All language subtitles for Flash.of.Genius.2008.HDTV.XviD.MP3-RARBG

On the Maryland Giant,
I'm the Fryman in the morning,

and it's time for sports!

The Orioles continue to shoot
skyward like a Saturn V,

having locked up the pennant
over a week ago.

Last night in Municipal Stadium,
in front of over 19,000...

...Dave McNally's
pitching and hitting.

McNally scattered seven hits
with no walks and a complete game,

Excuse me, sir. Can I speak
with one of your passengers?

Sure. Go ahead. Go in back.
I'll go back there. Thanks.

Robert Kearns?

Dr. Kearns?
Yes.

Sir, your family's
very concerned about you.

Why don't you
come with us?

The vice president asked me
to come to Washington.

Yes, sir.
We understand.

You should come
with us.

I suppose I could.

Mmm.

I'll take that
for you.

Be careful.
That's for my kids.

Don't you worry, sir.
We'll take good care of it.

Scott, you and Louise want to come
to our place for dinner tonight?

What about the Pistons game?

No. I gave my tickets
to my kids.

Prices the way they
are... Hiya, Bob.

Hey. How's the teaching going?

Oh, good. Good. How many
Kearns kids are there now, 13?

They're gonna win today. I can
divine it. Oh, you can divine it.

What Scott here divines is that the Knicks have
two guys out with ankle injuries, right, Bob?

Mmm. You talkin' about
basketball? Kearns!

You probably mean that.

I do.

As I look out over this sea
of familiar faces,

I see men from GM, AMC,

Ford, Chrysler,
Jeep and Dodge...

all under one roof,
as it should be.

And it brings to mind
the Apostles.

What was it that brought
these very different men...

together as one?

Father Rooney
was good today, huh?

He was funny. He was
great. He really was.

Can I pinch you?
No, dipshit.

- Mom, make him stop calling
me... - What did you just say?

Dipstick. It's an
automotive term, Mom.

Well, say that one more time, and
I will have your chassis waxed.

Okay? That's an
automotive term too.

Look at this.

I turn this thing off, 10
seconds later I can't see.

I can't see either.

So you turn it back on,

and now the windshield's clean,
but the wipers are dragging.

You hear that-that
screeching? Huh? Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I hear it. I hear it.
Yeah, it's annoying.

All right. So it's raining, and I turn
it back off. But now I can barely see.

I can't... I can't
see anything, sweetie.

I can't either. Right now I can't
see a thing. Sweetie, turn 'em on.

If I don't turn this thing on right
now, we'll hit somebody. Look at this!

That's not funny at all.
Sweetheart. All right, all right.

10,000 engineers in Detroit, you'd think
they'd know how to design an automobile.

What are you doing?

Oh, I was thinkin'
about how eyes work. Hmm.

We blink about every four, six seconds,
and there's this lachrymal fluid and...

Really?

Interesting.

And what are you
thinkin' about?

I'm thinking we should
make another kid.

Gotcha.
Yeah.

Oh, that's good.

You're funny.

Mmm.

Mmm.

I'm gonna be right back. Huh?

Yeah.
Huh?

Spell "giant".
G-I...

G-I-A-N-T.
It's so easy.

Is your name Kathy? Is it your test?
I don't think so. It's Kathy's test.

Kathy, what's the next one? Puppy.

Puppy or science? Puppy's
too easy. Do science.

Hi, poop.
S-C-I-E...

Six minutes, you guys.
Come on. Let's really hustle.

S-C-I-E-N-C-E. When
is Calvin's sleepover?

Friday.
I have to call his mom.

"Police describe the badly decomposed
body as... I don't think so today.

I don't know. as one of
the most gruesome crimes"...

What is that?
My current event.

I thought we agreed we weren't
doing murders for a while.

I have to call her mom.
Honey, good morning. Hey.

You tired?
No, I'm fine.

What time did you come to
bed? I don't really know.

Are you substituting today?
Yeah, fourth grade. Eat something.

No, no. I'll get
something at school.

They called. It's at Pat's school,
and so I can pick them up after anyway.

Who's gonna watch him? And I'm gonna take
him to the... Don't worry about it. Eat.

Hey. Bye, kids.
See you, Dad.

Uh, don't use your
wipers today. Bye, Dad.

- Don't what?
- Yeah, I needed the motor.

Honey, what if it rains?
No, no.

It's not gonna rain.

Good morning, everybody.

I want to welcome you all to the first day of
the quarter for Applied Electrical Engineering.

My name is Dr. Robert Kearns, and I'd like
to start by talking to you about ethics.

I can't think of a job or a career
where the understanding of ethics...

is more important
than engineering.

Who designed the artificial
aortic heart valve?

An engineer did that.

And who designed the gas
chambers at Auschwitz?

An engineer did that too.

One man was responsible for helping
save tens of thousands of lives,

another man helped
kill millions.

Now, I don't know what any of you
are gonna end up doing in your lives,

but I can guarantee you
that there will come a day...

where you have
a decision to make.

And it won't be as easy
as deciding...

between a heart valve
and a gas chamber.

Everything we do
in this classroom...

ultimately comes back
to that notion.

All right?
Mm-hmm.

Grades count too.

Thank you, Professor!

My pleasure.

Yeah, Tuesdays, Thursdays!
Hi, Jerry.

Dr. Kearns. I'm gonna make a
doughnut run. Are you interested?

Mmm, you can't do it
mechanically.

Can't do what?

That's the pause between
wipes. That was my mistake.

Can't do it mechanically. You might
be able to do it electronically.

Well, probably.

You want a doughnut?

No, thanks.
Okay.

Timmy, stop it. Timmy!

Cut it out.
Get over here.

Okay.
Dennis, problem again?

To make it pause between
sweeps. Good. And solution?

Well, I guess we could
change the speed.

Yeah.
Yeah.

Except it would be, uh, the wrong
approach, and it wouldn't work.

What do I always say?
"Who farted?"

- Besides that.
- Uh, look for the obvious.

Yeah. So you do listen. All right.

We're just looking for a measured,
consistent pause, like your eye right there.

See that? The way
it blinks away a tear?

And we could try
a bimetallic timer...

that responds
to heat changes.

But then, of course, what do
we do on a, uh... on a cold day?

Put the ball down. Sit
down here. I want you to...

I want you to put this together. I want
you to solder this. Dennis, help him out.

Get over here.
Here we go. Here we go.

We got Team Kearns here!
Yeah, this is hot. This is hot.

So careful, all right?
That-That...

That's got a, uh, uh, transistor and
a capacitor and resistors in there.

That's as-as simple
as I can get it.

That's when you get real
beauty, when less is more.

Will it work? It works
up here perfectly.

We got resistors, each one
rated at a different tolerance.

- Where are the meter cords?
- Uh, just over there.

Of course, there's a thousand
different combinations.

Our job is to find
the one that works.

And there is one
that'll work, in theory.

You know, Marconi spent seven
years trying to perfect the radio.

Timmy, stop with the ball,
please!

Well, what do you know
about that?

One, two, three, now!
So neat.

Wow!
Twelve, 62...

It's so great.
It really works.

Two, three, now!
It's so neat.

That's it. It's going.
It's alive!

It moves,

it pauses.

It's alive, alive,
alive, alive!

What do you think?

Let's go out and
celebrate in real style.

Really?
Yeah.

I want to buy
a diamond ring.

Oh, my God. You're only
six. Thank you, Peggy.

You got a little ways to go,
sweetie. I got the burger, right?

Can I have some more Pepsi?
Uh, me too, please.

Sure, if your parents say
it's okay. All right this time.

Did you get a pickle? Know
why I wanted so many kids?

Because I had six in my family
and you loved my family?

True. I missed that
growin' up.

I think you're all caught up.

Hey. Hey. Listen up!

There's 20 million cars built
in this country every year,

and every one of 'em's
gonna need our wiper. Wow!

Huh? And guess who's gonna
manufacture those. Who, Dad?

Us.
Us?

We are? Yeah, we are.
In fact, here you go.

I want to toast...

to the Kearns Corporation
right here... Yea!

and its
board of directors.

Lou Galin's two weeks late
on that glass shipment.

What do you want me to do? Well,
why don't you give him a call?

He's your buddy.
Did you pay him?

Yeah. Half.
I'll call him.

Well, that's
the damnedest thing.

Yeah. Get this.

It's also possible to build a timing
control into the wiper column...

so that you could adjust
the time between movements.

Well, why? Because it obviously
rains at different intensity levels.

Yeah.
Right.

That's part of the whole idea.

What do you want
to do with it?

Well, Bob wants to manufacture
it, so from our end,

we just put up the dough for the
patents, research and development,

all of which goes through Kearns, and
we also seed the money for manufacturing.

And I-I could be ready to go very
soon. It's a pretty simple deal.

The fact is, if we can nail a quarter of
cars in America at, what, 50 bucks a pop?

Think about it.
Just curious.

Do you have any manufacturing
experience, Mr. Kearns?

Inventing, with all due respect,
is one thing, but building is...

Bob's background's in
engineering, so I don't see how...

Gil, Gil. Let Bob talk, for
Christ's sake. Right, right.

Bob?
Yeah, um...

Well, no... no actual experience.
No, not yet. But, uh...

Look, I know I'm not
your ordinary businessman.

- I don't have an M.B.A., but... - No
apologies, Bob. You're doin' great.

We'll hold his hand the whole
time. It's not gonna be a problem.

Yeah, it's a bet, but so was the
kidney machine that keeps Dad alive.

Barely alive.

What are you
gonna call it?

The Kearns
Blinking Eye Wiper.

Yeah. Well, I'm not sure
about the name.

You look sensational, hon.
Thanks.

A little nervous, huh?
Aren't you?

No.

Welcome, ma'am.
Thanks.

Welcome, sir.
Uh, sir?

Oh.
Here you go.

Funny, we've never been
inside here before. Oh, yeah.

I never thought about it.
Well, start thinkin' about it.

I want to be able to take
you to more places like this.

Okay. No, really, this is a big deal.

Start of a new life.

You gonna quit teaching?

You think I should?

I think you should take it
a step at a time.

Oh, so you're saying
it's not gonna last. No!

I'm saying I'll love you
either way.

Which is French for,
"Be prepared to fail." Robert!

No. I just want to
do somethin' important.

You will.

Will you love me more if I do? No.

I'll love you more
if you're rich.

I married a gold digger.
What do you know about that?

Oh, I just...
They're driving me crazy.

They don't want to go
to the rec center anymore,

and at least when school starts
that takes care of four of them,

and then... and then we've just
got the two little ones at home,

but we have fun.

Well, ours are up at Harbor
Springs. They just love it up there.

Oh, I bet! But you
don't go with them?

Well, that's the problem. It's
just hard to find time to get away.

Right, Bob? They think it's
like summer camp up there.

I don't even think they
notice we're not there. Mmm.

Oh. Do you see
Robert's eye?

Yeah, is that bothering you? No.

- Do you know the story of Robert's eye?
- Oh, Phyll. Forget it.

The story of our wedding night?
It's such a funny story, honey!

So, it's our wedding night, and
I'm getting ready in the bathroom...

and putting on my little
negligee. Okay, okay, okay.

And Robert's in the next room,
opening a bottle of champagne.

Well, I'd never
opened one before.

Figures Bob had never opened a bottle
of champagne before his wedding night.

So I had it down between my
legs, and I look down and... pow!

Cork goes off right in my eye,
and I... I fall back on the sheets.

I was bleeding. I come
out and start screaming.

I don't know what's happened.
Screaming bloody murder, Phyllis.

But it all turned out okay,
and he made it up to me later.

Hey, hey! Good evening,
everyone. My name is Joe Warwick.

And I'm the guy who leaned on you to
come out tonight. And I'm glad I did.

I want you to give
yourselves a big hand...

because tonight
we raised $11,000...

for the Children's Hospital.

Now, let's do some more dancing
to the sound of the Telegraph Five!

Hey, let's dance.
No. No.

Okay. Come on.
Phyllis. Phyllis.

Come on.

Hey. Say, Bob.
Uh, Phyllis, you look lovely.

Would you mind if Gil and I drag
Bob outside for some business chat,

where we can hear
ourselves think?

Go on.
Tears must fall

We've got some real
interesting news for you.

Paul, when are they gonna
fix that 17th green?

I'm tired of playing on that
temporary green. I'm on it, I'm on it.

I took it to the board. It'll get taken
care of. You don't play golf, do you?

Uh, no, no.

So, Bob, we-we got some really good feedback
on the feelers we put out for the Blinking Eye.

Yeah, it turns out the concept
isn't as unique as we first thought.

The Big Three assigned their windshield wiper
teams to come up with an intermittent wiper.

That's what they call it.
The Intermittent Wiper.

The Intermittent Wiper.
I'll be damned.

No, it's fine. More than anything,
now we know there's a demand for it.

Until now your wiper seemed
like a clever gadget.

But they want it.

And more importantly,
they haven't cracked it yet.

Mercury's been working on one for over
a year, and they still haven't beaten it.

So we want to set up
a demonstration.

Ford is very interested in
seeing what we have. Ford?

F... You didn't mention
anything about...

Are you ready?

Wow. Ford. Wow.
I... I don't know.

I mean, it-it needs
more work, more consistency.

I can assure you we won't
sell it if we don't show it.

Yeah, but should we be showing 'em ours if
they're already workin' on their own version?

Well, that's up to you. But maybe it's a
good reason to show it sooner than later.

I don't know, Gil.

Kearns, I'd hate to see you
if you got bad news.

We're not gonna
let anybody take it apart,

especially after the money
we put into the patents.

We'll just give 'em a peek.
Cat stays in the bag.

Now, Paul's
real excited about this.

In fact, I haven't seen him
quite like that in a long time.

Well, I got a lot to do.
I mean... I know, I know.

By the way, this is yours.

Mine?
For now.

No more aquariums, Bob.

Just throw the unit in here
and take it to Ford.

Sal! Sal here'll
help you put it in.

Just tell us what
you want, Mr. Kearns.

Okay.

He'll be here. We're very
busy here, Mr. Previck.

This is him, yeah?
Yep.

Hiya, Bob.
Hey, Gil.

Frank Sertin, Vice President
of Research and Development,

meet Bob Kearns, the inventor of
the Intermittent Windshield Wiper.

Oh, we'll see.
We'll see.

It's a real pleasure.
Good. Thank you.

All right, Bob. Let's... Let's
see what you got. All right.

And, Bob, we want you to do
it with the engine running.

We've found that the heat can play havoc
with some of the systems we've tried.

Right now?

Right now.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Where... Where's he goin'?

Bob's real big on
security. What's going on?

Okay.

Okay, Bob!
Come on. Let her rip!

- What's goin' on?
- I don't know.

Okay.
Bob.

I don't know.

Oh. Okay.

Bob? Yeah? Oh, here! It's a fuse.

It's the fuse!
It's a fuse!

Yeah, we're good.

It'll do that all day,
engine running or not.

- Well, that is, uh...
- Impressive.

Fantastic.
That's good.

We call this
"variable speed".

Variable speed.

"Variable dwell."

That is very impressive.

Gil, how 'bout giving us a
little look under the hood, huh?

Sorry, Frank.
We can't do that.

He-He's not doing that
manually, is he?

Bob? Bob.

Uh, w-would you
get out of the car?

They think you might be
manipulating the controls.

Well, I am.

That is very good, Bob.
That's very, very good.

I think we should get you a copy of our
specs. But I can tell you this though.

At a minimum, it's gonna have to run a million
and a half cycles under real-time conditions.

And operate... Uh, excuse me. What's
the maximum temperature under the hood?

It's, uh...
270 degrees.

Mm-hmm.

Well, if it operates in
the field like it did here...

- Where... Where'd you get your
degree? - Uh, Case Western.

I'm gonna look
under the hood.

Sorry. We'd rather not.

It's nothing against Ford, sir. I've
admired the company my whole life.

No problem.

- I'll get to work right away, as soon as I get the specs.
- Okay, good, good.

I know that we are gonna be
in touch with you. Yes, sir.

Very good. Gil.
Frank.

Uh, Dr. Kearns?

Case Western. That's a...
That's a good school.

Get outta the car.
Get outta the car.

Huh?

You did a hell
of a job, pal.

Hell of a job.

Thank you.

I'll see you.

Well, there's a difference between
a good idea and a good product.

I've had a lot of good ideas.

Just nothing that's
quite clicked, you know?

It makes you wonder what it
is makes a man successful.

Brains? Talent?

Of course, there's a lot of unsuccessful
talents running around out there.

Maybe this is the one.

Maybe this'll get you where
you want to be, you know?

Yeah.
But I don't know.

I look at you, and I look
at us, and I just think...

you're a success.

Don't you feel that way?

Maybe it's some other thing,
like luck, timing.

Some intangible thing
like that.

It haunts me a little.

I'm gonna get some more
tea. Do you want anything?

No, I'm good.
No? Okay.

Pass me the carrots. One,
two, three, four, five.

Patrick, come on with that
paper! I'm good. I got it.

Well, maybe she'll make it. Okay.

It's Tuesday.
Cold, clear and sunny.

Wednesday, clear and
warmer. Give me that.

Hey, hey, hey.
Hey, give it back!

Let him have it.

Okay, Thursday, clear, Friday,
partly cloudy and colder,

and a clearing on Sunday.

Well, we need some rain.

Maybe instead of grace,
we should say a prayer, Dad.

Didn't we just say
grace already?

A prayer's different. We could say
that. That's okay. Let's do that.

Come on. Let's do a little, uh,
prayer here, huh? On the table.

Um, dear God, uh, thank you for all
the sunshine you've been sending.

Um, we know
in your infinite wisdom,

you managed to create the elasticity
of rainwater different than tap.

If you could see it in your good graces
to, you know, send us some rain...

so that we can test the Blinking
Eye in real-life conditions,

we'd appreciate it.

Amen.
Amen.

- Do you think he heard you, Daddy?
- My luck, he's a GM man.

Careful, careful!

Go, go, go, go!
Careful!

Dennis, in the back!
Maureen, be careful!

Watch it, honey.

And it's workin' too.

Watch that, watch that.

I can adjust the speed
too. I can adjust it.

Ooh!
Look at that.

Yeah.
Perfect.

Wow!
That was awesome.

Hey, hey, hey! Hey, you see
that car across the street?

Look at the driver.
He's staring right at us.

He thinks I'm turning
the wiper on and off here.

Look at this. No, no! Look
here! Look at that, mister.

No hands! He's wonderin'
what the heck's going on.

How's he doin' that?

No hands!
Hi!

How the heck
are they doin' that?

Huh? We got ourselves
a winner here, I'd say.

Ford Motor Company.
How can I help you?

What's the deal? Well, he's got
it, and it really seems to work.

And you've gone
through it completely?

Uh, as close as we could
from a distance.

He hasn't actually let us
do any surgery. Why not?

He's nervous about people
getting too close.

Mack, he is
a particular kinda guy.

Well, whatever. We gotta
get this puppy moving.

The marketing department's all over me.
They think they can sell the shit out of it.

What's he want?

- To build it.
- He wants to manufacture it himself?

Apparently,
that's his dream, yeah.

Okay, well, we'll deal
with that later.

Right now we need to
get him on board.

Okay.

Come on in, guys.

Bob, Dick Gordon.
Thank you.

Nice to see you.
Good morning.

Hey.
Hey.

Gil, nice to
see you again.

You too, Macklin.

This is
Dr. Bob Kearns.

Bob Kearns, winner of the
wiper competition. Congrats.

Bob, I've been going over the
reports on your Intermittent.

It looks like
you cracked it.

Have you worked up a unit
price yet? No. Not yet.

- I'm... I'm hoping to... - Good.
And you do want to manufacture it?

Yes, sir. I want to
come through for Ford.

And we like that. So let's
get a unit price then.

Frank, have you, uh, sent a
working unit to Washington?

No, Mack, we haven't. Um, Bob's...
he's not comfortable with that.

Really? Now, Bob, you do
understand this is a safety device.

And before we can install any
safety device on any of our cars,

we have to submit it
to Washington for approval.

That means we're gonna need a working
unit from you. I understand that.

And I understand I'll need
your cars for my wipers.

- But I-I thought that,
uh, if we had a cha...

We like to work closely with our
people, Bob. That's... That's the deal.

Nothing else
would make sense.

I'm sure Gil will tell you we have a very
close relationship with Previck Automotive.

Bob knows that.
That's why we came here first.

He's right though, Bob.
It does need to be approved.

We're interested in offering the Intermittent
as an option on at least one model next year.

From there, our plan is to
expand it to the entire line.

Now, that means we're working
under a serious deadline,

so we're gonna need a unit
from you as fast as possible.

Okay. Yeah, I-I can do that. Great.

Let's get started on the legal right
away. Right, gentlemen? Absolutely.

Thank you.
Thank you so much.

I'll get my demo and
research over to Mr. Sertin.

Excellent. This is what it's
all about, Bob. Corporate can-do.

How 'bout that?
Okay.

Now, remember, there's a right way
and a wrong way to do this, okay?

Whatever you do, don't let
'em think that it's perfect.

What if it is? Hey,
listen to your father now.

You wanna take him?
No, I'm serious about this.

Be very careful
what you say, okay?

The moment they think they got a
sucker on the line, you're dead.

Here he comes.
Just everybody take it easy.

Let him come to us a
little bit, okay? Okay.

We'll be fine. Let me do the
talking. What's new about that?

Hey! No back talk.
Come here.

Hi.

How are you? Bob Kearns.
Nice to meet you, Bob.

Can't catch me!
Whoo-hoo!

You're it.
Try to spin.

- How big is it?
- 30,000 square feet.

Structurally, this is as sound as
any building you'll find in Detroit.

The loading ramps are more than
ample for any job you may have.

Sure looks like
it needs a lot of work.

We're concerned about the
price. Is it the best you can do?

Well, we can probably work out an eight
cents per foot improvement, Mrs. Kearns.

- What do you think, guys?
- How much is it?

Fifty cents a square foot. Mmm. No.

No, we were figuring
on a lot less than that.

I think the owners
might come down a bit.

Well, we'll have to think about it. Hey!

You hear that echo?
This place is solid!

I-It's perfect, Michael.
Absolutely perfect! I love it.

It's such a simple idea. I'm
amazed no one's cracked it before.

Where did you do
your research?

My basement.
Oh.

So, these SD-25s
are fixed costs?

Yes, we can do a discount
after 400,000 units.

I assume you'll put the Ford
contracts up against costs.

They're backing it, right? Oh, yeah.
We're down the road on all that.

My biggest concern is that
you'll be able to provide us...

with the necessary transistors
and circuits that we need.

Mr. Kearns, Motorola is the biggest
electronics manufacturer in the world.

I think if we can supply the
Pentagon, we can supply you.

The who?
The Penta...

Oh!
That's a good one.

Hi, Bob.
Hi.

The gentleman at Motorola put me in
touch with their finance department.

Yeah. Yeah. Bob? No,
I'm serious about this.

We should talk about cash flow at
some... Want me to take your order?

Yes. Actually, do you
mind giving us a second?

Sure.
Thanks, hon.

Sorry, I'm starving.

They want out, Bob.

Who wants out?
Ford.

What? They're just
not interested anymore.

Wait, wait, wait.
What do you mean?

Well, what happened?
I'm not sure.

Well, who did you talk to?
Tyler.

Macklin?
Yeah.

What did he say exactly?
Like I said, they want out.

Out?

They're not ready yet, and they're
not gonna make a move until they are.

They gave me a line like, um, you
know, "It's not the Ford style."

Out, or ready, Gil?
Which one is it?

Hang on a second.
I'm in this too.

They have the unit.

- We'll get it back.
- When?

- I don't know.
- I closed on the operating loan.

Well, don't forget, I thought
you should slow down on that.

They're loading in transistors.
We're gonna figure this out.

All we gotta do is take
it to another... Bullshit.

Listen. Chrysler,
AMC, GM... My kids.

It's my kids.
Ford was our best bet.

We both know that.
But we're not done.

Okay, but they... they strung us
along, and they looked at my work.

I know. I know.

We had a deal.

I think they might be
negotiating here, Gil.

- No. They're not. - You
sure? Because I haven't...

Yeah.
It's dead there, Bob.

Oh, my God.

Frank, we need 'em lower,
both stacks!

Line 'em up
against the back wall!

All the boxes are goin' in the
cage until you know where they go!

Professor Kearns.
Find what you want?

Yes, Louis, thanks.

"State Highway System: History and
Facts." This for one of your classes?

No, I'm just doing
some work for the state.

Analyzing pavement erosion.
Nothing too exciting.

Yeah, but they're paying you to come
up with stuff. Sounds pretty good to me.

You know, I'm sort of
a amateur idea man myself.

- A few of us even have an inventors' club.
- Huh.

Maybe I can call you sometime,
ask you some questions.

Absolutely.
Great.

Hey, you guys are late. Take
it around the back entrance.

Excuse me.

Have your invitations
out and ready, please.

Hey, folks.
Welcome to Ford.

You have an invitation?
Yeah, right here.

Excuse me, sir.
Please don't touch the car.

It comes with SelectAire air
conditioning in all the models,

and many options are available.

Oh, beautiful
Magnum 500 wheels.

Go, go, go, go
Come on and fly with me

Go, go, go, go
And take a drive with me

Go, go, go, go
And try a Ford with me

Don't stop, don't stop

Go, go, go, go, go, go
Go, go, go, go

Our Fords
are bright tonight

Go, go, go, go

They're outta sight
tonight Go, go, go, go

They're really right
tonight

Don't stop, don't stop

Go, go, go, go, go, go

Ladies and gentlemen,
members of the Ford family,

introducing the new, the redesigned,
the finest Ford Mustang...

in the history
of the Ford Motor Company,

with more options
than ever before.

Stereo,
rear window defroster...

and the brand-new electronic
Intermittent Windshield Wiper.

Let's give it a hand!

Ladies and gentlemen, have you seen
anything that's sexier than that?

And I'm talking about the car
now, not the Mustang girls,

who, by the way, know
these automobiles inside out.

Don't hesitate to ask them any
questions you have, and remember,

in the main auditorium we have
all of next year's exciting buys!

Excuse me, sir.
Could I see your invitation?

Uh, I'm with, uh,
Mr... Mr. Tyler.

Why don't we talk about it
outside? No, I'm with Mr...

Mr. Tyler! Sir, please, right this way.

Mr. Tyler?
Right this way, sir.

Sir, outside.

Thank you.

I'm okay. Okay?
Come on.

Easy. Easy!
Step outside.

Their story is that they went with another
design, one they had in the works before ours.

Or yours. Yeah, and that's
just what it is... It's a story.

It's a goddamn lie.
Come on.

No, I took apart one of their motors,
Gil. You know what I found inside?

Transistors, capacitors, variable
resistors. Now, that is my design.

What... What about the patents?
Aren't they worth anything?

- Legally, they're Previck's patents.
- What is that supposed to mean?

Nothing.
It's a technical term.

Barney's putting together
another letter. It's tougher.

You can take a look at it once it's
drafted. Another letter? A letter?

Gil, they stole
this from us!

Whoa. L-Let's be careful
with our language.

Best not to use words like "steal".
Who the hell is this guy?

Huh?
Bob.

Who the hell are you?
What's your angle? Bob!

We gotta be really strategic
about this. Methodical.

And whatever you say
reflects on all of us.

So we're gonna fight it, but
we're gonna do it the right way.

How long is it gonna take
to get an answer?

First, this is Ford.
It won't be quick.

Second, patents.
Christ, they're a minefield.

Not to mention the patent
courts are totally jammed.

- It's gonna take some time.
- Well, whatever it takes.

The point is,
this is all gonna be okay.

Good.

And in the meantime, let's go
a little softer on the language.

So, a lot
of these formulas...

work in opposition
with one another...

so that a capacitive,
uh, reactance,

uh, varies inversely with,

uh, the product
of both, um...

Uh, frequency?

Yeah.
Did I call on you?

- Sorry.
- Frequency, yes.

And capacitance.

Make a note of it.

I'm gonna take
a quick break.

Mr. Previck would appreciate
your patience in this matter.

Yes, well, I'd appreciate it if Mr.
Previck could return my phone call.

Who is it?
It's Mr. Kearns.

Come in, Mr. Kearns.
Oh, hi, Wade.

- Hi.
- Wade, did you ask who it was?

- He did, Jean. Hi.
- Hi. Bob.

What's going on?
Uh, is Gil here?

It's not really a great time
right now. You should've called.

Jean. Hon. Do you mind
getting me a refill?

Sure, hon.

Thanks.
I'll just be a second.

Okay.

I'm sorry. I...
Hang on a second.

I thought we were gonna stay
in communication here, so...

Don't you think it's a little outta
line, you comin' over like this?

- Well, you haven't returned my calls in six days.
- I'm not sure I like your tone.

I'm through waitin'. I'm not gonna
sit around and... and do nothing.

You're not doing nothing.
You called the lawyer.

You pulled Taylor out of a
mock trial. You're on everybody.

You even called my father,
for cryin' out loud. He's sick!

Tell me one thing.
Are you backing out of this?

What I'm doing is looking at our
options, like any sensible person would.

Of course they're stonewalling
us. What do you expect?

So then we take 'em to
court! Is that right?

This is Detroit, Bob. I did $17
million in business last year.

Want to guess what I'm gonna do next year
if I start taking my customers to court?

This is not about money. This is
about right and wrong, and you know it.

For Christ's sake, you're my
friend! That's right. I am.

Did you ask to
be involved in this deal?

You need some perspective.

You need to take a hard look at reality
and realize what we're up against.

It's not
your only good idea.

You've been comin' up with stuff
like this since you were 14.

Now, I... I need to get back to my
dinner, so we'll continue this later.

I'll go it alone.

No. Leave it alone.

Bob?
It's... It's not over yet.

I'm not gonna back off of this.

We don't have the money
to bring in lawyers right now,

so we're gonna have to do the
legwork ourselves, and then...

Are you talking about
suing Gil Previck?

We're gonna go after the Ford Motor
Company, the ones that screwed us.

What?
Gil just let me down.

Robert, slow down.
We're... No, no.

We're gonna have to dig up everything
that's ever been written about me, okay?

Character stuff,
everything.

This is my number one
priority, Phyllis.

Whatever it's gonna take.

Josh, I'm gonna need
at least 10 new wiper motors.

And some of the earlier versions
too. Sure, Professor. Not a problem.

Good.
And circuit boards.

Yeah, they just trash the
test models anyway. All right.

Where-Where are we
gonna do this?

I'll meet you at the first
lab on the second floor.

Okay.

Where's the itemization file?

All the files
are in here, hon.

You should see a doctor. Oh,
I'm fine. Let's keep going.

Previck Automotive,
Legal Affairs.

Something to bring their attention
that various automotive manufacturers...

are considering using electronic
intermittent wiper... I don't have it yet.

Eh, considering using electronic
intermittent wiper control...

Do you want to list who?
Yes.

And that these are in direct
violation of patents jointly held...

by both Previck
and Kearns Corporation.

As the inventor of the
Intermittent Wiper, I ask...

No. I-I demand that they
take immediate legal action.

"Demand" is too strong.
They're our friends.

What difference does it make?
They're not gonna read it anyway.

Then why are we doing this?
Because it makes e feel better.

- Does it?
- What is this file?

What is this?

Kathy won it in the swim meet.
She wanted you to see it.

This is a bad case
of psoriasis.

Phyllis, I want you to take care
of yourself. Use the medication.

Here's the sample.
Thanks.

And I'm going to write you a
prescription. How long do I take that for?

Well, just a month.

I don't know what's going on with you,
Phyllis, but this is all stress related.

You understand me? You have to
take the stress level way down.

I'll be fine.

Hello, Jean.
Phyllis.

How are the kids?
Good.

Phyllis.

Why is Bob doing this?

He can't stand
being called a liar.

Well, nobody's saying that
he is. They might as well be.

Oh, for God's sake,
Phyllis, it's Ford.

He can't win.

Take care, Jean.

Oh! God.

Yeah. Med school
gives 'em to us.

We use 'em
for crash tests.

You should see it when we
drop 'em down elevator shafts.

It's very instructive. I'll try that
sometime. Did you get the boards?

What the hell is this?
I know. It's just motors.

I couldn't get
any circuit boards.

Why not?
Didn't have any extras.

Didn't have any complete
units. I don't know.

These are nothing. Hey, man,
this is the best I could do.

This doesn't help me, Josh!
I'm sorry.

What does that mean?

Oh, God.

Wait a minute.

Did somebody talk to you?

D-Did you have
a conversation about me?

What?

Are you working with them?

Huh? You even know who
they are? Man, I gotta go.

They're the... They're the ones
who don't give a shit about you!

Damn.

Hey! Hey!

Hey! What the hell
are you doing?

Hey! Hey!

I'll see you.

...a Saturn V.

Is that the police?

Look at this lady. She had
five babies at the same time.

It's quintuplets.
That's what they're called.

Hello?

Is this Mrs. Robert Kearns?
Yes.

Mrs. Kearns, this is Trooper Dale with
the Maryland State Police Department.

Yes? We've located your husband, ma'am.

Is he okay? Well, he was found
on a bus outside of Brunswick.

A bus? What... Where is he?
May I speak to him, please?

Uh, no, ma'am.
He's not here.

He's being transported to a
hospital facility in Rockville.

What happened? Sorry.
I don't know exactly.

But you'll hear from the hospital when
he arrives. Will you be at this number?

Yes, we'll be here. Thank you
so much. Thank you, Mrs. Kearns.

Thank you.
Bye.

Yeah. For 20 minutes.

I don't have to.
I don't have to jump you.

Okay, well, here. King me. King me too.

Hey, Bob.

Jeffrey Kline to
the attendant's office.

Chair or couch today?

Your choice.

How's it going?
Okay.

I guess.
Good.

I don't feel like
I need to talk about it today.

Okay.

It is hard getting past it.

I'm sure it is.

Did you write
any of these books?

I did. There's a thesis and several
binders full of journal articles.

How would you feel...

if another doctor
took credit for those?

Just...

came along and put his name
on there. I take your point.

But at the same time, if getting
my name back on those articles...

overwhelmed my responsibilities
here at the hospital,

or... kept me from creating new
work, would that be worth it?

Would it be healthy?
I don't know.

I can't answer that.

Do you want to
continue fighting this?

No.

No, I don't.

Thank you.
Mm-hmm.

Who is that?

Come on, you guys. Tim.

Come here, you.
Hey, Dad.

Hi, how are you guys?
Daddy, I made you a picture!

I'll get the bag.
I got the bag.

Let go.
You look good.

Where's Dennis? You
okay? He's coming later.

He's... He's just late.
How are you, buddy?

You okay?

All right. Let's get started.

Remember, the hidden secret of our
first crossword puzzle is a celebrity.

Hey.

...fill in words until you
can't come up with a new one...

What do you say we round up the
board of directors and go for a ride?

Hmm?

Kearns Corporation.
Mmm.

No, I'm fine.

Amor.
Amor. No.

- A-M-O-R.
- Yes, I know how to spell it.

Uh, time's up. We go to,
uh, Tippy's, uh, team.

Let's see here.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

How do you pronounce
your name?

"Kee-urns"?
Kearns.

Mr. Kearns.

An inventor. Mm-hmm.

What have you invented?
A lot of things.

Yeah, my brother-in-law
does a lot of that.

Never sold anything though.

He's actually in pest control.

You really a doctor?
Ph.D.

Uh-huh.

Well, Doctor, take a
look at your information.

Make sure it's correct.
Sign at the bottom.

You'll probably get your
first check in about six weeks.

Proceed to the third window
on your left. Thank you.

Move forward.

Hi.

Can I talk to you for a second?
Am I in trouble?

No.

I know you're mad at me.

It's 'cause
I embarrassed you?

- 'Cause I got sick?
- I don't like you like this.

Okay. Well, that's why
I want to talk to you.

I didn't like it
like it was before either.

I didn't do anything wrong.

Look, Dennis,
if I don't fight back,

if I don't do something, I'm afraid I'm
gonna start feeling like I did before.

And I can't handle that.

I got a lawyer.
And it's gonna be difficult.

And it's gonna be tough
on your mom,

and I may not be around as
much, and I need your help.

You're just starting this all
over again. No, this is different.

Is that all
you have to say?

Yeah.

And I'll tell you something.
I'm old-fashioned.

I'm not out for the quick score. This
firm is in this for the long haul.

That's why I'm very glad that
you're here today, Mrs. Kearns.

From several phone calls with Bob, I think I
understand now what his level of commitment is.

But this is part of
your life too.

I'd like to know
where you stand on this.

I want to understand exactly what this
would be... what it would mean for us.

Well, as long as you know that suing one of
the most powerful corporations in the world is...

It's not something
you take on lightly.

I mean, let's be clear about
this. Ford is just the first.

We're gonna be bringing suits
against every automobile company...

that's infringed on
your husband's patents.

Ford's number one. Once they decided to
put your husband's invention on their car,

they gave a green light to
every auto company in the world.

To hell with your husband
is what they said.

Let me tell you something,
Mrs. Kearns.

I believe in what I do.

I believe in a little thing
called justice.

These bastards think they can
walk all over anybody they want.

Well, we're here to tell them that
they can't, that it stops right here.

I don't want you to worry
that this is gonna take over...

your time or your life,
because that's my job.

All right? That's why
I went to law school.

Ian, this is Dr. Bob Kearns and his
wife, Phyllis. This is Ian Meillor.

How do you do? He's gonna
be working on this with me.

I just want to thank both of you for giving us
the opportunity to really make a difference here.

One of the first items on our
agenda is gonna be discovery.

I cannot wait to see what
they've got in those files.

We're gonna jump right into it
starting this afternoon.

Thank you... very much.

And one other thing. I'd like to
stay as involved in this as possible.

Of course. Of course, Dr. Kearns.
Your help will be invaluable.

In fact, we have to get Pr...
What is it? Previck Auto.

We have to get them on board A.S.A.P.
Think you can do any good there?

- I'll see.
- Very good to meet you. Thanks for coming in.

I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob.
It's just a windshield wiper.

To you, maybe.

To that bartender up there. But to me
it's the Mona Lisa. You know what I mean.

I just thought
that when you...

got back, you'd have
a different perspective.

I do. I'm handling it
differently.

Maybe you are.
I don't know.

So what are you gonna do?
I don't know.

Maybe I'm out of options.

Why don't you sue me?

Kearns versus Previck.

Got a nice sound to it.

Well, then, why wouldn't you? You've
sued everybody else. What's wrong with me?

Nothing. Other than that
I've known you for 25 years.

Maybe you ought to
think about it.

Get your lawyer to draft a
letter threatening to sue us.

If we're lucky, we can
get a quick settlement.

You understand?

Then you can have
your damn patents.

Okay.
Okay. But, Bob,

you gotta forget my name
when it comes to Ford.

We're not gonna testify against
'em. We're not gonna appear.

I mean it.
Well, say it.

You won't testify. Previck
won't be involved in any way.

- All right.
- All right.

Dear Dr. Kearns,

Previck Automotive has received
your demand letter...

concerning the Kearns
Blinking Eye Wiper.

While Previck has acted in accordance
with the terms of our agreement,

in order to avoid litigation,

we have decided to assign to you
our rights to the registered patents.

You will now be the sole owner
of the patents.

Best regards, Gil Previck.

You had back there, um, a nice bread
that's all twisted up with salt on it...

Yeah, we could do that.
Oh, wait. There they are!

Phyllis, hi.
Hi. So good to see you.

Thank you, Jimmy. And would you
bring us a bottle of... Moet?

Sure.
Sit down. Sit down.

Sounds like good news.
I'd say it is.

In fact, you could call this
a celebration dinner.

This is exciting.

Would you like to know who
called me on the phone today?

Charlie Defao. Well, you may
not know that name, but...

he's the man Macklin Tyler
calls when it's closing time.

And he's not a man to waste
his time on trivial matters.

Bob, Phyllis,

I'm very pleased
to report to you...

that Ford has offered
to settle for $250,000.

$250,000.
Oh, my gosh.

"Settle." Now, what... what does that...
what does that mean in practical terms?

'Cause I thought we weren't
gonna pursue that.

No, that was our agreement.

And we didn't do anything
to seek this settlement.

This is...
This is Ford's offer.

And, frankly, we're a
little surprised. We're...

We're goddamn shocked.
Excuse the language.

- Happily shocked though.
- Okay, but in this offer,

do... do they admit
it was my invention?

They... They lied about it.

In a settlement like this, it's customary
that both sides are enjoined from commenting.

What that means is, uh, they
don't say it wasn't your invention.

No, absolutely not. No. No, no,
no, no. We wouldn't allow that.

But they won't say they
stole it. No, but...

if they're offering 250, I
think we can see 350, maybe four.

That's wonderful. I think we'd like
to think about it. Sure. Of course.

Phyllis is right.
You should think it over.

It's been a rough 15 rounds. No, there's
nothing to think about. Uh, tell them no.

Bob, let's take a bird's-eye
view for a moment, okay?

First off, if you're really thinking
of turning this down and going to court,

that's a very expensive
proposition.

It's not a good...
It's not a good play.

I'm not talking about play,
Mr. Lawson.

Let me just tell you something
for future reference, Bob.

I don't appreciate
the way you're talking to me.

You don't have the most
charming personality.

And at least four times a
week I get a call from you...

telling me what the law is.

You're... You're not
a lawyer, Dr. Kearns.

Now, from a...
a real lawyer... from a...

a 45-year member of the bar,
I can tell you...

this firm has spent more time on
your case than you can comprehend.

Maybe. But you're getting
money for this case.

- Only if we settle.
- Bob, think it over.

It's essential.
Three, maybe $400,000.

It's enough to change
your whole life.

It doesn't matter. Look, I... I'm sure
you men think this is a bunch of hogwash,

but this is about
more than money.

I always thought I was put here
on this Earth for a purpose.

I thought it was to be an engineer.
Or-Or-Or maybe an inventor.

But that's not it.
And now I know what it is.

God put you here to sue the Ford Motor
Company? Look. I brought these here,

thinking that you had
different ideas.

Edwin Armstrong
invented the F.M. radio.

Somehow RCA ended up with the patent.
He jumped out a 13-story window.

This was a good man.
He was an inventor.

And look.
I have letters from people.

People who've had
their ideas taken from them.

They've heard about us.
They're in their backyards...

and their garages,
and they're counting on me.

- Please, just look at this.
- Thank you very much.

I really don't need to look at these right
now. Let's just get to the point. Okay?

This settlement offer
is very, very generous.

And if we did get this before a
jury... if we... if we prevailed,

if the jury gave you the... the
recognition you so obviously crave...

That's insulting.
it is doubtful...

that you would do any better than you
would right now with this settlement.

And whatever happened to this little
thing called justice you talked about?

This is justice, Bob. This is how justice is
dispensed in this country... with checkbooks.

There are no brass bands, you know.
There are no ticker tape parades.

The mayor doesn't give you the key
to the city and... and call you a hero.

You get a check. And that
check makes the lives...

of you and your family a little
easier, a little more pleasant.

It's that simple.
Well, I'll make it simple too.

Forget the check.

Get an admission
that they stole it...

and give me the right
to manufacturemy wipers...

and this'll all be over.
Bob,

since I bought this wasted champagne,
just indulge me for a moment, okay?

Just... Just think
about this scenario.

Your lawsuit is over.

But you know what? You're
no longer a young man.

Why? Because you're fighting
a corporation that...

that does not know the
meaning of years... or money.

They'll bury you with motions,
injunctions, countersuits.

They'll drown you in so many
irrelevant documents...

that you'll wake up
with cold sweats.

And five years from now,
you won't be any closer...

to seeing the inside of a
courtroom than you are right now.

Your hair will turn gray.

Life will pass you by.

And for what? Go home and talk
about this with your lovely wife.

Sleep on it.

And then make your decision.

And if you make the decision
I hope you will,

this'll all be over
in a few days.

I'll show you what we got here
in the stacks on patent law,

but there's a load more
over at the university library.

And here you go.

Oh.

So it's all this?
Mm-hmm.

Oh. And those shelves too.
And that one there.

And half of that one,
I think.

Hmm. Thanks, Louis.

You're welcome.

I'm sorry it's so late.

Mm-hmm.

I couldn't sleep.

Well, no turning into me.

No turning into me.

Honey, I think
we should take the deal.

Well, I know you do,

but I don't.

Robert, it's gone on
long enough now.

We could really use the money.
Since when has this been about money?

It's not just about the money.
It's about our family.

Why do you think
I'm doing this?

How am I supposed to teach my
kids about doing the right thing...

if I let these guys
get away with this?

- I'm not sure that's exactly what we're teaching them.
- They like this.

The kids like being involved. They
just don't want to let you down.

I don't want to let you down.

We're fine.

It's like he said. They
have all the time. We don't.

We're gonna be fine.

That theJournal?
Yeah, 1949.

Gerald Reed
versus Lansing Tech.

Seems relevant, huh?
Seems like it to me.

Dr. Kearns, I'm really glad
you're doing this.

The truth is, if you don't fight, the
rest of us will never stand a chance.

- Hey.
- Hey.

How you doin'?
Good.

Mr. Lawson called.

Okay.

Where are the kids?
I took them to Deb's.

Okay. I'm gonna grab a...

Phyllis...
I wrote you a letter.

And I threw it away, 'cause
I don't know what to say.

It's just
become so destructive.

Okay. Listen. I heard everything you
said last week, and... and I agree with it.

No, I...
I'm trying to change.

I know you want to change.
I don't think you know how.

You can't. Phyllis...
This is just how it has to be.

I'm leaving.
No.

Because I think this is the
right thing. Please understand.

This has overwhelmed us.
Goddamn it, I need you right now!

You've stopped supporting me
ever since I got home.

You... You don't believe in this case
anymore. It's not... This isn't fair.

It's not fair!
It's not fair to me.

There are seven other people in this
house, and you... you just don't get it.

We're close. We're so close.
They're calling us right now.

Honey... No.
Phyllis. Phyllis.

Come here.
No, honey.

We're okay.

I can't do it without you.

You're gonna be fine.

I can fix it.

Okay. You fix it.

And then we'll see. Okay?

For now, this is best.

You still love me.

I love you.

What did Lawson say?

He officially resigned the case.

Dennis.

Dad.

I'll catch up with you guys. Yeah.

Hey. What's goin' on?

Can we get a cup of coffee?

Sure. Yeah.

It's a long article,
Dad. Just keep reading.

Where?
Down... Down here. Look.

Okay.

"Among other things, the new
courts are designed to free up...

the logjam of patent cases that have
been clogging the federal courts."

Do you know what that means?
We can actually get to court.

They've been waiting me out. They're
waiting for my patents to expire.

And if we can get 'em to court
soon, they lose a very big advantage.

How soon?
Months.

Months, not years.

That's great, Dad.

Well, I'm-I'm...
Well, I'm not ready yet. I...

And I... I can't
do this by myself.

Hey.

We used to talk about the Kearns Corporation.
You remember that? That was a joke, Dad.

Not to me.
That was never a joke.

We weren't a corporation.
We were a family.

We haven't even been that.
I need help, Dennis.

I submitted a request
to Ford for one document.

They sent me back 357 pages. I had to read
through every one to find the relevant page.

That is all you care about.

That's all you ever
cared about, Dad.

Thanks for the coffee.
Gotta get to class. Okay.

I... I'm fine.

Go ahead. Go to your class.
I don't need the help.

Can I help you?

I hope so.

Bob Kearns?

My name is Charlie Defao.
What do you want?

A conversation. We tried calling, but
you don't answer your phone much, do you?

Who are you? I'm here at the
request of the Ford Motor Company.

You think we could go inside
and discuss a few things?

Discuss what?

How about putting
all this behind you,

so you can move on
with your life?

And so, frankly, Ford can stop
devoting so much time to your concerns.

Well, they can if they want.
They want.

And to prove it, they've authorized me
to come here and offer you a lot of money.

On top of your legal expenses.

I accept.
Excellent.

On one... one condition.

As long as Ford
takes out an ad...

in theDetroit Free Press, saying that
they stole Robert Kearns's invention...

and have done everything they
can to deny me my day in court.

The only problem with that...

is that it'd be a lie,
huh?

To say they stole your
invention would be an insult...

to every engineer, stockholder, every
single man and woman at the company.

Bob, Ford is genuinely sorry
if you've ever felt mistreated.

And to resolve the situation, they're
willing to take the first step.

A big step.
Frankly, an amazing step.

A million-dollar step.

I have work to do,
and you're keeping me from it.

I hate to use these words,
but in this case...

this actually is
a take it or leave it offer.

Bob, you don't
want this in court, okay?

Goin' to the law library's not
gonna make you a lawyer, Bob.

Look. I'm gonna leave you
my card, okay?

I've put my home number on it.
So I want you to call me anytime.

Day or night.

Doesn't matter.

Just call me. I'll be waitin'
for your call, Bob, okay?

Just not for long.

Asshole.

Asshole.

There he is.

Hey, Dad.
Hi, honey.

Hey, Dennis.

Hey, Dad.

You want to come in?

Uh...
Hey.

No. I'll see you, okay?
Okay.

How are you?
I'm good.

Yeah?
How you doing?

Dennis, hold up!

Hey.
Hey.

Thanks for bringing Kathy over.

You're welcome.
Yeah.

Uh, thanks for bringing her
over the last time too.

You know?

I know you've carried a pretty
big load for the family, Dennis.

It's okay, Dad.

I just want you to know
you're pretty good at it.

You're better
than most guys I know.

Thank you.

I'll see you.
See ya.

Everything all right?

What do you want to do?

Don't you have a lot of work?
I just figured I'd help out.

Hey. You work too much.

Too much typing. Let's...
Let's go have some fun.

I hear there's a... there's a car
show at the Historical Museum.

We could... Wow! That
is something different.

That's very funny.

Hey, Dad.
Oh!

You scared the hell out of me. Sorry.

Yeah.

I got some coffees for us.

Uh, looks like a long night.

Thank you.

Uh, yeah, Son.

Right. Okay.

Uh, Mr. Finley, Dr. Kearns,

uh, please step up
into the well.

Civil action, Robert Kearns versus the
Ford Motor Company, will begin on August 14,

United States District Court for
the Eastern District of Michigan.

So, Dr. Kearns,
I'm not sure why,

since you seem like
a reasonable man,

but I understand you'll be
representing yourself.

Yes, sir. My son Dennis
will be helping me... out.

Okay, then.
If you're up for it,

let's make it a good, clean
fight, shall we, gentlemen?

Of course we will,
Your Honor.

I... I don't understand.

It's just an expression,
Dr. Kearns.

August 14.
We'll see you then.

Thank you very much,
Your Honor.

How's Mom?

She's fine.

You want the dates
on these?

- Yeah.
- Quit your bitching. You're only carrying one.

Tough.
Hey, put those by the wall.

There you go.
Is it Chrysler?

Hell if I know.
Watch your language.

She'll be coming
to the trial, right?

Look, Dad. I told you not to
get your hopes up about Mom.

Well, what does that mean?

You know what that means.

No, I really don't.

She's busy. She's doing
a lot of substituting.

Is she seeing someone?

It's been four years, Dad.

Well, that's not
an answer, Kath.

Well, anyway, it's okay.

Just... let her know.

It'd be nice.
Mmm.

What a piece of crap.
It's perfect.

Hi, Phyllis.
Um, I know it's late.

Uh, the kids are asleep, and...

I think I've been putting off
this call hoping you would be too.

I just wanted you
to know that, um,

the trial starts tomorrow.

Okay. Good-bye.

Hey, Dad.
Hey, Dad, wait up.

Hey. How are you?

Good. How are you?
Hello, Patrick.

Hey.
I'm doin' pretty good.

You get some rest?
Ah, a little bit.

Most of the testimony you'll be hearing at
this trial will be highly technical in nature,

although you may have noticed a
less technical piece of evidence...

in the form of half
of an automobile.

The plaintiff in this case
is, uh, Dr. Robert Kearns.

Dr. Kearns charges that
the Ford Motor Company...

infringed five patents
that he holds.

If you decide in Dr. Kearns's
favor, you will also decide...

what damages, if any,
are due to Dr. Kearns.

Dr. Kearns has voluntarily chosen
to represent himself at this trial.

You are not to draw any inferences
either for or against Dr. Kearns...

simply because
he is representing himself.

Yes, Dr. Kearns?

I just wanted to thank you...

for allowing me to represent myself
and introduce my son, Dennis Kearns.

Is that all, Dr. Kearns?

I appreciate the jury giving their
time to the community like this.

The jury is the, uh,
conscience of the community.

Are you finished?

You might be more comfortable
seated, don't you think?

Please keep in mind you're not to discuss
what you hear at this trial with anyone else.

Not amongst yourselves, not in
the jury room, not in the hallway.

Now, this array
of electronic parts...

and this combination
of circuitry...

has been used by American auto
manufacturers since the 1950s.

Obviously, since Ford
engineers designed it,

they had knowledge of it long before
their first meeting with Dr. Kearns.

Would you agree that Dr. Kearns
was the first person in the world,

to your knowledge, to propose
that combination? I believe, uh...

I believe it's possible that it was, uh,
Motorola and Ranco. Uh, they may have.

...one revolution to get
one wipe out of 360 degrees.

Well, certainly it is
important to understand...

that within the Ford organization it takes
some time to get written specifications...

Well, when you start the car, the
transistors come on automatically...

and supply 50 times
as much current.

To reiterate,

you've worked in the automobile
industry for well over 20 years,

and you've been an executive at the company
for a number of those years, correct?

That's correct.

Mr. Tyler, to be clear,

did you ever tell Mr. Kearns that he
had, quote, "won the wiper competition"?

Uh, it doesn't...

sound much like me, so, no, I... I
really don't recall making that comment.

I mean, I certainly tried to
be encouraging to Mr. Kearns.

I respected the man.
Hell, I still do, but...

to say that there was a competition
is, I think, a pretty big stretch.

I should also point out that Mr.
Kearns's apparent intention...

was to manufacture
his device himself.

That simply would have been
impossible for us.

So, to be clear, there's no
chance that Ford would have ever...

entertained the notion of Mr. Kearns
manufacturing his own windshield wiper?

No chance. Ford putting its name in
the hands of an inexperienced supplier?

That would have been
a disaster waiting to happen.

Thank you, Mr. Tyler.

Dr. Kearns. Your witness.

Uh, Mr. Tyler, did you
ever ask Dr. Kearns to...

come up with a cost unit basis
for his wiper?

I don't recall specifically
everything I asked him.

- I... I may have asked him.
- Well,

why would you have
asked for that?

If I did, it would have been because Mr.
Kearns was going on and on about manufacturing,

and I would have been trying
to point out the impossibility.

Um, well,

wouldn't asking
a question like that...

Unless you have a document to hand to
the witness, please stay at the lectern.

Uh, what...

Well, wouldn't asking
a question like that...

imply a contract or a, uh...
an agreement of some sort?

No, not really. Uh, I'd say it's no
more a commitment to buy his wipers...

than I would be committed to buy someone's
tie if I asked him how much it cost.

Did you ever ask Dr. Kearns
how much his tie cost?

No, not that I recall, and I'm...
I'm not sure he was even wearing one.

But you did ask him
how much his wiper cost, right?

Like I said, in a rhetorical way,
it... it may have been possible.

So it's not the same
as a tie at all, is it?

I-I'm s... I'm sorry. What?
Thank you.

You have a Ph.D. in electronic
engineering. Is that correct?

- Uh, that's correct. I've taught for the
past several years... - No, that's fine, sir.

Your credentials are
already part of the record.

Now, when you said earlier that, uh,
Mr. Kearns didn't create anything new,

- could you explain what
you meant by that? - Yes.

As you can see, Dr. Kearns's
basic unit consists of a capacitor,

a variable resistor
and a transistor.

Now, these are basic building
blocks in electronics.

You can find them
in any catalog.

All Mr. Kearns did was to arrange
them in a new pattern, you might say.

And that... that's not the same thing
as inventing something new, however.

Did Mr. Kearns invent
the transistor?

No, sir, he did not.

Did Mr. Kearns
invent the capacitor?

Again, no, he did not.

Did Mr. Kearns invent
the variable resistor?

No, he did not.
Thank you, Professor.

You may step down,
Professor Chapman.

We will resume
testimony after lunch.

Dr. Kearns,
your cross-examination, please.

Dr. Kearns.
Yes.

Okay.

Oh.

I have here a, uh, book.

It's by Charles Dickens. It's
called A Tale of Two Cities.

Uh, have you...
have you ever read this book?

Objection, Your Honor.
It's not relevant.

Your Honor, please,
if I could just continue.

- How long will it take to get to the point, Doctor?
- Not very long at all.

Okay. Let's see what happens.

- Have you ever read this?
- Yes.

Read it in high school.
Very good book.

Yes, it is. I'd like to read you
the first, uh, few words, if I may.

"It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times,

it was the age of wisdom,
it was the age of foolishness."

Let's start with
the first word, "it".

Did Charles Dickens
create that word?

No.
No.

What about "was"?
Your Honor,

is Mr. Kearns gonna go
through the whole dictionary?

Please, if I could just
continue. I do have a point.

- You may answer the question.
- No.

"The"?
No.

"Best"?
No.

"Times"? Look.
I got a dictionary here.

I haven't checked, but I
would guess that every word...

that's in this book can be
found in this dictionary.

- Well, I suspect that's probably true.
- Okay, so,

then you agree that there's not, uh,
probably a single new word in this book.

Well, I... I don't know,
but, uh, it's probably true.

All Charles Dickens did was arrange them
into a new pattern. Isn't that right?

Well... I admit I haven't, uh,
thought about it in that way.

But Dickens did create
something new, didn't he?

By using words, the only tools
that were available to him.

Just as almost all inventors
in history...

have had to use the tools
that were available to them.

Telephones, space satellites...

all of these were made from parts that
already existed, correct, Professor?

Parts that you might
buy out of a catalog.

- Technically that's true. Yes.
But that... - No further questions

You may
step down, Professor Chapman.

Dad, how old do you think
that Finley guy is?

I don't know.
Hey, Dr. Kearns.

I brought some guys from the inventors'
club. Oh, that's great, Louis.

See you in there.
All right.

Hey, Dad.
Oh, there you are.

Hey.
How you guys doin'?

Good. How are you?
Hi, Dad.

Good.
Hey, Dad.

Hey.

How are you?
Yeah. Good. Good.

I guess I should be thinking
about going to law school.

They said it's been
goin' great. I'm glad.

Yeah.
Thank you for coming.

Sure. Go. Go.
Yeah.

I'll see you.
A minute, Dennis.

Okay. Bye, sweets.
Bye, Mom, see you later.

Okay.

All right. Let's go.

Dr. Kearns is our next witness.

Because Dr. Kearns
is representing himself,

he is obligated to proceed
in a question and answer form.

It may seem a little odd, but
you must carefully distinguish...

between the question being
asked and the answer being given.

Dr. Kearns.
Thank you, Your Honor.

Dad, don't forget the jury.

Hmm. Uh, could you please state
your name and tell us where you live?

My name is Dr. Robert Kearns,
and I live in Detroit, Michigan.

Do you need my address?

No, that won't be necessary,
but we would like a...

Dr. Kearns. Why don't you
just have a seat?

Relax and do your
examination from there.

Thank you.

Dr. Kearns, was the Intermittent
Wiper your first invention?

No, it was not, but it was probably
my best. Objection, Your Honor.

Counsel's leading
the... witness.

What? Overruled.

Proceed.
Thank you.

Uh, could you describe for
the court your first invention?

My first invention
was in college.

Back then, uh, yellow margarine,
because of the dairy lobby,

couldn't be sold in stores, because
it would look like... like butter.

Um, so I came up with
a... a bag...

basically a plastic bag
with a little seal on the top,

and you would insert
a tab of yellow dye...

in order to make the margarine appear
to look like butter. Dr. Kearns.

- But it wasn't. It was margarine.
- Could, uh, we move on...

to the reason why we're all
here, the wiper? Yes. Yes.

Yes. Could you,
Dr. Kearns,

please explain your concept
for the Intermittent Wiper?

In 1941, the Supreme Court
came up with the notion...

that somewhere
in the process of inventing,

the inventor must experience
some sort of, uh, moment...

what they called
"a flash of genius,"

in order to qualify
for a patent.

And I... I probably owe
my flash to my honeymoon.

Uh, I was
very much in love,

and my wife, Phyllis,
and I were at a hotel,

and I was opening a bottle of
champagne and, uh, not paying attention.

Uh, I was probably
thinking how lucky I was.

And, uh, popped the cork, and it...
it went off, hit me in the eye.

This one right here.
About knocked me out.

I was, uh, bleeding everywhere,
and they operated on me that night.

And they saved my eye. And the first
thing I saw the next morning was Phyllis.

Yeah. I'm legally blind
in my left eye,

and I've thought about the human
eye because of that ever since.

Um,

and years ago, I was... I was riding
back from church with my family, and, uh,

it was drizzlin' outside,
and I had a thought.

Why couldn't a...

Why couldn't a wiper
work like an eyelid?

Why couldn't it blink?

That's how I came up with it.

Hello, jury.

Why are you here?

What are you doing here? What am I
doing here? What are we all doing here?

I'm here because my mother
and father and their...

mother and father
and Uncle Wiggly and...

Good evening. Dennis. My name is
Charlie Defao. I know who you are.

Right. May I come in?

Let him in, Son.

Hello, Bob.
Mr. Defao.

Good evening.

Bob, what do you say...

we take the guesswork
and the anxiety...

out of the situation,
for everybody's sake?

- Can we do that?
- What's goin' on?

No. Just...
Bob.

Thirty million dollars.
Thirty million?

Yep. I'm here tonight
to offer your father,

essentially this family,
that much money.

The trial goes away. We
don't leave this to a jury.

We settle this here tonight.

But no statement
of my invention...

or... or the...
the time or energy, my...

And more money than you
could have ever imagined.

Bob, I am telling you, if you
trust this to a Detroit jury,

you could walk away
with nothing.

Okay? Now,
look at these guys.

Can you imagine what that
would mean for their future?

What do you kids think?

I've put you through all this.

You've certainly earned the right
to say anything you want to say.

Timmy?

I don't know, Dad.
It's a shitload of money.

Don't do it, Dad.

Hell with it, Dad.
We've come this far.

Well, Mr. Defao, you don't
have much luck in this house.

Bob, let me ask...
No.

I'll see you tomorrow.

This is insane.

Twenty years of litigating,
this family takes the cake.

Well, gentlemen, I'm looking
forward to your final arguments.

Dr. Kearns, Mr. Finley.

Uh, the defense would like to recall
a witness to the stand, Your Honor.

Mr. Robert Kearns.

- No. Uh, is... is that procedure?
- Is this really necessary?

I have to say that I certainly
think it is, Your Honor.

We'll be brief, but, uh,
it is quite pertinent.

Your Honor, I'm ready
for my summary right now.

Well, it'll have to wait, Dr.
Kearns. Please take the stand.

Please keep in mind you're
still under oath, Dr. Kearns.

Mr. Kearns, you have
testified here...

that Mr. Tyler told you
that you had, quote,

"won the wiper competition."

Yes.

And you firmly believe that
that's the truth, don't you?

Yes, I do.

I-It couldn't have been
something that you, um, misheard?

Something that you imagined? No.

Do you recall being
removed from a bus...

in Maryland by police
four years ago?

- Yes. - And do you remember what
you told the officers at the time?

That you were on your way
to Washington, D.C.,

and that it was at the request
of the White House.

Do you remember that,
Mr. Kearns?

Yes. And at that time... Just
answer the questions, please.

Was it at the request
of the vice president?

No, it was not. And were
you subsequently treated..

for a nervous breakdown and confined
to the Rockville State Mental Facility?

- Yes. - And that was because
you were mentally unstable, right?

I was seeking medical
treatment at the time.

But you were convinced
that the White House..

wanted you to come to
Washington, D.C., weren't you?

Yes.
Just as you were convinced...

that Mr. Tyler told you that
you won the wiper competition.

Thank you, Mr. Kearns.

No further questions.

I'm gonna get a soda or
something. You guys want anything?

Dad?

Fuck Charlie Defao.

I took some time off yesterday
and went to my mother's for dinner.

On the way over there,
I thought back to...

how when I was a kid my mother
used to make lemon meringue pie.

But not just any old
lemon meringue pie.

The best lemon meringue pie
in the world.

See, she had one of
those hand squeezers,

and she would crank out that
lemon juice, all for that pie.

After I finished school and I started
making my own way in the world,

one of the first things I did is I went out
and I bought my mother an electric juicer.

And you know what?

She still makes the best
lemon meringue pie in the world.

And it would never
occur to me...

to claim credit for that pie.

And that's what
this case is all about.

Who really baked
that lemon pie?

And there is no question
what the evidence shows.

Who engineered,
designed and tested...

windshield wipers with the
self-parking features back in the 1940s?

Ford Motor Company.

Who engineered, tested, produced
and sold windshield wipers...

with what was called "depressed
park" back in the 1940s?

Ford Motor Company.

Now, I am truly proud
of a system where a layman,

a dedicated college professor,
who has taught for many years,

can come in here
and state his case.

Unfortunately,
as we have proven earlier,

he sometimes confuses
reality with fiction.

Fortunately, he has sought
professional help in those cases.

But the sad fact
of the matter is...

that Robert Kearns,
a good and decent man,

has dragged us all
into this courtroom...

over patents that have
been proven invalid.

Invalid.

And that's what
this case is all about.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen,
for your time and attention.

Oh.

And you want to know who really
baked that lemon meringue pie?

Ford Motor Company.

Thank you.

Dr. Kearns.

Okay, Dad. Let's go.

One of Mr. Finley's
facts is undeniable.

I never baked a lemon
meringue pie in my entire life.

Why are we here?

I am asking why
you and I are here.

Wh...

Why have our lives crossed?

Hmm.

Well, one thing I can tell you.

We are not here
because of anything...

Ford did or didn't do
back in the 1940s.

Mr. Finley over here
has made an art out of...

talking about all the things
that I didn't invent.

But what Mr. Finley has a
very hard time talking about...

are the things I did invent.

And why is that? Because
he can't. That is why.

W... We are here...

because
the Ford Motor Company...

used their influence...

and their money and all
their corporate power...

to take advantage
of the situation.

Ladies and gentlemen, what
they did was downright wrong.

They claimed another man's
work for their own.

And now,
all these years later,

after getting caught,

they have the arrogance to sit
here and look you in the eye...

and say no, no, no,
the Ford...

Ford Company didn't
do anything wrong.

No. They...
They knew it all along.

They... They had everything they
needed to build this invention.

They knew it already.

But I can tell you that
they did not know everything.

They did not know everything
on that hot summer day...

that I showed up in their parking
lot with my partner, Gil Previck,

and an early version of what I
called the Kearns Blinking Eye Motor.

And now, with all these great,
impressive lawyers over here,

they're trying to tell you that
my... my patents were expired...

that the patent office
made a mistake...

not one time,
not two times,

but five times
when they issued me my patents.

And now they're trying
to make you believe...

that they're worthless,
that they're nothing.

That my life's work is nothing.

They want you to believe that
because that is what they believe.

Well, I want you...

I want you to know something.

When I walked into this
courtroom, I was wearing a badge.

Right here.
You couldn't see it.

It said I was an inventor.

Contributor to society.

And I know that you couldn't
see this when I walked in here.

And right now there are people still in
this courtroom who can't see that badge.

Mr. Finley...

he... he can't see that badge.

None of the men
at that table can.

But I'd like to believe that after
everything that you've heard...

and everything that you've listened
to for these past few weeks,

that... that you can see it,
you can see this badge.

That's what I hope.

I can see you're tired.

And I'm tired too.

So I'm not gonna sit up here
and try and interpret...

everything you've heard
for these past few weeks.

I'm just gonna ask you to use
your memory and your good sense...

to do the right thing.

That's all I could ask
of anybody.

Yeah. Thank you.

Thank you, Dr. Kearns.
Thank you, Mr. Finley.

Has the jury
reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

Would you please read it?

In theRobert Kearns versus
the Ford Motor Company,

we find that the Ford Motor
Company did infringe on...

Did infringe on patents
held by Robert Kearns.

In consideration of these
non-willful infringements,

we award the plaintiff
$10,100,000.

I can't believe we won.

That's amazing!

Good work, Daddy.

Congratulations. Hell, you earned
it. I'm really happy for you.

Thank you, Gil. Thank you. Dr.
Kearns, do you have new inventions?

Dr. Kearns, what about
the other auto makers?

Can we get a comment
for the Detroit Free Press?

Come on, guys.
We gotta go celebrate.

Dr. Kearns,
congratulations on your win.

Phyllis.

Congratulations, Robert.

You finally got everything
you wanted. And you deserve it.

No, not everything.

I don't get
the last 12 years back.

I suppose not.

But it's over.
I don't think so.

No.

It'll never be over.

There'll always be another
battle. That's just you.

Yeah. I've been
thinkin' about that.

I don't know if I can go
through this again. Dr. Kearns?

Dr. Kearns.

Oh.
Wow!

Louis.
Wow!

We just want
to congratulate you.

- A bunch of us... we got together
and we got you this. - Oh.

You were just
excellent in there.

I don't think they know what hit
them. We were just talkin' about it.

We were talkin' about it as the whole
thing happened. That was somethin' else.

Thank you. Thank you. It's just great.

Wow.

Thank you very much.

There was, like,
19 reporters there.

Yeah, I saw a guy from CNN.

There were some other television
studios too. Well, that's what I meant.

I had chocolate.
I had strawberry.

I know, you guys. I know.
Thank you.

Might I be able to get
a hamburger too?

I think we can work on
that for you. Thanks.

So, uh, did anyone see Kathy kiss up
to that guy from theWashington Post?

Oh, yeah. He wasn't from
there. He was from Channel 7.

Exactly. Did you get your
face up in there big enough?

No. I don't think I did,
actually.

I don't have
a spoon.

You can have mine,
but I just used it.

There was a guy
from England too.

The London Times actually.
That's pretty cool.

Yeah.
That's amazing.