what a coincidence
Well, what a funny coincidence then, that your cousin had this.Can You Ever Forgive Me? · 2018 — 第 2 / 14 章 · 3'10" · B2
Lee Asks to Be Paid in Cash, Explained：play the game
Lee is broke and trying to turn old letters into cash, then begging her agent for a real advance. "I need you to get ten thousand dollars," she says, backing it with rent and a sick cat. The money talk is the surface; underneath is a proud writer who cannot make the ordinary compromises her rival does.
あらすじ
At Anna's shop, Lee offers a Fanny Brice letter she found through her cousin. Anna calls it a bit bland and offers seventy-five dollars; Lee asks to be paid in cash. Later, at her agent's office, Lee demands a ten-thousand-dollar advance on her unfinished Fanny Brice book, pointing to her unpaid rent—and is refused.
注目の表現
a book advancefull of crapred-baitingself-respecting
00:00 / 03:10Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
このシーンの表現
play the game
follow the rules of the trade
The agent cites Clancy doing radio and signings, using play the game to name the industry's rule.
She learned early how to play the game.
このシーンの他の表現
- a book advance
money paid before a book
- full of crap
talking nonsense
- red-baiting
anti-communist smearing
- self-respecting
having self-respect
- here we go
sarcastic, here it comes
このシーンのメモ一覧
61 行のセリフに 22 件のメモ
slightly dull
It's a bit bland is all.happy to learn
I'm glad to hear you're writing another book.politically right-wing
Did you hear Tom Clancy is getting paid three million dollars to write more right-wing macho bullshit?nonsense — Vulgar; keep it out of formal speech.
Did you hear Tom Clancy is getting paid three million dollars to write more right-wing macho bullshit?a boastful windbag
That blowhard's getting three million dollars?a boastful windbag — Insulting; risky to say to someone's face.
That blowhard's getting three million dollars?nonsense — Casual and crude; avoid it in formal talk.
Oh, to be a white male that doesn't even know he's full of crap, right?be too wise to do it
I know better than to presume they're any good.know better than: It says the speaker is too sensible to do the thing.
I know better than to presume they're any good.have a look
You know, I could take a look.The d in would often drops before drink.
No self-respecting writer would drink sherry.be months in arrears
I'm months behind in my rent, and my cat is sick.Link behind, in and my into one run.
I'm months behind in my rent, and my cat is sick.rhetorical question: The negative question makes the point rather than asking for facts.
And isn't this the exact reason that I have an agent?an arrogant jerk — An angry insult; do not use it in polite talk.
Give me one reason why that cocky shit gets three million dollars...private, delicate matters
Ms. Israel and I have some sensitive business to discuss.hide behind something
Yes, you have written a couple of successful biographies and you've managed to disappear behind your subject matter,manage to: Manage to marks a feat achieved against the odds.
Yes, you have written a couple of successful biographies and you've managed to disappear behind your subject matter,Have written a blurs and the article nearly vanishes.
Yes, you have written a couple of successful biographies and you've managed to disappear behind your subject matter,an author signing event
He does Larry King. He goes to every book signing.ruin relationships
Meanwhile, you have destroyed every bridge I have built for you.「Lee Asks to Be Paid in Cash」を読み解く
What's really going on
The scene is about money, but the sting is status. Anna handles the letter as merchandise—offering more only for 'better content'—and Lee, once a respected biographer, has to ask to be paid in cash. The real wound opens at the agency, where Lee insists, "I need you to get ten thousand dollars," and backs it up with rent she can't pay and a sick cat. Her agent answers by pointing at Tom Clancy, who does every radio show and book signing—he 'plays the game,' while Lee has 'destroyed every bridge I have built for you.' The point is not talent; it's that the industry rewards writers who sell themselves. Lee wants the money without the performance, and this scene shows what that refusal costs her.
Theme
MoneyLee needs cash to survive, and the scene weighs her worth against what the market pays.
PrideShe refuses to sell herself the way Clancy does, and pays for that pride.
このチャプターで学べること
- A better offer is a condition, not a favor.
- Structure can make an argument feel like a verdict.
- Repeating a demand does not make it payable.
- An anti-communist smear gets its own verb.
発音のポイント
- would drink — The d in would often drops before drink.
- behind in my — Link behind, in and my into one run.
- written a couple — Have written a blurs and the article nearly vanishes.
I could give more for better content.The dealer will pay more only if the letter is juicier; the value is in the drama, not the autograph.
No self-respecting writer would drink sherry.A joke meant to show taste: drinking sherry is, for Lee, proof that Tom Clancy is not a serious writer.
I'm months behind in my rent, and my cat is sick.Her blunt reason for needing money: overdue rent and a sick pet, the unglamorous reality behind a literary career.
Oh, to be a white male that doesn't even know he's full of crap, right?Lee's bitter aside about the advantage Clancy enjoys as a man who never questions himself.
Yeah, God forbid you have to hear an adult conversation, Toni!She mocks the agent's assistant for being asked to leave an adult conversation.
このシーンについての質問
Why does Lee ask to be paid in cash?
She needs money immediately and may not want a record of the sale. It also fits her pride: she'd rather take cash than admit she's selling off pieces of her subject's past.
Why does Anna say the letter is bland?
She buys for resale, and a plain note doesn't excite collectors. She tells Lee she'd pay more for 'better content,' hinting that drama is what sells.
Why won't Alan give Lee a ten-thousand-dollar advance?
He says he can't get her one, and his later speech explains why: her publisher has no reason to bet on a writer nobody knows. Her books sold, but she built no public name.
Is Lee right to blame Tom Clancy's success?
She's right that the industry rewards visibility over talent, which is what her agent means by 'plays the game.' But she turns that fact into a personal insult and refuses to change how she works.
Why does Lee keep interrupting her agent?
She knows he'll say no. Attacking Clancy first lets her frame the refusal as unfair before he can give his reasons.
ある女流作家の罪と罰 · 全 14 章
すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 3 章Spill the beansLee Tells Jack Her Secret
第 1 章a dead giveawayLee Meets Jack Hock
再生中 · 第 2 章play the gameLee Asks to Be Paid in Cash
第 3 章Spill the beansLee Tells Jack Her Secret
第 4 章caustic witLee Confesses Her Forgeries to Jack
第 5 章do your homeworkLee Learns About Fake Signatures
第 6 章a real museum pieceLee Forges Dorothy Parker Letters
第 7 章the real thingLee Meets Anna at the Bar
第 8 章street smartsLee Takes In a Beaten Jack
第 9 章wear a wireAlan Uses the FBI to Extort Lee
第 10 章talk someone off the ledgeLee Visits Her Ex Elaine
第 11 章freeze someone outLee Tells Jack They're Not Friends
第 12 章turn over a new leafLee Refuses to Apologize at Sentencing
第 13 章too much of a cowardLee Is Sentenced to Probation
第 14 章like hell I willLee and Jack's Last Meeting第 2 / 14 章 · 残り約 35 分