Let me ask you something. Are you happy?

- Yeah. - All right. Because I'm happy.

And if you're happy and I'm happy, then that's a good thing, right?

- Yeah. - All right.

You're sleeping with me.

You're staying at home, where you belong, all right?

Christopher.

Hey, listen. I need the rent.

I can't wait anymore.

Yeah, I'm good for that, Charlie. I'm gonna get it.

Why don't you go two blocks over at the Mission Inn motel?

It's half what you pay here.

Listen, Chris. I need you out of here in the morning.

The hell am I supposed to be out of here tomorrow?

I got painters coming in.

- All right, look. I need more time. - No.

All right, I'll paint it myself.

All right, but I just... I gotta have some more time... I got my son up in here.

All right. One week. And you paint it.

Chris Gardner?

Yeah. What happened?

- Payable to the City of San francisco. - Does it have to be the full amount?

You gotta pay each parking ticket, otherwise, you're staying.

This is all I got.

You verify at 9:30 tomorrow morning.

- What? - You gotta stay until this thing clears.

No.

No, I can't spend the night here.

- I have to pick up my son. - You verify at 9:30 tomorrow.

Sir, I have a job interview at Dean Witter at 10:15 tomorrow morning.

- I cannot stay... - 9:30 tomorrow morning.

What am I supposed to do with my son?

- Is there anyone else who can...? - I take care of him.

Maybe we can go and have Social Services pick him up.

All right. Can I have my phone call, please?

- Hello. - Hey.

What do you want?

You gotta get Christopher from daycare. I can't.

Just keep him for the night and I'm... And... Just one night.

What happened?

I'll pick him up from daycare tomorrow.

I'm gonna go right... You can just...

You can drop him off and I'll pick him up.

- No. - Come on, Linda.

- Why you doing that? - No, I wanna take him to the park.

To Golden Gate after daycare tomorrow.

- How is he? - He's fine.

All right, just... All right, take him to the park...

...and bring him back, all right?

All right, just bring me my son back.

Okay?

Linda?

I'll bring him back around 6.

All right, all right.

Thank you.

Bye.

I'm okay?

Excuse me. Excuse me.

Yes, I did.

Mr. Gardner.

This way.

It'll be right this way.

What is the word on that one?

Chris Gardner.

Chris Gardner.

How are you? Good morning.

Chris Gardner. Chris Gardner. Good to see you again.

Chris Gardner. Pleasure.

I've been sitting there for the last half-hour...

...trying to come up with a story...

...that would explain my being here dressed like this.

And I wanted to come up with a story that would demonstrate qualities...

...that I'm sure you all admire here, like earnestness or diligence.

Team-playing, something. And I couldn't think of anything.

So the truth is...

...I was arrested for failure to pay parking tickets.

Parking tickets?

And I ran all the way here from the Polk Station, the police station.

What were you doing before you were arrested?

I was painting my apartment.

Is it dry now?

I hope so.

Jay says you're pretty determined.

He's been waiting outside the front of the building...

...with some 40-pound gizmo for over a month.

- He said you're smart. - Well, I like to think so.

- And you want to learn this business? - Yes, sir, I wanna learn.

Have you already started learning on your own?

Absolutely.

- Jay? - Yes, sir.

How many times have you seen Chris?

I don't know. One too many, apparently.

- Was he ever dressed like this? - No.

No. Jacket and tie.

First in your class in school?

- High school? - Yes, sir.

- How many in the class? - Twelve.

It was a small town.

- I'll say. - But I was also first in my radar class...

...in the Navy, and that was a class of 20.

Can I say something?

I'm the type of person...

...if you ask me a question, and I don't know the answer...

...I 'm gonna tell you that I don't know.

But I bet you what.

I know how to find the answer, and I will find the answer.

Is that fair enough?

Chris.

What would you say if a guy walked in for an interview...

...without a shirt on...

...and I hired him? What would you say?

He must've had on some really nice pants.

Chris, I don't know how you did it dressed as a garbage man...

...but you pulled it off. - Thank you, Mr. Twistle.

Hey, now you can call me Jay. We'll talk to you soon.

All right, so I'll let you know, Jay.

"You'll let me know, Jay"? What do you mean?

Yeah, I'll give you a call tomorrow sometime...

What are you talking...? You hounded me for this.

- You stood here... - Listen, there's no salary.

- No. - I was not aware of that.

My circumstances have changed some...

...and I need to be certain that I'll be... - All right. Okay.

Tonight.

I swear I will fill your spot. I promise.

If you back out, you know what I'll look like to the partners?

Yes, an ass... A-hole.

Yeah, an ass A-hole, all the way.

You are a piece of work.

Tonight.

There was no salary.

Not even a reasonable promise of a job.

One intern was hired at the end of the program from a pool of 20.

And if you werert that guy...

...you couldn't even apply the six months' training...

...to another brokerage.

The only resource I would have for six months...

...would be my six scanners, which I could still try to sell.

If I sold them all, maybe we might get by.

- I got him. I got him. - He's asleep.

All right.

Okay, baby.

I got it.

I'm going to New York.

My sister's boyfriend...

...opened a restaurant, and they may have a job for me there.

So I'm going to New York, Chris.

Christopher's staying with me.

I'm his mom, you know?

He should be with his mom.

I should have him, right?

You know you can't take care of him.

What are you gonna do for money?

I had an interview at Dean Witter for an internship...

...and I got it.

So I'm gonna stand out in my program.

Salesman to interrs backwards.

No, it's not.

I gotta go.

Tell him I love him, okay?

And...

I know you'll take care of him, Chris.

I know that.

- Dean Witter. - Yes, hi.

Yes, I'd like to leave a message for Mr. Jay Twistle.

- Your name? - Yeah, my name is Chris Gardner.

The message is:

Thank you very much for inviting me into the program.

I really appreciate it and I'd be very pleased to accept your invitation.

Is that all?

Yes, that's it.

- Okay. - Thank you.

Bye.

- Be careful with that. - What?

Be care... Go ahead.

- Are we there? - Yep.

- Hey, you know what today is? - Yeah.

- What? - Saturday.

- You know what Saturday is, right? - Yeah.

- What? - Basketball.

- You wanna go play some basketball? - Okay.

All right, then we're gonna go sell a bone-density scanner.

- How about that? Wanna do that? - No.

Hey, Dad. I'm going pro.

I'm going pro.

Okay.

Yeah, I don't know, you know.

You'll probably be about as good as I was.

That's kind of the way it works, you know. I was below average.

You know, so you'll probably ultimately rank...

...somewhere around there, you know, so...

...I really... You'll excel at a lot of things, just not this.

I don't want you shooting this ball all day and night.

- All right? - All right.

Okay.

All right, go ahead.

Hey.

Don't ever let somebody tell you...

...you can't do something.

Not even me.

- All right? - All right.

You got a dream...

...you gotta protect it.

People can't do something themselves...

...they wanna tell you you can't do it.

If you want something, go get it. Period.

Let's go.

Dad, why did we move to a motel?

Dad, why did we move to a motel?

I told you. Because I'm getting a better job.

- You gotta trust me, all right? - I trust you.

All right, here. Come on, come on. Keep up.

Dad, whers Mom coming back?

Dad, whers Mom coming back?

I don't know, Christopher.

Dad, listen to this.

One day, a man was drowning in the water.

And a boat came by and said, "Do you need any help?"

He said, "No, thank you. God will save me."

Then another boat came by. Said, "Do you need any help?"

And he said, "No, thank you. God will save me."

Then he drowned, and he went to heaven.

And he said, "God, why didn't you save me?"

And God said, "I sent you two big boats, you dummy."

Do you like it?

Yeah, that's very funny, man. Give me your hand.

- Thank you very much, sir. - Yes, sir.

- You got the bill of sale here. - Yes.

All the information you'll need.

Thank you very much for your business.

Thank you.

One hundred, 200, 20, 40, 45, 46...

...7, 8, 9, 10.

Thank you.

- Hey, you want one of those? - No, it's okay.

Come on, you can have one. Which one?

- You like that one? How much? - Twenty-five cents.

This part of my life is called "Internship."

The 1200 building is Medley Industrial and Sanko Oil.

The building across the street is Lee-Ray Shipping.

In a couple weeks, you'll get call sheets...

...with the phone numbers of employees...

...from every Fortune 500 company in the financial district.

You will be pooling from 60 Fortune companies.

You will mainly be cold-calling potential clients.

But if you have to have lunch with them, have breakfast with them...

...even baby-sit for them, do whatever it takes to familiarize them...

...with our packages. We need you to match their needs and goals...

...to one of our many financial plans. In essence, you reel them in...

...we'll cook the fish.

Some of you are here because you know somebody.

Some of you are here because you think you're somebody.

There's one guy in here who's gonna be somebody.

That persors gonna be the guy...

...who can turn this into this.

Eight hundred thousand in commission dollars.

You, you, help me hand these out.

This is going to be your bible.

You'll eat with it.

- You'll drink with it. - It was simple.

X number of calls equals X number of prospects.

X number of prospects equals X number of customers.

X number of customers equals X number of dollars...

...in the company' pocket. - Your board exam.

Last year, we had an intern score a 96.4 percent on the written exam.

He wasrt chosen. It's not a simple passlfail.

It's an evaluation tool we use to separate applicants.

Be safe, score a hundred.

Okay,

let's take a break. Be back in 10.

-Hey,Mr. Frohm. Chris. -Hi.

-Chris,how are you?-I'm good. How you doing?

-Fine,thank you for asking. -First day in there. It was exciting.

You're not quitting on us yet,are you?

No,sir. Ten-minute break.

Pop out,get a quick bite and then back in there for board prep.

Oh,man,I remember mine.

And ours were only an hour,not three like yours.

We didn't do world markets,didn't bother with taxes...

...and it was still a pain in the ass. Funny what you remember.

There was a beautiful girl in that class.

I can't remember her name,but her face was so...

I've seen an old friend of mine. Do you mind?

-No,go ahead. -Good talking to you,sir.

Hey,asshole. Are you all right,asshole?

Are you okay?What were you thinking?

What are you doing?I could've killed you.

I'm trying to cross the street.

-Well,you're all right?-Yeah,yeah.

-Where's my shoe?-What?

-You knocked off my shoe!-I don't know where your shoe is.

-Where's my damn shoe?-I don't know.

Hey.

-Did you see it?I lost my shoe. -No,I'm sorry.

Hey. Hey,where are you going?

-We should wait for the police. -I gotta go to work.

Hey,you just got hit by a car. Go to the hospital.

I'm in a competitive internship at Dean Witter.

Hey,man,you're missing a shoe.

Oh,yeah,thanks. Thank you.

Dad.

-You don't have a shoe. -Yeah,I know.

-Wanna know what happened?-Yeah.

I got hit by a car.

-You got hit by a car?-Yep.

-Where?-Just right by the office.

-No,where in your body?-Like,the back of my legs.

-Hey,goodbye,Mrs. Chu. -Goodbye.

-Where you on the street?-Yeah,I was running in the street.

Don't do that. You can get hurt.

Yeah,thanks.

I'll remember that next time.

And here I was again.

-Show up early. -While qualified persons...

...qualified persons are interested in investing and have money to invest.

-Now,Chris. -Yes,sir.

Would you get me some coffee,please?

Favors for Frakesh,our office manager. All day.

My name is Chris Gardner calling for Mr. Michael Anderson.

Yes,sir,we're having a lunch actually this Thursday.

Okay,next time. All right,I'm gonna hold you to that.

Okay,yes,thank you.

Who wants to get me a doughnut?

-Chris?-Yes,sir.

Feeling underrated and unappreciated.

Hello,Mr. Ronald fryer.

Good morning to you,sir. My name is Chris Gardner.

I'm calling from Dean Witter.

Yes,I have some very,very valuable information on what's called a tax...

Okay,thank you,sir.

Then catch the bus by 4 to the place where they can't spell "happiness."

Then the cross-town.

The 22 home.

-Hey,Chris!-Hey. Hi,Ralph.

-I'm waiting. -All right,I got that for you,Ralph.

I'm gonna get that for you.

Whoever brought in the most money after six months was usually hired.

Hello,Chris Gardner calling for Mr. Walter Hobb.

We were all working our way up call sheets to sign clients.

-From the bottom to the top. -Yes,sir.

-From the doorman to the CEO. -Okay.

They'd stay till 7,but I had Christopher.

I had to do in six hours what they do in nine.

Good afternoon,my name is Chris Gardner. I'm calling from Dean Witter.

In order not to waste any time...

...I wasrt hanging up the phone in between calls.

Okay,thank you very much.

I realized that by not hanging up the phone...

...I gained another eight minutes a day.

Why,good morning to you,my name is Chris Gardner.

I'm calling from Dean Witter. -I wasrt drinking water...

...so I didn't ' waste any time in the bathroom.

Yes,I'd love to have the opportunity...

Okay,no problem at all,sir. Thank you very much.

But even doing all this...

...after two months,I still didn't have time to work my way up a sheet.

We're feeling really confident about that one as well.

Walter Ribbor office.

Yes,hello,my name is Chris Gardner. I'm calling for Mr. Walter Ribbon.

-Concerning?-Yes,ma'am.

I'm calling from Dean Witter.

Just a moment.

-Hello?-Mr. Ribbon.

Hello,sir. My name's Chris Gardner. I'm calling from Dean Witter.

-Yeah,Chris. -Yes,Mr. Ribbon...

...I would love to have the opportunity to discuss some of our products.

I'm certain that I could be of some assistance to you.

Can you be here in 20 minutes?

-Twenty minutes. Absolutely. -Just had someone cancel.

I can give you a few minutes before the 49ers.

-Monday Night football,buddy. -Yes,sir. Thank you very much.

-See you soon. -Bye-bye.

Excuse me. Thank you.

-Chris,what's up?-Hey,Mr. Frakesh.

Hey,do you have five minutes?

I got a green light from Walter Ribbon...

I'm supposed to present commodities to Bromer. Could you move my car?

That'd really help me out. It's on Samson,half block,silver Caprice.

Just move it to the other side. They're street sweeping. There's spaces.

Hang on to these. I have backups in my desk.

And you have to jimmy that.

-Jimmy what?-You have to jimmy the key.

And the other doors don't unlock. You have to jimmy it.

Come on,I'm jimmying it.

Oh,no!

Come on.