The Nana Project

Your last years should be the most enjoyable ones.

That's exactly what we strive for here

at Timeless Acres.

Quality of life is what we give our main focus to,

but variety is right behind it.

Come, make this your new home,

and find your tribe within our residence.

- Okay. - All right.

Well, here you go.

I got all the residents to sign off.

Well, for the most part.

Thank you.

You can consider this your personal film studio

while you're here.

Great. Thank you.

Do I look directly into the camera,

or, like, off to the side a bit?

You can just look at me.

Do you tell me when to start?

You can just start whenever you're feeling ready.

Okay, great.

Yeah.

Your final years should be the most enjoyable ones.

That's exactly what we strive for here

at Timeless Acres.

Boss, we need you.

Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?

I just wanna make sure

-we don't see your mic. -Mmm!

So, talk to me about your feelings

-on the residents here. -Oh, I love them.

I think of each of them as my own Gigi and Bubba.

Well, my own grandparents live across the country,

so, with work, I hardly get to see them.

Being here, I feel like I get to

hang out with them every day.

Boss!

What?

It had babies.

What had babies?

Mrs. Sittler's hamster. There's, like, ten of 'em.

There's, like, one in every drawer of her dresser.

Who in the hell let her have a hamster?

You did.

Uh, remember, two weeks ago,

when her grandkids brought it to her?

I asked you.

Uh--

Can we just cut for a second?

Any favorite resident?

Oh, no, they're all my favorites.

Though, I am a little bit partial to Nana.

Are you comfortable there?

Because that chair is like sitting on a rock.

No, no, I'm-- I'm great.

-This is great. -Okay.

Well, when you can't take it anymore,

grab a pillow from the bed.

- Okay? - I'm good.

Um, okay. Well, let's just start with...

let's start with your name.

Oh, my name is Helen Lewis.

But everybody here calls me Nana.

Which is kind of crazy when you think about it,

because this place is full of grandmothers

and great-grandmothers.

And we've even got two great-great-grandmothers,

but I'm still Nana.

Which, when you think about it,

it's sort of an honor, I guess, you know?

And it carries with it a-- a sort of responsibility

to, you know, lead the herd.

Talk to me about chess.

When did your passion for it come about?

My passion?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is a passion now,

you're right.

Well, but I never used to play.

Uh, my husband, Rich,

he was the big chess player.

He used to love to play my grandson, Andrew.

They had a lot of fun.

And then, after Rich passed away,

I didn't look at a chessboard for a long, long time.

And one day, I don't know why,

but I pulled one out when, uh, Andrew came over,

and we played a game,

and I must have picked up something

all those years of watching,

because... I clobbered him.

Thank you!

Oh, Nana.

-Winner, winner. -Oh, thank you, darling.

And who is this handsome man?

Oh, this is my grandson.

This is Andrew.

-You've met him many times. -Oh, never.

How could I forget this-- this beautiful face?

Hi. Hi, Gladys.

Hi. Okay.

There's my beautiful championship of a woman!

Oh! Darling, you know I came in second place.

Oh, that don't matter to me.

You'll always be my number one baby girl.

Oh, you're so sweet, Jack.

And you know what?

In 11 to 12 days,

my heart medicine gonna kick on in.

Oh, Jack, darling, contain yourself.

There are children present.

We're in an open relationship.

Andrew, Andrew, stop texting.

Your brother will come when he comes.

I'd just like to know what he thought was more important

than actually being there for you today.

Well, it's hard to imagine what could be more important to him

than his grandmother, but apparently there was something.

Come on, come on.

Come into the cafeteria with me.

I'll sport you to a glass of barely drinkable red wine.

-Mmm. -Come on, kid.

Hi, there. Is Abe ready for us?

I don't care. It is creeping me out.

They are on the loose, and they want me to look for them?

I mean, there is no way in hell!

No! Stop it. Are you serious?

Excuse me, do you know if hamsters carry rabies?

My man, how you doing?

I'm good, Jack. How are you?

I'm getting better every day.

Uh, are you getting a little taller or something?

Nope. Same height.

Yeah, how are them bow-wow-wows and them kitties doing?

Vet school is fine.

Three more credits.

We got a doctor in the family.

Congratulations.

Yeah, Nana, we should, uh, we should get you to lie down.

It's been a long day.

I can take a long snooze when I'm dead, kid.

Meanwhile, I'm gonna slip into something more comfortable.

-Ooh! -Don't get any ideas, you.

At least, not yet.

- Okay? - Yeah.

- Ready? - The camera loves you.

- Oh, really? - Yeah.

Thank you! Thank you.

You know, um...

I actually was planning on moving to Los Angeles.

Um, you know, try my hand in TV and movies.

And... yeah.

I was actually planning on going with my boyfriend.

His name is Steve.

We met in middle school.

Yeah. He's a great guy.

I haven't actually seen him in a while. Um...

Well, he went out one night to...

uh, to pick up some Chinese takeout,

and, um,

I don't know, it was like, four months ago. I...

I just paint my surroundings.

I'm in my Blue Period, actually.

We try and allow the residents to take part in the community

in many different ways.

Soup kitchens and canned food drives

are an easy way for them to give back.

Okay, hi, everyone.

Hi. Hi.

Okay, so, uh,

this is our dining hall.

And, uh, hi, Ed.

- Afternoon. - All right.

Where are the canned peaches?

But the Chinese place has, like, amazing orange chicken.

Yeah.

You know what? Honestly, um...

do I have a bug on my face?

Honestly, it's his loss.

I mean, I'm a catch.

Besides, one of the residents here,

um, she used to be a Hollywood actress,

and she's like, "You know what, Jennifer?

You need to use all of this for your acting.

You know what I mean? Like, like, use it, you know?"

She says I have this really, like,

calming presence on screen.

I just, like...

What did I say about racing scooters?

You know, sometimes I can't remember my kids' names or...

where we are, exactly.

But the parts I've played,

I've got 'em all in here.

They're airtight.

Medea. Marta.

Blanche.

They're all still with me.

You know, it all started on stage.

Wow. Look at you.

Well, then I moved on to the studios, of course.

You know about the studio days, don't you?