![]() "Graphite," he responds modestly.) She mentions that she flies about 60,000 miles a year, and Ryan politely says, "Not bad." She challenges him to disclose his mileage number. They compare perks cards, and she's impressed by his American Airlines Concierge Key. In a Dallas Hilton bar, Ryan trades frequent traveler observations with an attractive blonde businesswoman, Alex Goran ( Vera Farmiga). He is transferred to his boss, Craig Gregory ( Jason Bateman), who asks him to come back to Omaha by the end of the week for big news. ![]() Ryan is excited GoalQuest is a very high-profile conference. He calls his office and talks to Kevin, an assistant, who tells him that he has been invited to appear at GoalQuest XX in Las Vegas as a motivational speaker. Back at the airport, Ryan strides into a frequent flyer lounge flashing his membership card, where he is cheerfully greeted. It's kinda exhilarating, isn't it?" The crowd is underwhelmed. "Imagine waking up tomorrow with nothing. Next, Ryan gives a motivational speech, "Unpacking Your Backpack," where he admonishes a thin crowd in a nondescript hotel meeting room to consider how uncomplicated their lives would be if they didn't have responsibility for so many things: knick-knacks, photos, furniture, homes, and relationships. "Cancer?" He is confused, and she holds up a soft drink can, repeating, patiently: "Can, sir?" He shakes his head quickly and politely declines. In first class, the stewardess asks him, "Cancer?" He looks at her quizzically. We see him drop off his rental car at an airport, bypassing the vacationers in the airport to check in at the frequent flyer desk, and powering through security with practiced moves as his voice-over lyrically describes the airport as his home. In a hotel room, experienced traveler Ryan expertly packs his suitcase. In a voice-over, Ryan introduces himself: "I work for another company that lends me out to pussies like Steve's boss, who don't have the balls to sack their own employees." There's a quick montage of retaliatory actions a disgruntled fired employee might engage in (pouring bleach in the coffee, sniper shooting), and we see Ryan offer a pat, sincere consolation to Steve, a fired employee. He works for CTC, Career Transition Counseling. ![]() Their reactions run the gamut from incredulousness and sadness to anger, and are directed at Ryan Bingham ( George Clooney), who is sitting calmly behind a desk. The opening credits roll over a montage of aerial shots of the ground as seen from an airplane in flight, as Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings sing "This Land Is Your Land." The plane lands and we see a series of talking heads - people who have just been fired. Like Ryan, Alex, who he met in an airport hotel bar, is constantly travelling for work, and is as equally turned on the by the concepts of "elite status" or "preferred member" as Ryan is. Ryan is also trying to protect his way of life, which now includes meeting up with a woman named Alex Goran whenever their flight schedules mesh. Ryan believes that Natalie does not fully understand the nature of the business, and as such, their boss, Craig Gregory, suggests that she accompany Ryan on a business trip. ![]() Ryan's life may change when the company hires Natalie Keener, a young overachieving woman who recommends that the company change the nature of the work by conducting the "firings" via remote computer access. He truly does believe what he espouses as he lives out of his carry-on suitcase (his apartment in Omaha is really in name only), he is not close to his siblings (although he does do a favor for his sister while on his travels), nor does he have or want a significant person in his life. A secondary job he has is to give motivational speeches on relieving one's life of excess physical and emotional baggage. He does whatever he can to rack up frequent flyer miles, the goal not to use them, but just to accumulate them to a specific number he has in his mind. over three hundred twenty days of the year, which he feels is the best part of his job. Ryan Bingham works for Omaha-based Career Transition Counseling, whose contracts are in corporate downsizing.
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