Promised Land

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 Château 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 came.

lam 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! (CHUCKLING) 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.