reading this mornin' about all the gas drillin' in Pennsylvania.
"Stanton Gas." That you guys?
Oh, no, I'm representing Global Crosspower Solutions. But there's a bunch of us.
Well, you're probably the best.
Hey, you wanna come work for us?
Even before the drilling, the initial phase of development
will boost your town's tax revenue.
That means that money will be injected into your town immediately.
Here's what it means to me.
One of the only reasons I live where I live
is because of the school my son goes to.
I want everything for him.
And everything, to me, starts with an education.
So our leases start at $2,000.
That's it?
That's right.
Well, that's not necessarily life-changing money, is it?
Well, it's per acre. Uh-huh.
You have 20. So...
I think there are a lot of people around here
who would say $40,000, well, that's pretty good money.
Especially for doing nothing.
But the real reason I'm here at this early stage
is because our research shows that your particular plot of land
has a potentially high yield.
Now what that means is that not only the size of the deposit,
but actually, the quality of the shale is in the top tier.
Yeah.
Carson's chances of going to college are too low.
And without a college education,
in this job market, that means manual labor.
And those jobs are gone.
Technology is our sons' future.
There's no reason your town
shouldn't have a state-of-the-art high school.
Get an education that allows him to compete at the highest level.
And that's why we offer an 8% share in any and all profits
that we see from your well.
So with this top tier level shit,
what kinda money are you talkin' about?
Oh, I can't say yet... At least ballpark it for me.
I mean, other people in similar situations.
Millions.
I mean, you mean per... You know, you guys or...
You...
Could be a millionaire.
I'll show you what a standard lease agreement looks like.
That's it right there.
Nice job today.
Kind of anticlimactic. I thought it would be harder.
It's too easy.
SUEZ What?
I got it.
Really?
VP of Land Management.
Well, that's great!
I'm proud of ya.
Holy shit.
Danny, I don't know what to say.
A no-hitter.
It was only two innings.
Did anybody get on base?
No.
Well, then that makes it almost a perfect game!
That is amazing!
It's not the whole game, Mom.
Okay, well, you should... Still, you should be celebrating.
You shouldn't be sitting here talking to me.
Hey, MS. T!
Hi, Colin.
So where are you guys headed?
I don't know. Sarah Dayton's having a party, I think.
You look nice. Okay.
I love you so much.
Okay, Mom. Okay.
Go.
Hey!
Mr. Richards. Hi, Steve Butler.
Steve, it's a pleasure. Nice to meet you.
And call me Gerry, for God's sake. Oh? Great.
Anything to drink? Steve?
Uh... A cup of coffee.
For you, Gerry? Oh, I'm fine. Thanks, Lynn.
Well, listen, I appreciate you sitting down with me here.
I know you're busy, but I... Oh, yeah, yeah.
I just thought it'd be a good idea
for you and I to get together before the town hall tomorrow
so that we can get to know each other.
Of course! No, no. Look, as the senior member
of the supervisors board, thank you for sitting down with me.
I appreciate it. Well...
Pretty exciting, all this natural gas stuff.
It is very exciting.
Whole lot of money down there. That is also true.
How much, you think? How much money you think we got down there?
Well, you know, Global's research team
hasn't finished their analysis yet.
But I think it could be as much as 15 to 20 million dollars.
Is that right?
I mean, it could be, yeah.
Thank you.
Well, listen, I've...
I've been doing a little research about all this. Oh, good.
Gone online a little bit, and...
Well, I've read all these rumblings how natural gas
possibly contaminates water sources?
You know, killing crops and whatnot.
Yeah, you know, I've read all that stuff too.
There's stories of people lighting their water on fire.
People getting sick. Now, Steve, that sounds nasty.
Well, well, there are a lot of scare tactics at play here, and...
Oh, look, I...
I have a responsibility to protect these people.
To ensure their safety. Yes.
And to be honest...
Well, I'm just not so sure I'm too comfortable
telling my constituents to allow you folks to come into our town.
No matter how much money you have.
Okay. Well, Mr. Richards, because there's...
Now...
I know that you folks have quite the operation in the works here.
With plans to set up throughout the state. Hmm?
Yeah.
Well, I'd hate to be the guy to jeopardize all that for ya.
To lead this one little podunk town to reject your company.
To reject natural gas.
Well, I can't even imagine what that would do to you guys.
Especially if word of this got out, you know, in the papers,
on the news. Hmm?
It's 30,000.
What's that?
I can offer you $30,000.
Can I get you anything else?
You know what, Lynn, I think we're done here.
Just the check, please.
"The Marcellus Shale, estimated at two trillion dollars,
with billions in potential tax revenue to individual states."
Google.
First one that came up, first sentence.
Now, you wanna rethink that joke of a number you mentioned earlier? Hmm?
Mr. Richards, I'm just being straight with you.
It's simple math.
Best case scenario, there's $30 million under your town.
0.1% of that is $30,000.
That's what I'm authorized to offer you.
I'm also telling you it's a one-time offer.
Don't get up.
Don't do that.
I've been at this table before and it does not end well.
Look, I don't fault you for trying, but I'm telling you.
Don't do this.
Because we will walk away. We always do.
And after every single town within three states
has signed up for this, and the blows of this economy are almost unbearable,
we're gonna come back.
And we're gonna offer you nothing.
We will offer this town nothing.
Every contract we've signed, every piece of the pie we've offered,
it all goes away.
And we buy this place for nothing.
Now, please.
Let some other guy belast
I got it.
Thank you.
So, I'll see you tomorrow?
I'll see you tomorrow.
Geez! You want me to leave the whole bottle?
They allow you to do that?
Hey, Jesse, three more, please.
Jesus Christ! The two of you.
I don't know what your problem is. It's my birthday.
I... I have no excuse.
Hmm. Let me guess.
40, married, marketing, two kids.
38, stripper/waitress, but born to be a singer.
Fuck you! I'm a teacher!
No, no, I was talking about me.
You wanna see a dance? It's 100 bucks.
They wouldn't give you 30.
No, you haven't seen my moves. Okay, all right,
now you're creeping me out.
I'm Steve. Alice.
Wow, you're going pretty big for a school night, Alice.
It's my birthday.
Oh, right, right. Well, actually tomorrow.
So they just give you your day off? You know, for your birthday?
Or do you have to, like, tell the kids you have a stomach bug?
Okay, first off, I resent the implication that I can't hold my liquor.
And secondly,
we watch videos sometimes for the first two periods.
Just sometimes, right? Smart.
So... What's your story?
What brings you to our booming metropolis?
Oh, I'm actually from a small town myself,
so this kinda feels like home.
Oh, yeah? Where's that? Eldridge, Iowa.
Ah! You're a Buckeye!
That's Ohio. Mmm.
It's the same thing. Okay, no offense taken.
Alice? Let's go.
Hey, what are we doing? We drinking or not?
Nice to meet you, Alice.
Um... So you're not gonna even buy a birthday girl a birthday drink?
No, I think that would communicate the wrong thing.
You're an asshole!
No, no, I'm... Of course I'll buy you a drink.
No, forget it. You blew it. You missed your chance.
Wait now. That's it?
Alice, come on.
So how long you gonna be in town?
Uh... Yeah, a bit.
"A bit"? Oh, my God, you are a horrible liar!
I'm not lying.
You wanna give a girl a real birthday present?
Sure, yeah.
Jesse, we're playing Absolut Madness.
Yeah! Whoa!
Wait a minute. What now?
What's Absolut Madness?
It's pretty much what it sounds like.
You and Jesse drink four shots in four minutes,
and if you can get closer to the bull's-eye on that dartboard,
then we drink for free and you get your Polaroid on the wall.
That's not at all what it sounds like. All right, I'm in.
No, I'll tell you what. Okay, hang on.
What if we double it, all right?
I'll do eight shots in eight minutes,
and if I win, everybody at this bar gets to drink for free.
All right. All right.
You're on. Come on.
Hey, my name's Steve.
I'm hopefully gonna get everybody here drunk tonight for free.
Whoo!
All right, Absolut Madness, here we go.
Come on, Steve.
You can do it, darlin'.
That's it.
I got it, I got it!
Ooh! Oh, thank God, you're still kinda handsome.
You're late. What?
Your phone hasn't stopped buzzing for the last half hour.
Shit!
Oh, shit. Okay.
Um... I had a really great time.
Did you?
Huh? Yeah. You know, I mean...
Nothing happened, Steve.
Well, actually, you did kiss me before you threw up the first time.
Ugh! That's gross. Sorry.
I was gonna let you sleep in your car,
but you couldn't remember which one was yours.
Uh, no. I... I didn't drive.
Well, then it's a good thing I didn't let you sleep in your car.
Um... Well, could I take your number or...
Well, you're gonna be around for a bit, right?
Uh...
It's not that big of a town. You'll see me again.
Okay. Is the... The front door is...
At the front of the house.
When you get there, you're gonna see a knob...
Okay. You turn that knob...
Yeah, too early for that.
I'm just... Thank you.
You're welcome.
Uh... Happy birthday.
What do you mean, "you were burned"?
Why were you using an iron?
So he asked you to do it?
No, I highly doubt that it's burned off, Danny.
What did the nurse say?
Throwing hand or catching hand?
So you're gonna play this weekend?
Just five minutes.
What do you mean, "pitching"?
Danny, when did the coach say that? That's fantastic!
No, no, no, that was just Steve. I'm at work.
Okay, folks, if you could find your seats, please,
we'll get started. Thank you.
I can't believe you went out.
We didn't get home from dinner until 9:30.
She was really cool, actually.
I think you would've liked her.
I don't think you should be making statements like that just yet.
Some of you may even have family or friends
who've had natural gas come to their town.
In which case, I'm sure you're aware... Name?
Alice... of what a life-changing opportunity...
Alice?
Was she elderly?
...that we will be bringing natural gas to McKinley.
How do they get the gas?
Ah! Frank. How are ya? Listen...
What is that? Lemonade.
Yeah? Is it good? It's fantastic.
It's fresh squeezed. There's a kid selling it out there.
She is cleaning up!
You want some? No.
There are these rock deposits underground,
deep under... Miles underground.
And they create these drills that go down two or three miles
and the breaking of that shale
is what actually releases the gas.
It's called fracking.
Excuse me?
The process is calling fracking.
That's right. That's right, Frank.
Now if you'd let me finish, please, we have a basket...
I would encourage all of you, when you go home,
to Google that word and see what you find.
Unfortunately, it's not nearly as simple
as what Supervisor Richards has just laid out.
Frank? Frank, I'm sure we all appreciate the point you're trying to make,
but there's no decision to be made here. We need this.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
But this thing here,
it may not be the saving grace
that you all want it to be.
Now Gerry started this thing off
by saying, "Natural gas coming in here is lifesaving."
And it is.
It's a clean and efficient resource.
But the way we go about getting it is some dirty business.
Frank, with all clue respect, I think you're out of your league.
And the potential for error is just too high.
Thank you, Frank.
And there are people all over the country
whose water is being contaminated... I got it.
- Hey! Hey, hey! - Okay.
Frank, I have absolutely had enough of this.
We don't have the time to have this conversation here.
If you wanna come down to...
I'm late here. Sorry. I'm sorry.
I don't mean to interrupt you, Mr...
Yates.
My name is Frank Yates.
Mr. Yates, are you with an environmental group?
No.
No? Well, what line of work are you in, sir?
I'm a teacher at the high school.
A teacher?
I teach science. What about you, Mr...
Okay, yeah, I deserved that.
Steve Butler is my name.
I'm a consultant here with Global.
I only caught the tail end of what you were saying,
but you seem like someone who's done his homework.
Could I ask you, though, where'd you get your information?
Mr. Butler, you and I both know the information I've been talking about
is vast and detailed.
You're probably right. I'm certainly... I'm not the guy with all the answers.
Oh! Well, then you'd be the perfect guy
for them to send here to deny everything.
Well, look, I'm not gonna deny that this issue
has been made pretty complicated
by a few companies who've had their share of incidents.
But, we've been fracking in this country for over 50 years.
This is not a new issue, this is not a new technology.
But Global is being sued, isn't that true, Steve?
Yeah, that's true. That's true.
Just like any other company our size, in any other industry.
And the way we handle those lawsuits is we stand up to 'em.
Because we're not in the business of handing out free money to people
who make false claims against us.
And the thing to take away here is, how many times we've lost.
And that's none. We've never, ever lost one of these cases.
Well, you can't lose a game that's still being played.
Look, Steve,
I'm sure that even you can admit
that fracking is far from a perfect process.
Perfect?
Of course not.
But given the government regulations that we have to adhere to,
and all the hoops we've jumped through, it's pretty close to perfect.
Steve.
The only reason that natural gas is so big right now is
because it finally is the clean alternative
to these dangerous industries like coal and oil.
If it's such an incredible alternative,
why did they have to have a man standing off to the side of the room
to make sure we all go for it?
Seems to me it should be able to sell itself.
But you're not the man with the answers. So, who is?
Because I still have questions.
Well, I'd like to answer all of those questions.
But...
I'd just like everybody to keep something in mind here.
There's no such thing as a neutral position here.
If you're against this,
you're for coal and oil.
Period.
I mean, unless we talk about cutting consumption.
And so far that's a conversation none of us wanna have.
Steve, I just came here to point out that this issue
is a bit more complicated than it seems.
Well, yeah. I mean, you've certainly done that.
Great, I think we should take a vote.
Well...
In a couple of weeks,
when we've all had time to think this whole thing through,
I think we should put it to a vote.
With all due respect,
the people in this town really need this.
They need this.
And quite frankly, I don't think that anybody here
is gonna be swayed by one man.
I'm sorry.
You're right.
These people and I came here
to say we strongly believe this is not in the best interest of this town.
Hey, Gerry.
Gerry, I'm sorry. These kids have regionals coming up.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Stan, sure thing. Go ahead.
Well... Look, Frank, this isn't everybody.
I mean, not even half the town is here today.
Exactly!
And I think all those people would hate to be left out of such an important decision.
Frank... Gerry, Gerry, let's face it.
We both know that money can lead very often to bad decisions.
You've seen the same numbers I have,
and with the recent figures on deposits in this area
at 150 million dollars.
Let's all take some time to think it through.
150 million dollars?
Those are the latest numbers out of the university.
Well...
150 million dollars is a lot of money.
Let's have a vote!
Say, three weeks time. We're adjourned!
Asshole.
Holy shit. Okay, calm down.
Don't tell me to calm down!
"Natural gas isn't perfect."
What were you thinking?
And that politician. Why was he so pissed off?
Because I told them that the real number was 30 million dollars.
Jesus Christ. I mean...
Well, once again, you came in below the price point.
Was it worth it?
I'm sorry.
You know what, Steven? Listen to me.
I don't give a shit about your numbers or your promotion.
My kid is in fucking Houston with his stupid fucking dad.
This is a job, and then I go home.
I'm sorry, Sue.
Do not say, "I'm sorry, Sue" one more time.
All right. The plan's the same.
Nothing's changed.
But starting now,
we close everyone.
I don't care if they can fit one well or 20 wells.
We go door to door and we lease it all.
They still need the money.
The politician was buckling,
Steven stepped in and tried to put the fire out.
This Yates guy, he's just a wild card.
Yeah, he's the high school science teacher here, you know.
Uh-huh. Well, research pulled him up.
He's a hell of a lot more than that, Steve.
Frank Yates. MA, engineering, MIT.
PhD from Cornell in Physics.
Come on.
Jesus Christ, the guy did R and D for Boeing for 32 years?
He's retired, Steve!
He's teaching for fun!
Okay. We're pulling it. We're pulling you now.
No! Absolutely not.
They take us out of it, they put somebody else in it.
It looks like we're running scared.
Where is everybody? Where'd you go?
I'm here, uh...
Look, I can have this whole place committed
before this guy gets one more supporter.
Period. Okay? Just give me the chance.
I don't have to tell you how important all this is.
This is all or nothing.
We understand each other? Yeah, I understand.
Coffee, handsome?
Uh, yeah. Two to go, please.
Cream and sugar?
Yeah, please.
God! Put that away, it's on me.
Thank you.
Don't you worry about Frank Yates, darlin'.
We all know it's not true.
Hey, did research say anything about an environmental presence here?
No. None of the usual suspects.
Nothing locally.
Uh, Mr. Yates? Yes?
Hi! My name is Dustin Noble,
from a small environmental group called Superior Athena.
What can I do for you?
I heard about the vote, and I'd like to do anything I can to help.
Oh, well, look, I...
I don't think anybody here
considers themselves to be part of some great environmental revolution.
I have a pretty good feeling we could win this.
But with all due respect, sir, you've picked a much bigger fight than you think...
So you have to win.
And I have the one thing you don't.
Evidence.
That's it.
Wow, are you a little stoned or is there a storm coming I didn't know about?
We have to stay a little longer than we thought.
Not necessarily a bad thing.
What happened to your window?
Ah, I got into a bit of a heated discussion last night at the bar.
I'm assuming it's not a coincidence.
A heated discussion? About what?
You're kidding.
Do I look worried? I own a gun shop.
Oh, come on.
You sing? What?
You look like you'd be a singer.
What are you talking about?
Girls I was in high school with, who sang in the choir,
they all had hair like yours.
Well, I was in the church choir but...
Told you.
It's in the hair. Think about it.
Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, Cher.
They all had good hair.
That's a very interesting theory, Rob, but...
I no longer sing in public.
What?
I mean, what's the point of having good hair if you don't sing in public?
What do you mean? Like karaoke?
We don't call it that.
It's just open mic.
And you tell the band what you want to sing, they play it, you sing.
Not gonna happen.
Excuse me.
Hey! Hey!
Excuse me. Hey, man!
Hey! Hey! Hey, buddy!
Hey! Hey, man!
Come on.
Okay, look.
This whole door to door thing just isn't gonna cut it.
If you wanna sell to these people,
you gotta get 'em all together or not get 'em at all.
I mean, you're a pro.
I shouldn't have to tell you this.
Show your face tonight. Make yourself seem friendly. Embarrass yourself a bit.
Hey, did you see a guy in there?
I'm gonna let you figure out how stupid that sounded.
I think there's an environmental presence.
Really? Well, I don't know.
That guy. Right there.
I... I don't know. Maybe.
That's okay, don't panic. We'll figure it out.
I gotta get an outfit.
You think this guy is handsome.
What?
No, you just look nice.
Oh, shut up.
Ooh, Buddy's Place.
Scene of the crime.
Is this where you tried to pick up that old lady?
Alice. She's very nice.
Hey, am I sitting with you?
No. I'm sitting with Rob.
Who's Rob?
The handsome guy.
Oh, Jesus.
Wait.
What song are you gonna sing?
Ow!
Sue.
Hey! Hey!
I signed you up. You ready?
Nice.
I'm not entirely sure you should be drinking.
Hey!
Alice.
Let's try this again.
Steve. Steve.
It's very nice to meet you.
Very nice to meet you, Alice.
So...
Looks like you are gonna be staying around for a bit after all.
Right, um...
The town hall meeting, didn't look like it went the way you wanted it to.
Yeah, we were only supposed to be here for two or three days.
Sorry I lied to you.
That's okay.
We don't actually play a game called Absolut Madness.
Jesse's shots were water.
What's Absolut Madness?
Um...
Uh...
In case of emergency only.
See you around, Steve.
Oh, my God.
Whoo!
No.
Jesus.Thought that would go better.
Really? I thought it was great.
Hey, everybody! Check, check.
Nope. That's not a good joke.
Uh...
It just felt like a much better idea
when I was standing alone in the back.
Sing something, man!
Oh, God! Definitely... Definitely you don't want that.
I just wanted to introduce myself.
I'm new in town, I just came in.
My name is Dustin Noble,
I work for a small environmental company called Athena.
And I...
Yeah. I know. I know.
The reason why I wanted to talk to you is
'cause I'm actually from a small farming community myself in Nebraska.
My family's 5th generation dairy. And, uh...
Well, the farm is gone. Everything we had is gone.
What happened was, in 2008 my dad found 12 dead cows
out by a creek about a half a mile from our house.
And then, in April about 70% of those cows were either sick or dead.
And by Christmas he had defaulted on his payments
and the bank took his house.
Um... The land just died.
It just... It just turned brown and died.
And it made it really easy to see the only things left standing,
which were these giant green wells
that said Global on them.
Now, these guys at Global, they're real clever.
They have this fine print in the leases they make you sign
that says you can't talk about it in a court of law, but...
Hell, I'm pretty sure they don't say anything about
telling a couple of friends at a bar.
We had the farm in our family for 150 years,
but it only took nine months to lose it.
So, I heard you were taking a vote.
And, uh, I had to come down here
because you have no idea how important this is.
And I promise you this is not an environmental conspiracy.
This is our lives.
Now it's happened and...
Hell! It's happened to one of us,
it can happen to all of us.
So, I guess I'm just here to say,
my name is Dustin Noble, and I'm here for you.
So take one of these pamphlets on the way out... MAN: Bruce!
Okay. Thanks a lot.
Come on, Springsteen, baby. Sing it!
Oh, yikes! No.
No. Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
You have no idea how hard that song is.
It's way higher than you think, no!
Really?
Wow. Okay. Uh...
Ooh.
I've got a big day tomorrow.
Come on, I need it.
This is gross.
That's him. That's the guy.
I'll tell you what. If I'm gonna do this I need the help.
So, let's do it for real.
Everybody up! Let's go.
Let's go...
I can handle it.
Hey, none of what that guy just said is true.
I'm not a bad guy.
"Global go home." What a crock of shit.
God! Can we go inside at least?
It's fucking freezing out here.
I mean, how do we know the guy's even staying here?
Where else would he stay, Steven?
I mean, none of this shit can be true, right?
No. Of course, not.
We would've heard about it. They're not going to send us in blind.
I should have just confronted him at the bar.
In front of the whole town? On open mic night?
Okay.
Hello!
Hey!
Play nice. I got it. I got it.
Hey, man! What's going on?
Hey! How's it going? Good, good. What are you doing here?
What's that?
What are you doing here?
I mean, Athena? I've never even heard of that company.
What kind of name is that?
Uh, it's Greek originally.
Athena's the goddess of wisdom.
Dude, I fucking know who Athena is.
Oh, okay.
'Cause you just said that you didn't.
I'm sorry, who are you?
Are you joking?
I'm Steve. Hi, Steve.
Yeah, I'm the guy you were just talking shit about at open mic night!
Oh, wow! You're from Global.
Yeah, yeah.
Do you know who you're dealing with here?
I mean, is this like a joke to you?
I mean, is this some game for you and your stoner buddies?
Yeah. Oh, I know exactly who I'm dealing with.
Steve Butler.
See, I know everything about your company.
I know what you do, I know how to beat it.
You know how to... Wait, no.
By telling bullshit sob stories
and singing fucking Springsteen?
Listen. You seem like a really nice kid,
that doesn't understand that he is in way over his head on this one.
We've already signed more than enough leases to start development in this town.
Oh, man. It's too late.
I really wouldn't underestimate these people.
I don't.
Well, I know you think what you're doing is right,
and I really admire that commitment.
But your presence here only confuses people.
But we appreciate what you're doing,
and we would like to make a donation to your organization.
Your cooperation is valuable to us.
You gotta be kidding me.
Forget it. Forget it.
Put on the brake, put on the brake.
It's stupid. It doesn't even make sense.
Great, yeah. You got it. Yeah.
Okay. Check out the horses.
They do seem small.
Next to the goat, right?
Yeah. They should be bigger next to the goat.
Right? You're right!
That...
You know, unless the goats are big.
Come on! Those goats are normal.
Holy shit.
What? Holy shit!
What's going on here?
"Global go home."
Global go... Son of a bitch!
He made signs?
Hold on, no, no. There he is.
Pull over. Pull over!
I'll be around. Let me know if you need anything.
Okay. Thank you.
What are you doing, man?
Hey, Steve!
Hey!
Hello!
What the fuck are you doing here?
Well, I'm just telling these people the truth.
We had an agreement, man.
Did we?
Yeah, we sure as shit did.
Listen, Steve. I came here for a reason.
Oh, my God. What?
I gotta do what I came here to do.
Okay.
You took our money.
Yeah.
Oh, but I did put that donation to good use! So thank you!
Hey, Sue!
Okay, if it's all a joke, great.
Do you have any idea who you're dealing with here?
We're a nine billion dollar company.
Okay? Do you know what we're capable of?
DO you?
Because all I see here is you and me, Steve.
And one of us is a lot more confident than the other one.
One of us is about to get punched in the fucking face.
Steve, look, I know
this must be really frustrating for you, and I'm sorry.
You're doing all the things you've done in the past,
it's just not working this time.
It's not working? I have 60% of this land bought and paid for.
It's over.
Steve, you can have 80% of this land bought.
That's only 40% of the vote.
We're not fighting for land, Steve.
We're fighting for people.
You're a fucking...
- These people need help. Okay? - Steven.
I'm here to give it to 'em. What are you doing?
Steve, you're wrong. All right?
These people have changed.
It's not just about the money anymore.
Get in the car, Steven.
Listen, none of this is your fault, okay?
It's just... It's just time.
It's just time for what?
For what, man? What are you selling?
Look at you. I'll see ya around, Steve.
Yeah, let’s just run everything on rainbows and happy thoughts.
Dipshit.
God damn.
I mean, like, what is his truck running on, right?
Bio-fuel. You kidding?
It is really?
Yes! Like French fry grease.
Asshole.
Well, hello! My name's Dustin.
Hi, Dustin!
So well behaved.
How many of you guys live on a farm?
Whoa! All right!
Me too. And guess what?
This is my farm.
That's not a real farm. What?
There's, uh, Henley. There's a ton of them there. We should just start there.
Fine. Wherever.
God damn it!
Pretend that this is the dirt underneath my farm. All right?
And this is all the water that we had.
All the water we had to drink,
all the water the cows had to drink,
all the water the puppies and kittens had to drink.
All the water for the fish in the rivers.
Hey, there, sir. Good afternoon.
Can I have a moment of your time?
I know why you're here and we don't need it.
When they do start drilling, they go right into the ground.
Like this. Right?
Seems pretty simple?
Well, they don't have really cool drills,
like some of your dads do in the garage.
They have huge big ones like this.
There he is!
Hey!
Hey! I've been waitin' all day for you folks!
Uh...
Sorry, I don't think, uh...
Yeah, Paul Geary.
442 Henley.
Yeah, come on in, man. Come on up here. I got some coffee brewing.
Yup! There you are. I got you. Okay.
In order to use a drill this big, it needs a little help.
So, they shoot all this water and all this sand into the ground with the drill.
And with all that they also shoot
chemicals.
No. Doesn't look scary?
Okay, great. So what I'm gonna do is I'll just leave that with you
and just read that over...
I'm here. I'll sign it right now.
Uh, no, no. You should read it over, um, and I'm gonna come back.
I'm gonna be in town for a couple of days.
But they don't use just one chemical.
They use all of 'em.
All at the same time. And some chemicals they don't even tell us about.
So, when they go to do that drilling...
Let me show you what happens.
EW!
Disgusting.
Ugh! Gross! What is that?
Hey, let me ask you something.
What do you think?
What do you mean?
What? I mean the well, that's what I mean.
So when they finally start drilling, there's no way to tell
where all those chemicals are gonna go.
So they start mixing with the dirt and the sand and the water.
You think it's going to be a gusher?
Is that what you call it? A gusher?
Well, we're gonna have to do some tests and...
No! Come on, man. There's a whole process we have to go through.
I'm not talking about test.
Between me and you. We're gonna be partners.
Come on, you could tell me. I ain't gonna tell nobody.
What's your gut feeling? Uh...
You know, you seem like a lucky guy.
Yeah!
Whoo! Yeah!
That's what I'm talking about. All right.
We appreciate you guys coming by, all right. Thank you.
You want me to show you how bad it is to have all that dirty water
come back up to the land in a pretty farm like mine?
Yeah. Let's take a look. All right, lemme show you.
Oh, no. I don't think... Don't worry about it, I got it.
Um... Trust me.
All right. Ready?
- Whoa! - That's so cool.
Wait, wait, wait. Why do you think it's cool?
Come on, guys. We had all these beautiful animals
like cows and horses and chickens.
We even had turtles.
What's this guy's name?
Trigger!
This is Trigger.
Hey, Trigger.
Now, do you think Trigger could survive in my farm?
No! You don't think so?
No. All right, let's try it.
ALL; No!
Gosh, doll! We struck it big right here. Huh?
This little two acre lot.
All right, there you go. Take one.
Stick 'em anywhere you can. Get in trouble!
No. Don't get in trouble.
All right, so I will... I will see you around.
Great.
All right. Bye. See ya.
God damn it! It's your birthday every day, isn't it?
Oh, stop it.
- What's he got? - 1.8 acres.
How much?
Five thousand.
And I told him 15%.
Smart.
Let's just go.
Oh, come on. The guy's gonna get a free 5,000 bucks.
Shit. Don't say anything!
You ever been in a tree? You ever slept in a tree?
Hey, Lynn.
Two dollars. Yeah. All right.
That's all I remember. Well, anyway, you've never been there.
So I wake up, 6:00 a.m., on the ground.
Just on the ground, I didn't know I'd fallen out of the tree.
It was like this, all the way down, bang!
I kid you not. I kid you not.
Whoo! Lynn, thank you. I'm gonna bounce out of here.
Steve! There he is.
Morning. Whoa, whoa, you all right? Adam? We almost lost him.
It's not that funny, my gosh. You make me feel good, I'm not gonna lie.
Yeah, great, so I'm the bad guy.
I mean, never mind the fact that we use it.
Here, I got it.
You know, we spend a billion dollars a day
to fight for that stuff overseas?
When we've got this huge resource right here in our backyard.
I mean, that's insane.
Now, I got to deal with some hippie running around...
I mean, I don't even know what that guy is saying.
Mr. Butler, you ain't got to hold that.
Listen, you seem like a nice enough man
so I'm gonna be straight with you so as to not waste your time.
That little boy right there,
he lost his father, my brother, six years ago in Fallujah.
So you ain't got to lecture me on the whole foreign oil dependency routine.
But, let me ask you a question, Steve.
If I do this, what am I telling that boy?
What do I tell him about this farm that my daddy gave me
and his daddy gave him?
What am I telling him about what his daddy went to the desert to fight for?
See, Steve,
you and I both know the only reason that you're here
is 'cause we're poor.
How many wells you got up there in Manhattan?
Or Pittsburgh?
How about Philadelphia? Huh?
It's okay, I get it.
That's what us folks are here for, right?
You about ready, Blake?
Listen, Steve.
You ain't never gonna get what you came here to take from me.
And to be honest with you, I don't even like the fact that you're here trying.
Two minutes, Blake.
You can see yourself out.
Turn around.
Well.
We definitely have the space.
Food and games to the left,
put the animals and the bathrooms to the right.
I bet we could even do a tractor-pull back there,
behind the Ferris wheel, right next to the...
You know, the whirly thing.
That's it. I mean, what am I missing?
I don't know.
Oh, come on, Sue.
I have never even been to a town fair.
I am not P.R. This is for the backup team.
We are the backup team!
Trust me, you want to win? This is how you do it.
Look, if we can't sign everyone to a lease,
at least we'll let them know what it feels like to have some money.
Now, what am I missing?
Bouncy castles.
Congratulations. You just got a job in P.R.
Well, hello there.
Are you the owner of this place?
Oh, good. I was starting to feel left out.
Come on in.
Quite a house.
Yeah, for such a single lady. Huh?
I didn't say that.
Yeah, you didn't have to.
Ah, I was expecting you to have way more cats.
Oh.
No. It was a really big deal for me to move back here.
I was living in the city.
When my dad died, they asked me if I wanted to sell, and...
You know, it had been in my family for generations
and I didn't want to be the one to give it up.
It's beautiful. Yeah.
You know, according to our records, you do have 82 acres.
I could give you a couple of tips to boost your crop.
That's not for me, that's for my students. Really?
Yeah, I bring them out here and I walk them through the process.
You're teaching farming kids how to farm?
I'm not teaching them how to farm.
I'm sorry, no. You're teaching farming kids how to garden?
No, I'm teaching them how to take care of something.
All right.
Give me the pitch.
You came all the way out here.
Nah, it's getting late.
Are you serious?
No, it's a whole thing. I mean, like, you know,
I have a PowerPoint presentation
and there's an interpretive dance section.
It takes a while.
Give me a little bit of it.
Just the dance.
I can come back.
Hey.
Someone told me...
Well, I heard... You're from Iowa.
And your daddy, your daddy, he was a farmer.
Grandfather.
What'd you say?
Doesn't matter.
I'm sorry, you got something you want to say?
Then say it.
Really? Yeah!
You guys just fucking baffle me,
how you just don't get it.
Yeah?
Why don't you tell me?
'Cause I'm really curious about what it is that I don't get.
Money.
I'm not talking about little pay increases,
I'm talking about "fuck you" money.
You don't want to apply for college loans for your kid?
This money says, "Fuck you, loans."
You're worried about car payments, "Fuck you, payments."
The bank is gonna come and foreclose on your farm,
"Fuck you, bank."
"Fuck you" money is the ultimate liberator,
and underneath your town, there's "fuck you" money.
So think long and hard about all those brutal days working.
And the goddamn checks you get from
whatever frozen peas company is buying.
Think about how much you made on your best day
and then think real hard about how much you made on your worst,
'cause, let's be honest with each other,
they're all looking like that more and more nowadays, right?
These people? This town? This life?
It's dying or damn near dead.
And you all see it coming
and you just don't get the fuck out of the way.
Why?
Pride? Of what? What do you got?
Shit, how much of it is even yours?
I bet all of you are getting subsidy checks from the government. Right?
Now, when those stop coming, when all that help stops coming
and you've got nowhere left to go,
you're gonna remember this conversation and remember the guy
who came in and looked you in the eye and said, "Fuck you."
You're an asshole.
Absolut Madness.
Alice?
No, but I'm in room 23 if you're desperate.
Jesus, Sue.
I'm just calling to make sure you're behaving yourself. We got a big day tomorrow.
Yeah, I got it.
You gotta get some sleep, Steven.
I got it! Because we have a big day tomorrow.
Alice...
Thank you.
Hello there.
Are you the owner of this place?
No...
No? Well, how come you're doing all the work?
It's set in stone now.
That's it.
No turnin' back.
Hey, hold on. I got something for you.
Don’t jerk us off.
No, ma'am.
Hey, look at this right here. Huh?
Special occasions.
It's the only time it comes out.
Oh, yeah.
This right here's the good stuff.
Thank you.
To us being partners.
I've been passing out these flyers for two and a half hours. I'm gonna die.
I don't know how that Athena guy does it.
Is that a donkey?
Hey, where you going?
I gotta dig out the courses.
What courses?
The pig races.
I don't like that you just said that without a smile on your face.
Are you okay?
I just want to finish and get the hell out of here.
This is gonna close 'em.
Don't drink that!
Hey.
You guys look like you could use some help.
Yeah. Yeah. Great. Uh...
If y'all could help with the food tents, that'd be great.
You got it. Thanks.
Let's go.
Yeah!
You want a beer?
Lots of beer.
Hey, Steve. Hey, Jess. How you doin'.
Can I get a couple pitchers? Sure.
Nice work, Steve.
That town fair idea, that was. .. That was smart.
Well, thank you, Dustin.
Bet that was pretty hard for you to say.
You like your job, Steve?
You love what you do?
Yeah.
On days like this? Yeah, I do.
Thanks, Jess. Hey, get my friend a beer as well.
One of those fancy imported ones.
Sure.
Maybe, like, a granola bar to go with it.
I'll see you, man.
You have what it takes, Steve?
Hmm?
Thank you.
Do you think you have what it takes?
Oh, to beat you? Yeah. Absolutely.
Well. You just might.
Hey, man. I'll drink to that. Okay.
Hey, there she is. You ready to go?
Yeah. All right.
Hey, Steve, thanks again for the beer. That was really sweet.
I'm gonna take it to go.
Hope you guys have a great night! Thanks, Jess.
I'm really looking forward to the fair tomorrow.
Should be fun.
Yeah.
Steve!
What up, man?
Paul?
Hey, what you think about my new ride?
I figured I'd treat myself.
That's your car? Yeah. That's my car.
I went all the way to Barton to get it.
Come on, I'll buy. I got it.
We lost.
Let's just go, huh?
Stop.
I don't have the clutch in.
Stop it, Steven.
God damn it!
Whoa. Nasty.
Nice day!
Mmm. That is so good.
Mmm. I'm stuffed.
It's great. Thank you.
You're more than welcome.
I'd love the recipe for this... This cake.
Would you let me take that home? That'd be great, Arlene.
You cook, Sue?
Mmm. My son, my son's a good cook.
He used to pull the chair up to the counter when he was little
and help me stir things up.
Now he's the chef and I'm the sous-chef.
Um, I don't know where I put it, don't know where I put it...
Here's his picture.
Here you go.
Like, I get him to help me and sometimes he talks to me about stuff.
Look at this.
Oh, yeah. Say... Wow!
You know, Frank's dad died when Frank was only eight.
His mom always talked about the clarity of purpose.
You would understand exactly what you have to do every day.
What about you, Steve? Where did you say you were from? Iowa?
Eldridge.
Oh, yeah? You still have family up there?
No.
Wait a minute, you say Eldridge?
They had a plant up there.
A Caterpillar plant.
Yeah, that's right. I had a friend, um,
from Boeing, lived up there.
I remember that.
Wasn't pretty.
When they closed that, that was it, really.
The town was just
hollowed out.
What, no pretty lady to hand out free money to save you?
Yeah, what would you have done then, Steven?
I'd move so fuckin' fast.
Just take the money and leave.
Just leave.
And where would we all go?
Excuse me.
Miniature horses.
Oh, my God.
Thought we were losing our minds.
A lot of us breed them up here.
Some people consider them an abomination.
Big industry here.
What do you get for it?
Not enough, Steve.
You're a good man, Steve.
You have so many of the qualities we need more of these days.
I just wish...
I just wish you weren't doing this.
You came here and offered us money, figuring you were helping us.
All we had to do to get it was be willing to scorch the earth
under our feet.
We have nothing left to sell.
We can't afford to buy anything.
Don't get me wrong,
I'm no better than my neighbors.
Hell, I need the money, too.
I guess I'm lucky...
Lucky to be old enough to have a shot at dying with my dignity.
I'm worried for us, Steve.
Let me know when you're ready to head back.
Excuse me, sir? Steve? There's a package here for you.
Holy shit.
Sue.
We got him. We win! We win. We win. We win.
The guy's whole sob story is fucking bullshit.
What are you talking about?
Research did a whole check. Look.
This guy is fucking lying. Okay.
What'd they say?
What is that a picture of?
Uh, a picture of his family's farm.
Okay. And where's the farm located?
What? Where's the farm?
Nebraska. Great. What's that?
A silo. Look again.
Holy shit. It's a fucking lighthouse!
Holy shit.
Now geography was never really my strong suit,
but I'm pretty sure there are no oceans in Nebraska.
He made the whole thing up.
And when the town finds out that he lied to them...
That he was manipulating them in order to get their vote.
Oh, they're gonna have a fucking field day with this guy.
We win.
Gerry Richards.
Yeah, Steve.
What?
Jesus.
I've already been to see Richards.
Everyone in town's gonna know by morning.
I just... I wanted you to hear from me.
You deserve someone who tells you the truth.
What're you doing here, Steve?
I'm not a bad guy.
Good night.
Alice...
If I had asked you out?
I would have said yes.
Good night.
Thank you.
You know, what you did is going to hurt a lot of people.
What were you thinking, man?
How does somebody even do that?
You came in here and based your entire case against us on a lie?
All right, Steve.
I already talked to Richards. Just...
Let me go.
I mean, did you think we wouldn't find out?
You just guaranteed we win.
You know, you're gonna lose.
Huh?
Yeah, it might not be Athena that does it, but one of these days, you're gonna lose.
I just hope I'm there to see it!
I guarantee it's not gonna be Athena that does it.
I mean, do you even know how bad this is for you?
Athena's done. Done. It's over for you.
What else was I supposed to do?
I mean, it's not a fair fight, Steve.
I'm out there doing what? Handing out flyers and posters?
This vote meant everything and I had to do it.
No, you didn't. You didn't. You fucked up.
You tell me, Steve. What do I do?
In a world where no one cares.
Where a company like yours can just go into Lafayette, Louisiana
and do something like that.
Or McKinley. Or the next place.
Because let's be honest, it's just gonna happen again and again and again.
So you tell me, what am I supposed to do?
I never told you this farm was in Lafayette, Louisiana...
What? What are you talking about?
I never told you this happened in Lafayette, Louisiana. How could you know that?
Steve, these people needed my help.
Okay? They called me.
No. No.
No, you said yourself, we're too clever for that.
These deals we have with these people and the fine print,
they don't call anybody.
Certainly not an environmentalist.
Okay, Steve.
Dustin?
How'd you know where this farm was?
Dustin?
Fuck. That was stupid.
I should've just got in my car.
What?
We were never gonna let them vote, Steve.
You're with Global.
Jesus Christ.
You're with Global.
Did you really think they were going to leave something like this in your hands?
After you let them bring it to a vote?
Steve, companies like Global, they don't rely on anyone.
That's how they win.
They win by controlling every outcome.
And they do that by playing both sides.
But, no. I was...
What?
What did you do?
What is it you think you did?
I did everything.
Athena is me.
This story is me. Getting you that package to give to the politician, that's me.
You only did what I let you do.
But you did a good job. Now it's over. We win.
And this farm...
Stay with me. All right? This farm, that doesn't matter.
They've already dealt with this. This is done.
They said this was a false claim.
Did they?
You're gonna want to stop asking questions now, Steve.
You're at the big kids table.
But listen, it has been fun.
I think you're really a good choice for this. You'll do a good job.
Good luck in New York.
Funny.
Smart.
We've got about an hour before this game gets started to get the vote in.
Go Pioneers, yeah!
Listen up, here's the way this thing is gonna work.
If your last name starts with the letter A...
Lemonade?
Is it good?
Really good.
You got a real good spot here.
I know.
Wow.
I know.
Uh, mister?
You forgot your change.
Just go ahead and keep it.
The sign says it's only 25 cents.
So... It's only 25 cents.
Oh, oh, one more thing. Before we get to the vote,
Steve Butler just wanted to say a few words.
I'll be very brief.
I know there's been a lot of talk about this... This picture.
Sol brought it to show everybody.
That's the lighthouse and the ocean.
I was looking at this picture...
Looking at it for a while last night.
For a long while.
And found myself staring at this barn.
The Wood's chipping away and the paint's flaking off there.
Probably from all the salt water in the air.
But it reminded me of my grandfather's barn.
That barn was the bane of my existence.
It was immaculate. We painted it every other summer.
Just him and me.
I'd ask him, "Why? Why do we have to do this?"
And he'd look at me and say,
"This is our barn. Who else is going to do it?"
I used to think the guy was crazy.
And stubborn. Proud.
But, see. I think...
He was just trying to teach me what it meant to take care of something.
Okay.
Well, you all know that Dustin lied.
Tried to get you to vote the way he wanted you to vote.
See ya.
And that's exactly what he did because you are about to vote
exactly as he wants you to vote.
Because Dustin is not an environmentalist.
Dustin works for Global.
They couldn't afford an environmental presence here so
they created their own.
They're trying to make this decision for you.
And they're betting that you'll let them.
This is a real farm.
And they told these people exactly what
I've told a lot of you. In fact,
I've looked a lot of you right in the eye
and told you there's a bunch of money under your feet and we can get it out
risk free, guaranteed.
Clearly, that's not true.
I'm sorry.
Look, is this gonna happen here?
I honestly don't believe that it will.
But they know the only reason we're all gathered here
is to ask the question, "What if it did?"
And I don't know what to tell you.
I don't know what to say anymore.
But where we are now,
where we're headed,
we might be betting more than we think.
Everything that we have is on the table now.
And that's just not ours to lose.
But this is still our barn.
Go Pioneers.
Mmm-hmm.
Yup.
Okay. Yeah. I understand.
Was that them?
Yes.
You are definitely fired.
And...
They want me in the city tomorrow.
Well, that's... That's great.
You want a lift somewhere?
What, are you kidding me?
It's open mic night.
It's just a job.
Oh, for God's sakes. Just get some new boots.
Not a chance.
Hey. Hey.
That's it? Yeah, that's it.
Sorry I can't make the vote.
Oh, I think we'll be okay.
That's that.
Are you the owner of this place?