"[slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances] [slide carousel advances]" "[clears throat]" "You know they say a person grows and grows and then one day they just stop, and then it's just OK." "Well, maybe the world's like that." "Maybe it's all going off, species by species, object by object, everything in decline." "[TYPEWRITER CLICKING RHYTHMICALLY]" "And if it all going to disappear tomorrow, how are you going to live today?" "[TYPEWRITER CLICKING RHYTHMICALLY]" "My name is George, and I believe I'm the last door-to-door encyclopedia salesman in the world." "[TYPEWRITER CLICKING RHYTHMICALLY]" "[CLICKING TURNS TO MUSIC PLAYING]" "When I was a kid, I still remember that a movie was magic, you know?" "It was really magic." "People used to go to the theatre and buy a ticket, and this is the only place that you could see a movie." "You know, you buy a ticket and you go to the-- to this dark theatre." "We'll go and we'll dream, and you could kind of fly away." "[typing]" "INTERVIEWEE:" "Hey, you know, it doesn't exist anymore." "So this magic is gone." "[typing]" "[beep]" "Looks like you'll have a great weekend." "A man is obsolete." "Long ago, but they still make life sweeter." "[beep]" "Time hath thought to make dust of all things." "Great book." "You actually know it?" "Sure." "Thomas Brown." "The "Pseudodoxia Epidemica" is one of my favorites." "Wow." "I mean, I was just checking it out because I'm doing a paper on Sebald." ""The Rings of Saturn."" "Yes." "Listen, um, I was wondering, uh, I'm having a few people around my house for some food and wine and I thought maybe you'd like to come if you're not too busy." "Um." "Um" "I mean, it's no big deal." "It's just a few people." "It's OK." "It's-- it's last minute." "Um" "You know what?" "You don't have to explain." "It's cool." "Maybe, um, maybe some other time." "Yes." "Thank you." "Well, uh, I'll see you, then." "Enjoy the book." "Thanks." "[typing] [phone ringing]" ""Encyclopedia of Obsolete Things,"" "this is George speaking." "Yes." "Sophie, thank you for calling." "Uh, well, whenever's good for you." "Um, two o'clock should be fine." "Yes, two o'clock's fine." "OK, I'll see you then." "Oh, and I" " I truly appreciate it." "OK." "Thank you, then." "Goodbye." "MAN:" "Jeez, remember when you were a kid, how you used to see a shooting star at night?" "Now you look, you see something, it's a bloody satellite or something." "Hm." "Well, in some ways, I'm kind of glad about that." "What?" "Not the satellite part." "The shooting stars make me nervous." "Come on, you gotta be joking, right?" "Well, no." "I mean, they're probably part of a meteorite, and-- and, uh, the meteorite was probably part of a planet or a star." "It's" "Wow." "You're a depressive son of a bitch at times." "Not so depressive." "It's just true." "I mean-- you know, and if it's not a meteorite, it was probably a piece of space junk." "Did you know that there are 12,000 charted pieces of rockets and satellites flying around the Earth at the moment?" "You know what your problem is?" "That I see things as they are?" "No." "Not what I was thinking." "You know that girl that works down at the Mac Store down on the corner?" "Marta?" "No, I" "Yeah, you do." "And I reckon" "Listen, Mitch." "The thing is, love is obsolete." "Love is obsolete?" "Mm-hm." "It's even an entry in my encyclopedia." "But who's talking about love?" "At very best, it was only ever an illusion, induced to ensure the procreation of the species." "And now that that's possible without human contact, it's-- it's unnecessary." "Well, on that happy note, I'm off to bed." "Well, it's true." "I mean, an Italian university has just proved that love is just a protein." "[laughs] Love is just a protein." "Now I've heard it all." "Uh, you don't want another beer?" "Good night, George." "Good night, Mitch." "Just gotta focus." "Yeah." "So how do you want to do this?" "GEORGE:" "Well, I'll ask the questions and you answer." "Will it go online?" "GEORGE:" "No, it's going to be a book." "Where are you from?" "GEORGE:" "Here, last 20 years." "Accent?" "My mother was Australian." "How long have you been here?" "Six months." "GEORGE:" "That's not long." "Long enough to call it home." "GEORGE:" "Shall we start?" "Where'd you get that camera?" "GEORGE:" "Flea market." "And you film everyone like this?" "I mean, everyone you think is disappearing?" "Uh-huh." "And I then take the tapes home and transcribe what's good for their entry." "Oh." "Can I come over sometimes, watch them?" "Why?" "I'm curious." "You know, to see who else is dying off like me." "Um." "Do you actually make a living out of this?" "GEORGE:" "No, I work in a library." "So have you filmed yourself?" "GEORGE:" "What do you mean?" "Well, libraries." "GEORGE:" "Oh, they won't be obsolete for a long time." "You're kidding." "Everyone gets everything online now." "Well, actually, only 41% of households that earn under $40,000 a year have a computer, so there's still a lot of people out there that need to use libraries." "SOPHIE:" "And of the 59% that don't have computers, how many ever actually read?" "When was the last time you were in a library?" "These days, most people just borrow DVDs and use the computers there." "So shall we start the interview?" "Sure." "Do I look OK?" "It doesn't matter." "No one'll see it." "Wrong answer." "GEORGE:" "Well, you-- you look fine." "You're not reassuring me." "GEORGE:" "You look pretty." "I do?" "Thank you." "GEORGE:" "So if you could start by telling us your name and a little bit about what you do." "OK." "My name is Sophie Fitzpatrick and I'm a projectionist, which I think is the coolest job in the world, because I get to watch thousands of films." "[fast-forward chatter]" "Every time you play a print, it leaves a little purple dust behind." "It's basically the emulsion wearing away." "I mean, eventually that print won't even exist." "And in the future, projectionists will just download files, press play, and it will be a purpley world." "And all of this?" "You're right." "[cell phone vibrates]" "Oh, sorry." "GEORGE:" "Um, you can get that." "Uh, no." "I don't want to talk to him." "Anyway, yeah." "All of this, it's on its way out." "It's over." "It'll all be gone." "[typing]" "GEORGE (VOICEOVER): [LISTING ENTRY NAMES ALPHABETICALLY," "STARTING WITH A]" "On your left." "GEORGE: "The situation is now irreversible." "Within 20 years, the world as we know it will no longer be."" "[typing]" "CO-WORKER:" "You done?" "We're ready to lock up." "Uh, just one more minute." "What I don't understand is why don't you just buy a computer?" "Then you can do this at home." "Because the more of us that resist buying them, the more pressure there is to keep places like this open." "This place will be open." "You need to move with the time." "Or your conscience." "Take your pick." "No point swimming against the tide." "Unless the tide is taking you out to the ocean." "Hm." "Got that right." "[typing]" "[knock]" "Coming." "Hi." "Hi." "How did you find me?" "Phone book." "I mean, I hope you don't mind, but you did say that" "Yeah, yeah." "It's, uh, I thought you were-- phone book, huh?" "Well, I thought I was one of the only people who still used phone books." "Well, phone book online, but you know." "Yeah." "Is this a bad time for you?" "No." "So could I come in?" "Sure." "Yeah." "Wow, this place is cool." "It's like a museum in here." "Everything old and forgotten." "It's-- would you like a cup of tea?" "SOPHIE:" "That'd be lovely." "Um, Earl Grey?" "That's my favorite." "Uh, milk, sugar?" "SOPHIE:" "You still use this?" "GEORGE:" "What's that?" "SOPHIE:" "The typewriter." "GEORGE:" "Sure, it works perfectly." "Yeah, but wouldn't it just be easier to switch to a computer?" "GEORGE:" "Into a computer." "It's political." "So what can I do for you?" "I'm interested in your "Obselidia."" "My "Obselidia"?" "SOPHIE:" "Your encyclopedia." "Yeah, I decided you should call it the "Obselidia."" "O-B-S-E-L-I-D-I-A." "Shouldn't it be O-B-S-O, technically?" "SOPHIE:" "Yeah, I know how to spell." "It just kind of looks better with an E." "And you should definitely put it online, believe me." "So did you interview any fishermen yet?" "Uh, fishermen?" "Well, there's practically no fish left, so." "What about Lonesome George?" "Uh, who's Lonesome George?" "You never heard of Lonesome George." "Well, Lonesome George is quite likely the last giant turtle of the Galapagos." "He's like 75 years old now and he'll probably last another 100 years, completely alone." "Wow." "Is that true?" "[kettle whistling]" "I think that's the water." "Yes." "So I'm going to this museum this afternoon, and I wondered if you wanted to come." "Which one?" "The Museum of Jurassic Technology." "Do you know it?" "GEORGE:" "Jurassic Technology?" "That's ridiculous." "Yes, it's kind of a weird place." "So is it a hoax?" "I'm not sure, exactly." "I'm kind of busy this afternoon." "Reading about the end of the world?" "I have to post a letter." "You still use snail mail." "I don't think Mr. Fordham has an email." "The author of the book?" "So we can post it on the way." "Come on, it'll be fun." "My car or yours?" "[music playing]" "[bells tinkling]" "Wow, they're beautiful." "I think that's a Delias eucharis." "I always wanted to be able to fly." "Hm." ""Telling the Bees." "If a member of the family dies, the bees in their hives must be told, or they will die." "The procedure is that as soon as the master has breathed his last, a member of the household must visit the hives and whisper three times, 'Little brownies, little brownies, your master is dead.'"" "Hm." "SOPHIE:" "They look so real." "I'd love to live in one of those." "GEORGE:" "I prefer the feeling of permanence a real home gives you." "SOPHIE:" "But what about freedom?" "NARRATOR (ON RECORDING):" "In his three-volume book, "Obliscence," "Theories of Forgetting, and the Problem of Matter"" "Can you hear anything?" "NARRATOR (ON RECORDING):" "Sonnabend departed from previous memory research with the premise that memory is an illusion." "Mine doesn't work." "SOPHIE:" "Share mine." "NARRATOR (ON RECORDING):" "Experience." "From this perspective, we, amnesiacs all, condemned to live in an eternally fleeting present, have created the most elaborate of human constructions-- memory-- to buffer ourselves against the intolerable" "Do you understand this?" "NARRATOR (ON RECORDING):" "Of the irreversible passage of time." "Mm-hm." "NARRATOR (ON RECORDING):" "And the irretrievability of its movements and events." "Sonnabend did not" "Do you think it's true?" "NARRATOR (ON RECORDING):" "Deny the experience of memory existed." "What?" "That it's forgetting that saves us?" "NARRATOR (ON RECORDING):" "Was predicated on the idea that what we experience" "I don't think that's what he's saying." "But do you?" "Do you think forgetting saves us?" "NARRATOR (ON RECORDING):" "Artifical constructions of our own design, built around sterile particles" "No." "NARRATOR (ON RECORDING):" "Of retained experience." "I think if we forget everything, we lose who we are." "NARRATOR (ON RECORDING):" "By infusions of imagination." "Don't you?" "NARRATOR (ON RECORDING):" "As the blacks and whites of old photographs." "I think I prefer to forget." "NARRATOR (ON RECORDING):" "By the addition of color or tints in an attempt to add life to a frozen moment." "I have to admit, that was amazing." "Though you do realize, most of it was made up?" "[gasp] Can't believe you said that." "No, it's true." "I mean, there is no Geoffrey Sonnabend." "I would know." "Why, do you know everything?" "No." "It's just-- well, let's see." "There's a Sonnu, Sonya, Sonnek" " Oscar." "He was a jazz musician." "What's that got to do with anything?" "Well, they're just entries in the encyclopedia." "And if there was a Geoffrey Sonnabend, he would come after them." "But he doesn't." "I think it's Sonnenfels." "Josef von Sonnenfels." "Wait, you're telling me that you remember entire encyclopedias?" "No." "Just bits, hey?" "I like to learn them." "Why?" "Well, for fun." "I've always done it, since I was a kid." "It's" " It's like a memory game." "Did your parents make you do it?" "No." "Didn't get on with them, huh?" "Oh, I can't complain." "My mother died when I was young, but" "Oh, I'm sorry." "Would you like that tea now?" "[laughs]" "So have you always been obsessed with old things?" "It's not old things." "I just don't understand why people throw things away that still work perfectly well, just because they've been superseded by something new." "I mean, there's this common illusion that new things make our lives easier and better, and they don't." "Not necessarily." "So why do you use that shitty old video camera?" "Because it costs $50 and it works." "Now, with new things becoming old in a matter of months, not years, I just want to slow things down a bit." "SOPHIE:" "Oh, that's a bit nostalgic, isn't it?" "Well, you" " I even experience nostalgia with things in the present." "I mean, because I know that-- that these things will become forgotten, really soon." "Can it-- can it be nostalgia in the present?" "Maybe it's now-stalgia." "Now-stalgia?" "Yeah." "Now-stalgia." "You know, that feeling that everything that is is gonna end." "Well, it is all going to end." "SOPHIE:" "I remember I once had this leather coat." "It was the most money that I'd spent on anything, and when I got it home, I remember just looking at it and feeling so sad, because I knew it would never be better than it was in that moment." "In a few years' time, it would be worn and shabby, and it kind of broke my heart." "The Sioux Indians used to say nothing should be made perfect, because then you become attached to it and it causes you pain." "So if you have something pristine and new, you should damage it slightly." "Really?" "I don't think we ever really experience perfection." "It's an illusion." "Like your coat-- I mean, the fact that it was doomed to become old, that's an imperfection right there." "I think the notion of perfection is a Platonic trick to make us feel inadequate." "Do you feel inadequate?" "Yes." "Doesn't everybody?" "At least you're honest." "Well, I don't think that does much good." "I don't think honesty's the most valued quality in our contemporary society." "Doesn't pay much to be humble, either." "So what's going to become of you?" "Certainly on a global scale, we are going to lose plenty of species due to environmental changes because of human activities." "Um, I think that we understand-- biologists understand a lot of what needs to be done." "And the key is the sort of willingness and the priorities of everyone, to try to take actions now." "[typing]" "Ladybug." "Lady Day." "Lady chapel." "Ladysmith." "GEORGE (VOICEOVER): [LISTING ENTRY NAMES ALPHABETICALLY," "STARTING WITH L]" "[phone ringing]" "GEORGE (ON ANSWERING MACHINE):" "Hello, you've called "The Encyclopedia of Obsolete Things."" "Please leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can." "[beep]" "SOPHIE (ON PHONE): "The Obselidia," I'm telling you." "You can't call it "The Encyclopedia of Yadda Yadda" "Yadda." "You've got to start with a great title, you know?" "One that people are gonna be curious about?" "Uh, you don't think they'll be curious?" "I didn't think you were there." "Uh, I wasn't." "I was releasing ladybugs." "Releasing ladybugs?" "GEORGE (ON PHONE):" "Yeah." "They need the lifeline." "Nice." "So how are you?" "SOPHIE (ON PHONE):" "Good." "And you?" "GEORGE (ON PHONE):" "Oh, I'm OK." "Did you do any more interviews yet?" "No, just got a letter from Lewis Fordham." "SOPHIE (ON PHONE):" "Brilliant." "And is he up for meeting?" "Um, yes." "Yeah, he is." "But he lives in Death Valley, so." "Death Valley?" "Cool." "GEORGE (ON PHONE):" "It's not, actually." "It's very, very hot, and it's hundreds of miles away, so." "SOPHIE (ON PHONE):" "I thought you said this guy was a genius." "GEORGE (ON PHONE):" "Well, he-- he is." "He is, but" "You won't drive four hours for a genius?" "Well, it-- it's not that." "It's-- it's" "SOPHIE (ON PHONE):" "I've driven double that just to go to a party before." "You might remember that I don't have a car." "So?" "I'll drive you." "Oh, no, no." "SOPHIE (ON PHONE):" "Sure, why not?" "No, it's-- it's OK, really." "SOPHIE (ON PHONE):" "Doesn't this mean anything to you?" "Come on, I've always wanted to go to Death Valley." ""Zabriskie Point," Antonioni?" "Oh, I'd love to see that." "So when do we go?" "Hey, man." "How's it going?" "You going somewhere?" "Death Valley." "Death Valley?" "Wow." "With her." "Not bad." "Not bad at all." "She's just a friend." "Yeah." "Remember, love is just a protein, George." "GEORGE (VOICEOVER):" "Protein, Protestant, Proteus, prophet, prosthesis, Protista, protocol, Protogenes, protoplasm, [inaudible]." "Protozoa." "So, you got everything?" "How long are we going for?" "Well, I packed some water and food, and I have my gorgeous Polaroid camera." "Wow." "That's beautiful." "May I?" "Yeah." "I knew you'd appreciate it." "You know they stopped making the film?" "Sure." "So I've got three pictures left." "That's it-- three." "Got to make them good ones." "Oh, I'd hold on to them." "Well, I've been holding on to them for long enough." "And I've packed my tent in case we want to camp." "Uh, camp?" "I" " I'm not sleeping outside." "What?" "I've never slept outside, I" "You're kidding." "Why would I kid about that?" "I don't know." "'Cause you want to seem like some strange city guy." "I am a strange city guy." "[engine starts]" "I just thought we'd get a couple of motel rooms." "SOPHIE: [laughs] You're funny, you know that?" "GEORGE:" "You're funnier if you think we're going to camp outside." "Animals sleep outside." "That's why humans invented Motel 6." "SOPHIE (VOICEOVER): [laughs] [music playing]" "Do you know what I really love about America?" "GEORGE:" "No." "What do you really love?" "SOPHIE:" "The fact that nothing's built to last." "Everything looks like it could be gone tomorrow." "GEORGE:" "And that's a good thing?" "SOPHIE:" "Yeah." "It means everything can change." "It's not set in stone." "GEORGE:" "No, just set in stucco." "SOPHIE:" "Yeah, well, where I'm from, everything was built a long, long time ago and it'll all be there forever." "GEORGE:" "But will it really?" "SOPHIE:" "Makes me feel trapped." "GEORGE:" "So you prefer this?" "SOPHIE:" "Yeah." "I prefer this." "GEORGE:" "French fries." "SOPHIE:" "Yum." "GEORGE:" "So do you think you'll stay in LA?" "I don't know." "Do you?" "Mm-hm." "I like my home and my job." "Here, I made you this." "Thanks." "I mean, I like LA." "But I really just moved here for a guy." "Are you, um, still together?" "Well." "We lived together in New York a couple years before we moved out here." "And what does he do?" "Paul?" "He wants to be a movie director." "Totally obsessed with films." "But you know, all the wrong films." "Which are?" "I don't know." "Well, he thinks like "Star Wars" is the best movie ever." ""Star Wars" is good." "OK, "Star Wars" is good." "But he wouldn't watch foreign movies or black-and-white." "I mean, it's like cinema started with "The Godfather."" "Probably a lot of people feel like that nowadays, don't they?" "Yeah, absolutely." "But I just don't know if I can be with somebody who won't watch "Au Hasard Balthazar."" "That donkey." "Oh, I know!" "Exactly." "Meanwhile, Paul says, I won't do black-and-white," "I won't do subtitles, and I sure as hell won't do a black-and-white subtitled movie about a donkey." "Actually, maybe he does have a point." "[laughs]" "I don't know." "We should get back on the road." "[snorts] [laughs]" "You've got a bit of green going on." "Oh." "Your turn to drive as well, yeah?" "Uh, I don't drive." "What?" "Yeah, I don't have a car." "You're kidding me, right?" "You got to, like, how old, and living in LA, and you don't drive?" "Time to learn." "So tell me about Lewis." "(NERVOUSLY) Um, uh, he-- he-- back in the day he worked for NASA, and he was-- he predicted climate change before-- anybody." "And-- and if they'd listened to him, maybe it wouldn't be such a mess now." "Oh, what do I do?" "There's a big, fast red car coming." "What is it?" "What is it?" "Oh, stay steady, George." "Stay steady." "OK." "Whew!" "We made it." "Look, I didn't think I could talk and drive at the same time." "And can you please not point that camera at me?" "All right, all right, I'm sorry." "Oh, what do we do?" "I mean, I think there's a turn." "OK, take it." "OK." "Turn, turn." "OK." "[polaroid takes picture]" "Oh, shit!" "GEORGE:" "What?" "SOPHIE: [sigh] Three bloody pictures left and I just blew one." "GEORGE:" "I'm sorry." "SOPHIE:" "No, it's-- it's fine." "Imagine living out here." "Wouldn't you get lonely?" "Some people get lonely in the middle of the city." "LEWIS:" "So George, which publication did you say you were from?" ""The Encyclopedia of Obsolete Things."" "Oh. [chuckles] I guess that covers most everything these days, heh." "Sophie." "SOPHIE:" "Thank you." "Yeah." "So beautiful here." "LEWIS:" "You think this is beautiful?" "Yeah." "Well, you're in dubious luck, because in a little more than 50 years' time, most of the world will look like this." "You don't really believe that, do you?" "Not a question of belief." "Here's how it is" " God, if he exists, his own honest truth." "By 2020, extreme weather patterns will be the norm." "Earth's cooling system will fail with the melting of the polar caps." "And by '20, 50, 75% of all land mass-- that which has not been claimed by rising sea levels-- will be desert, just like what we see around us." "And by 2100, 80% of human population-- decimated." "That's ridiculous." "Yes." "It is ridiculous." "But that's the way it is." "But-- you-- what if we seriously cut carbon emissions in the next five years, say in line with the Kyoto Protocol?" "If you'd asked that, George, 40 years ago, maybe a chance." "But not now." "And surely if more people switch to sustainable green living." ""The Titanic" is going down and we are rearranging the deck chairs." "We have hit the damn iceberg." "Nothing we can do about it." "There must be something we can do." "There is." "Enjoy it while we can, because it isn't going to last." "Do our best to treat it with kindness and enjoy it while we can." "So let's drink to that." "[clink]" "Such-- such gentle creatures." "[buzzing]" "Each working for the collective good of all." "If only man could learn to live that way, hm, maybe we'd save the bees." "You heard about their plight?" "Yeah, of course." "I read that as many as 90% of the bees worldwide have died off in the last 17 years." "LEWIS:" "That's right." "And you know what Albert Einstein said?" "If the honeybees disappeared completely, humans could survive only four more years." "Yeah, we depend on these creatures for our survival." "Our being depends upon them as theirs does on us, yeah." "So." "So you're writing an "Encyclopedia of Obsolete Things."" "I" " I can't help but think that, um, that all human knowledge will be filed there soon." "Um, agriculture as we know it-- finished." "Things that we hold as given truths, completely meaningless." "Even your own encyclopedia." "I think I know about that." "Then, um, why do it?" "The past is gone." "All it's left us with just a hell of a mess." "I think that that mess is partly due to our eagerness to move so quickly into the future without really taking stock of where we've been." "Yeah?" "I think that you're attached to it, the good old days." "I was." "But it makes me wonder why-- why you came out here to talk to me." "Well, I wanted to see if you were a reliable source." "Yeah?" "Well, you think I'm-- you think I'm crazy?" "No." "But I" " I think there's a chance that you're wrong." "I mean, a lot of experts in the field still believe there's a window of opportunity to change." "Let's say that I'm wrong, I'm a crazy old man." "I'm wrong, and that there's a bigger window of chance to save the human race than I think." "Five years, ten years, before the damage is irreversible." "That's what they say, most of my colleagues." "Well, optimistic colleagues, right?" "Mm-hm." "Well, fine." "So it is as they say." "Now here's the question that you have to ask." "Do you think people are about to change?" "Do you think that even now, in the face of mass extinction, people will change the way they live?" "No." "No." "[buzzing]" "SOPHIE:" "Smile." "Three, two, one." "[polaroid takes picture]" "SOPHIE:" "Perfect." "Thanks, guys." "So, um, are you all staying around for tonight?" "Yes, actually, I was going to ask if there's a motel that you could recommend." "Or a place to camp." "Well, yes, if you have a tent, you're welcome to pitch it here." "I have no problem with that." "It's OK." "That's great." "Yeah, best place, right over there." "Less chance or rattlesnakes." "Perfect." "And I was wondering if I could use your telephone." "I can't seem to get a signal out here." "Oh, I need to make a phone call, too." "I don't have a telephone." "I am gratefully cut off from what they-- what they dare call civilization." "Nearest phone is at the Amargosa Opera House at Death Valley Junction, 10 miles." "Cool, that's great." "Well, we can set up camp and take a drive over." "Well, if you do, you might want to time it for the show." "Marta Beckett has performed every Saturday night for the past 40 years." "It's well worth a visit." "That's perfect." "Mm-hm." "Yeah." "I don't know if this is such a good idea." "I mean, maybe we should just get a room in a motel." "So all you have to do is put the little poles in the little holes." "Do you want to give me some help here?" "That's it, see?" "Easy." "That's right, like in those holes there." "I think I might sleep in the car." "[sigh] You'll be fine." "Look at it." "It's gorgeous." "Oh, it's great in here." "SOPHIE: (WHISPERING) Why are you videoing it?" "You should just watch." "[applause]" "That was amazing, wasn't it?" "It was worth coming out here just for that show." "GEORGE:" "It was worth meeting Lewis." "SOPHIE:" "Oh." "GEORGE:" "He was amazing." "Doesn't he annoy you?" "No." "What, not even just a bit?" "I mean, all that "you're all gonna die and there's nothing you can do about it" shit." "I don't think that's what he's saying." "Yes it is, and he's wrong." "Just 'cause he's getting old." "Well, just because you don't agree with something does mean it's wrong." "Yes it is." "You can never say there's no hope." "So are you good?" "Yeah." "Lights out then?" "[sigh]" "Good night, Sophie." "(WHISPERING) Good night." "Are you sleeping yet?" "No." "Me neither." "So is this really the first time you've slept in a tent?" "No." "Tell the story." "Well, I was in a friend of mine's backyard when we were kids." "We got scared halfway through the night, and his mom let us in." "No Mommy to let you in tonight." "No." "But I'll look after you." "Good night, Sophie." "Good night." "[howl]" "What was that?" "Coyote." "I think it was a coyote." "(FRANTICALLY) What do we do?" "What do we do?" "SOPHIE:" "Enjoy it, George." "We-- just enjoy it." "GEORGE:" "Enjoy the sound of wild creatures coming to devour us?" "SOPHIE: [laughs]" "GEORGE:" "What's so funny?" "SOPHIE:" "You!" "Just relax." "We're safe." "[laughs]" "Are you sure we'll be safe?" "Well, given that you think that 80% of the human population will be gone in the next 100 years, no, George," "I don't think we're safe." "Point taken." "We'll be fine." "At least till the morning." "Good morning." "Ah, good morning." "Hope you like your eggs scrambled, George." "Who doesn't?" "And desert honey, courtesy of the bees." "Thank you." "Looks like you were up early." "Well, you know, I haven't missed a sunrise in 15 years." "If you hike to that point, well, even an old atheist like me sometimes whispers the name of God." "As beautiful as that?" "And then some." "Well, I wish you would have asked me." "I would have loved to have joined you." "Thank you for this, Lewis." "Oh, it's my pleasure." "It's a rare treat for me to get visitors out here." "People, I guess, don't much like what I have to say." "Do you have family?" "Wife is deceased, 20-odd years." "My only son lives in Japan." "He's a Buddhist monk." "Of all the idiotic things that he could've chosen to do with his life, he opted for robes and silence." "Your paramour." "(QUIETLY) Sophie's just a friend." "Oh." "Good morning." "Morning." "Morning." "My, this looks amazing." "Thank you, Lewis." "My pleasure." "Thank you." "So did you enjoy the show last night?" "Oh, it was magic, really." "I have to say, Marta Beckett revives my hope in mankind." "I can understand why." "So what are you all doing today?" "Mm, I think we're going to head back." "What about Zabriskie Point?" "I remember when my wife and I first came here." "She said this reminded her of hell." "And to me it was, and is, a paradise, literally millions of years of change, evolution, that solidified in the rock right before our eyes." "To me, I find something very reassuring about that." "Human race might not survive much longer, but the world will." "That's what matters." "Drive safely." "And come back and see me before it's all gone." "Thanks, Lewis." "I'll send you a copy of the encyclopedia when it's done." "Yes." "Bye, Lewis." "Sophie." "You can drive." "Bye, Lewis." "LEWIS:" "Bye." "[engine starts]" "SOPHIE: "Come back and see me before it's all gone."" "[chuckles] He'll be gone before the world is, that's for sure." "Look at this." "So cool." "GEORGE:" "Maybe it's worse than I thought." "I mean, what if the whole world really is about to disappear?" "What if Lewis is right?" "Oh, for goodness' sake, stop being so miserable." "Why does it upset you so much?" "Doesn't upset me, George, it bores me." "Well, you don't seem bored, you seem angry." "I'm not angry." "I just think it's a lot of bullshit, all right?" "I think Lewis is wrong." "What, to tell the truth?" "[sigh] You know, this obsession you have with all things obsolete is absurd." "You know what I think?" "I think if one person loves something enough, it can never be obsolete." "Well, that's not true." "I love typewriters, and that doesn't mean to say that they're not obsolete." "It's because you love them that it's alive." "I mean, don't you get that?" "[LISTING ENTRY NAMES ALPHABETICALLY," "STARTING WITH S]" "Sophie!" "[spring squeaking]" "[laughs] [spring squeaking]" "SOPHIE:" "You're driving great now, you know?" "Just like Steve McQueen in "Bullitt."" "Noe one would ever guess you just learned." "Wait, wait, did you see that?" "Uh, what?" "Look, look!" "Pull over, pull over!" "I swear to god, it's a ghost town." "Come on, we've got to go and check that out." "Come on!" "Please say no." "Please say no, please say no." "Come on, come check it out." "Look, come here." "There is one." "It's over there." "Check it out." "There's a ghost town." "Come on, we've got to go." "GEORGE:" "Mmm." "Don't you think we should just get to Zabriskie Point?" "What, you scared of ghosts, George?" "No." "It's just-- well, that car is not designed for off-road travel, and it's at least five miles to the town." "Come on!" "It's gonna be fun!" "I can't believe you're scared of ghosts." "Ooooo!" "GEORGE:" "Oh, it's not-- it's not ghosts." "It's-- look at the road." "This is insanity." "SOPHIE:" "Oh, let's live dangerously, George, come on!" "What have we got to lose?" "GEORGE:" "Just our lives." "Have you seen enough yet?" "SOPHIE:" "Look at that." "Oh, this is great." "I have to get a picture of that truck." "Look." "GEORGE:" "Great." "SOPHIE:" "Uh-oh, here comes the ghost." "Guess I should go and say hello if I want to take that picture." "Do you think it's a good idea to get out?" "I mean, no one knows we're here." "We could just disappear." "If it gets weird, I'll cough and we'll run to the car." "Deal?" "But what if I notice it's getting weird?" "You cough." "[coughs]" "GEORGE: [clears throat]" "SOPHIE:" "Hiya." "Hi, how's it going?" "We were just driving by, saw your sign." "Mm-hm." "I'm Sophie." "Ah, and you look like one of the Manson girls." "Uh, I'm George." "I'm Rock Novak, caretaker of Ballarat." "Come on in, look around." "Come on in." "GEORGE:" "This is quite a place you have here." "ROCK:" "Yeah." "Yeah, I been doing it about five years, trying to build me a little museum here and-- and get a lot of old antique stuff and learning all about the history and stuff, and I got a few things here." "So this here, I found." "That's from the 1870 era." "That's an old hoe." "What's special about an old hoe?" "That thing was probably brought here, probably, by the early pioneers." "That hoe has been used a lot." "A hoe is about that long." "That much has been wore down." "GEORGE:" "Wow." "So that's been used a lot." "This is probably-- this hoe was probably made in the 1820s, maybe before." "Hey, do you mind if I take a picture of that truck out there?" "No, go ahead." "That's Charlie Manson's old truck." "And in the back there, you might find some bodies." "GEORGE:" "Um, could you tell me a little bit about the history of this place?" "Yeah, sure." "Ballarat started in 1897, and it only lasted 20 years and went out in 1917-- [clears throat pointedly]" "ROCK:" "Due to World War I. This road out in front of Ballarat that goes south-- [coughs]" "ROCK:" "That used to be the old highway." "And the highway went all the way through Barstow and Apple" "Valley and down to Los Angeles, and it come through Ballarat and it went through Wild Rose Canyon and it took you into Death Valley and Nevada and all that." "Um, I have the video camera in the car, and I was wondering if it's possible for me to do some filming." "Sure." "Sure." "Go ahead." "Thank you." "Mm-hm." "Can we get out of here now?" "No, you were right." "This place is great." "I need to go and get him on." "No, no, no, you were right." "Plus it's blowing up a storm out here." "Come on." "There's nothing to be afraid of." "No, we're just in the middle of nowhere, hanging out with Charlie Manson's bastard son." "I think he's too old." "I thought we said we could run if I coughed." "Yeah." "Well, didn't you hear me?" "Sorry." "Shit!" "I said I'm sorry." "No, I think I've left my camera at Lewis's." "Oh." "I can't believe I forgot my camera." "It's going to be fine." "I mean, we'll go back to Lewis's, we'll get your camera-- it'll be fine." "No, it's not gonna be fine." "You know, it's like two hours back to Lewis's place, which means we won't have time to go to Zabriskie Point, which was the whole reason for coming to Death Valley." "It's like, it's like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower." "Think about it." "I mean, if you went to Paris, would you really want to go and see the Eiffel Tower?" "Everybody sees the Eiffel Tower." "I'd much rather see the French version of Rock." "I guess." "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself." "Easier said than done." "I'm my dad's daughter, and it's some inheritance." "So do you think you'll ever have children?" "I don't know." "Sometimes I think I'd like to, but other times I think it's hard enough just looking after me." "How about you?" "Children?" "Now unless they've invented a way for men to give birth." "Oh." "Oh!" "Why didn't you say?" "What?" "Well, you know, if it wasn't for Carlos, that gorgeous Cuban hairdresser that I met in Brooklyn and married, I wouldn't have a green card." "Actually, you know, I think you'd get on really well with Carlos." "Oh, he's such a nice guy." "I met his family, all down in Miami, and they're crazy." "But you know" "What are you talking about?" "I mean like you and Carlos." "I'm sorry-- you've lost me." "Look, you know, half my best friends are gay and it's not a problem." "It's cool." "No, I'm not" " I'm not gay." "Um, I was just telling you that, you know, I'm" " I'm alone." "Oh." "Well, I mean that might change." "I'm gonna have a look at the bees." "OK." "(CALLING) Hello?" "(SHOUTING) George." "George!" "Oh my god." "What happened?" "Lewis!" "SOPHIE:" "I" " I just found him like this." "He's dead." "George." "What are we gonna do?" "Let's just, um-- let's get him on the bed, you know?" "Yeah, OK." "Come on." "OK." "OK, ready?" "Yeah." "One, two, three." "[laughs]" "What's so funny?" "I'm sorry." "It's just your face." "I thought you were gonna be next." "And you thought that was funny?" "OK, sorry, OK." "OK, wait a minute." "GEORGE:" "OK." "One, two, three." "SOPHIE:" "Should I-- should I just drive back and" "GEORGE:" "Yeah." "SOPHIE: [sigh] Are you going to come with me?" "GEORGE:" "No." "I don't want Lewis to be alone." "Little brownies, little brownies, your master is dead." "He's dead and he's gone and he's never coming back." "But that doesn't mean you have to die, too." "Gentle creatures, that's what he called you." "Gentle creatures." "Please don't die." "We need you." "And we're sorry." "We haven't told you, have you?" "We haven't told you, but I hope you can hear me now." "Little brownies, little brownies, your master is dead, and he's never coming back." "It's weird, isn't it?" "How someone can be here one minute and then just gone?" "We should find out where his son lives." "Where did he go?" "I remember when my Mum died." "I mean, technically she was still alive those last few hours, but she'd really gone." "I remember just holding her hand and telling her that I loved her." "Then I went to get a coffee and I came back and she'd gone." "Lewis was lucky." "SOPHIE:" "Yeah." "When I go, I want to go like that." "Me too." "Now getting sick and going to hospital and suffering." "Just-- you know?" "Me too." "It's a blessing to go that way, isn't it?" "It's the best." "Probably, but at least when you're sick, you have a chance to make amends." "That's true." "[sigh] So what about the Earth?" "What do you mean?" "Well, wouldn't it just be better if it disappeared?" "No warning?" "Maybe." "That's not the way it's going to happen." "The warnings are here." "It's sick." "[sobs] [weeping]" "It's OK." "It's not OK." "The world's going to end, we're all going to die, and I haven't even started living my life yet." "Not really." "Maybe you should start." "I'm not married." "I have no real home." "And I've probably fucked it up with the one guy that I really loved." "My life is disappearing." "It's just going, going." "You're still here." "But I just" " I just want to live." "That's all I've ever wanted to do." "Don't you want to live?" "Yes." "Really?" "I mean, don't you just want to live?" "Yes, I do." "What is it?" "It's dark." "Come on and it'll be worth it." "Thank you." "For everything." "Thank you." "Goodbye." "Bye, George." "Hey, wait!" "We never took the last picture." "GEORGE:" "He was a truly remarkable man." "I mean, he saw the end coming and it didn't fill him with fear." "It filled him with the opportunity to learn, to live in the desert with the bees and to drink and to laugh." "Yes." "I feel honored to have met him, and if you're passing through LA, please feel free to call me." "And if there's anything else I can do to help." "No, I've never been to Japan." "Thank you Goodbye." "[rings bell]" "Hi." "George!" "How did" "The phone book." "Well, actually, it was the internet, and it wasn't too difficult." "I, um, I brought you these." "Thank you." "They're beautiful." "MAN:" "Who is it, sweetie?" "Just a minute." "I shouldn't have come." "Sorry." "No, don't go, George." "Don't go!" "You can meet" " George?" "GEORGE (VOICEOVER): [LISTING ENTRY NAMES ALPHABETICALLY," "STARTING WITH Z]" "STARTING WITH Z]" "STARTING WITH Z]" "STARTING WITH Z]" "STARTING WITH Z]" "[slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances] [phone ringing] [slide carousel advances] [phone ringing]" "GEORGE (ON ANSWERING MACHINE):" "Hello, you've called "The Encyclopedia of Obsolete Things."" "Please leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can." "[beep]" "SOPHIE (ON MACHINE):" "Hey, George, you there?" "Pick up." "Pick up." "OK, so you're not there." "Listen, I just wanted to talk to you." "Just call me." "Please?" "Call me?" "[beep] [slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances]" "[small sob] [slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances]" "[slide carousel advances]" "PAUL:" "There you go." "Thanks, sweetheart." "PAUL:" "No problem." "Hey, you've got to look at this website I just found." "What is it?" "O-B-S-E-L-I-D-I-A." "It should be O-B-S-O, but whatever." "Check out the entry on love." "It's got to be the most romantic thing I've ever read." ""Some people say love is obsolete, but they are wrong." "Love is what makes everything in the universe possible." "Love is not dependent upon liking the same movies or on the species' need for procreation." "Love is dependent on life and life alone." "Someone once told me that as long as one person loves something, it can live forever." "You are that person." "You have that love." "And I give it today to everything that you want to live tomorrow."" "It's beautiful, huh?" "GEORGE (VOICEOVER):" "Maybe it's true." "Maybe the whole world is disappearing." "Species by species, object by object-- everything in decline." "And who knows?" "I mean, maybe you will wake up tomorrow and find everything you love is gone." "But it hasn't all gone yet." "So in a way, maybe Lewis is right." "Maybe we've got to accept that the whole world is dying off and-- and just enjoy it while we can." "Treat it with kindness and enjoy it while we can." "But I also think this-- we have to wake up now to the things that we want to save." "And there's no time to waste." "We have to know what is worth saving, then we have to do everything in our power to keep those things alive." "That's our only hope." "And true, it still might not be enough, and everything might be lost." "But at least we tried." "At least we tried." "And maybe that's it." "Maybe that's all we can do-- wake up to each fleeting moment, so we know we were there." "Even if "there" is gone forever." "Excuse me." "[bells tinkling]" "[bees buzzing quietly]"