hello, is this pam?
toby oxman.
oh, fine. how are you?
great!
that's what i was gonna ask you.
oh, yeah, well. um. i was just calling because, well, i was wondering if you still remembered me, which i guess you do.
so. look at where we are: the year 2000! can you believe it? i mean, did you ever think we would actually make it?
oh, no, not any more. no, um, i kind of came to terms with myself, i realized i had done what i had to do. and it was time to move on.
well, i went to law school, if you can believe that.
yeah, well, it was really all kind of a joke - and a rip-off, so, uh. so i dropped out.
yeah, well, then it got me writing, so that was a good thing.
well, um, i kind of let things go on this novel i'd been really into - i mean, the whole publishing industry is totally corrupt. i mean, really, it's finished.
i worked over at a homeless shelter for a while, drove a cab to pay the rent, but, i mean, that was like - i mean, i have some dignity.
i'm a documentary filmmaker.
n-not yet. i'm hoping to get a grant for this one project on teenagers. geez, remember when we were teenagers?
oh, i don't remember that.
well, but it was so long ago. we were so different back then.
uh, well, anyway, so i'm looking for subjects for this documentary on teenage life in suburbia. kind of an exploration of the mental psyche of its mythology. i wrote to derrida to see if he'd like to do the narration. but everything's still kind of in development at this point.
yeah. um. so anyway, tell me. what about you? i'd heard through the grapevine you were producing movies.
oh. tired of 'life in the fast lane'?
yeah. so you're um. you're married?
huh. kids?
how many?
great. how old are they?
wow, that really is great. in a few years, who knows, maybe they'll want to be in my documentary!
yeah, sure.
maybe she has caller id.
well, sir. uh. i'm actually not doing this for the money. when you make a documentary, you do it for many reasons, but money is certainly not one of them.
well, sir, a lot has happened to the landscape of the suburban high school since i was a student, and i feel it would be a valuable, perhaps even enlightening endeavor, to chronicle the changes, to get intimate with the realities kids and parents face in american schools today.
excuse me, where's the bathroom?
no. actually, i'm a documentary filmmaker?
well, no. i'm doing one on high school students, in fact.
well. it's kind of a sociological study in the aftermath of columbine.
yeah, well, it's possible they would be interested in it.
actually, there is some interest from the sundance channel.
hbo and mtv have also shown some interest.
you see, we're trying to do a film on suburban lifestyles.
kind of an american family for the new millennium.
oh, it is. i mean –
you're absolutely right. the focus is on the college admissions process today.
scooby and a few other students of different socioeconomic backgrounds.
well, i suppose i could reconceive.
'cause scooby does have a quality that i've been looking for, a quality that is emblematic of american today. it's part disillusionment, part hope.
oh, i know, i know that. well, sharing your story, your ups and downs, and so forth, can i hope, be an illuminating experience.
mr livingston, i fully understand and i share your concerns. you fell vulnerable. and i know that this is a very difficult question, but what it comes down to is: can you make a leap of faith in me, in the same way that i have to make a leap of faith in you?
walking down these hallways just like the ones i once walked down as a teenager, i couldn't help thinking back to a time when every day i woke up depressed, suicidal, consumed by despair. had things changed? was the competition to get into the most prestigious schools still a requisite rite of passage? beneath these masks of courtesy and friendliness i knew that there were darker forces at work. and i knew that scooby was the key to revealing the truth.
scooby, scooby, scooby. what are you thinking? college, sats, your parents, your brothers, your friends. how is it you deal with all this stress?
is that right?
oh, my god.
so whaddya think?
i'm not making fun. i'm showing it as it really is.
no, but i like my subject. i like these people.
yes, i do. i love them!
thanks. i'll tell mike. well, it's still just a beginning. i know i can. dig deeper.
so are you surprised that scooby took the sats after all?
ok. how about you, cheryl? were you surprised?
hmm.
i don't know. that's interesting, though. a cool car. is that something that's real important to you, brady?
when the sky is clear and the sun is warm, you're reminded of how beautiful things can be: a lamp post, a sign, a straw wrapper blowing in the wind…but when that dark cloud appears, you realize how fragile the balance of life is.
but what about scooby? how would this effect him? what meaning is to be found in this?
you think so? you don't think that this might not be a little dry?
yes, i know…but still, it should be somewhat entertaining.
no, no, no. no exploitation. this is serious…but don't you find it a little funny too, at the same time?
nothing, i guess…
ok, you're right, you're right… you know, we need to screen what we've got…invite some regular people, just some random off-the- street types…and see what real people think of this.
ok, then we can invite serious intellectual types.
hip alternative types who will understand the process better…
well, i need to see this with an audience!
i don't know. maybe they'll like it.
so where'd you get in?
but what did you get on your sats?
but what kind of pull did you have?
let me try it, let me try it. it's um…the button is just stuck.
uh, yeah, we're getting there.
sure…um…yeah, as soon as i have a screening i'll let you know.
but mr livingston, aren't you a bit fearful that scooby will be confronted with hollow values and systemic conformism?
what is most important to you?
uh, scooby, now i understand how you want to be a tv talk-show host and all, like conan o'brien, but did you know even he went to college?
yeah. he went to harward.
oh, my god, scooby! i'm so sorry. i'm so, so sorry.