Is it ever mentioned if Forrester owns the building he lives in?
It is true that he pays his bills on time or in advance and at the end his apartment was vacant for at least 6 months after he returned to Scotland.
At the end the keys are turned over to Jamal. Is he aquiring the building or just his books and writing.
Forrester owns the apartment. You can buy apartments in new york. He gave Jamal the apartment and everything in it.
shareIt looks like ther are no one else living in the building, so my feeling is Forrester owns the whole building - he wants his solitude. Owning the entire building, living on the top floor and keeping every lower floor empty is certainly the easy way to do that.
You just have to be resigned-
You're crashing by design
There are others living in the building. At the beginning, the boys are talking about the girl who lives below him and hears scary tapping at night. When Jamal breaks into his apartment on the dare, you see the typewriter which explains the tapping. It is reiterated when Forrester yells at Jamal later to hit the keys hard.
shareI think when he is telling the story, he said "used to live below the window". Could have been a while ago.
You just have to be resigned-
You're crashing by design
I believe he just owned the apartment. I don't believe he owned the building, because then he would have had to deal with the tenants. And he was all about being alone. But I am sure he could have owned the building if he wanted to own a building
My Sig: Nothing Here
What better way to be alone than to own a building and leave it empty other than yourself? On the top floor yet.
He would have had to deal with the tenants? There isn't a law that says if you own an apartment building you need to have tenants.
You just have to be resigned-
You're crashing by design
[deleted]
Of course the lawyer Matt Damon plays could have made it clearer (there may have been more to his scene).
I think that William left his entire estate, including the apartment, and ownership of all of his writings published and unpublished to Jamal. I do think that William actually owned the whole building, and that that law firm handled it for him.
William put Jamal in a financial position to have the freedom to write without financial constraint. Remember that his famous book is still in print and that he had not cashed checks for a long time.
I do believe forrester owned the whole building. remember when Jamal was first in his building. Forrester wasn't talking much so Jamal kept saying oh your building is so quiet. In my building you can hear the people next door screaming and having sex. I think they put that line movie to show that Forrester's building was vacant and he was the only person living in the whole building.
btw i just watched the movie an hour ago so memory is still fresh!
Whether or not Forrester left his ENTIRE estate to Jamal, he undoubtedly gave him a sales percentage off of "Sunset," for writing the foreword, and since in all likelihood "Sunset" would be a smash hit, it's very likely Jamal would be pretty well set financially for the rest of his life.
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4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.
In previous scenes in the movie Jamal was rummaging through a huge cabinet full of unpublished writings (in William's apartment) ... these are worth millions alone in modern day dollars given the demand for William's writing.
Also in previous scenes (the Yankee Stadium scene) Forrester made it clear that his entire immediate family had died all within a short period of time, which is what turned him into an introverted alcoholic.
Given that Forrester was a hermit the remaining years of his life and the only person he had a relationship with was Jamal (someone he grew to love and respect), I have no idea who else he would leave his shit too.
I get the inference that originally the building was in a much more affluent area. However as time goes by what used to be 'nice' areas can decay into less nice often slums.
Forrester has been living there a LONG time and while other tenants may have moved out to better area's his reluctance and reclusiveness left him be. It also suited him as who would come looking for him in such an area.
The gift that Forester gave Jamal in return for his friendship was the chance to write freely and unfettered by the economics of life. To pursue excellence without need of monetary concern.
I love this movie and I have only one regret in it - F Abraham Murray played the protagonist so well that whenever I see him I am reminded of his character. With him being the protagonist in "13 Ghosts" does not help either.
Marc
Walk Quietly throughthis Earth
Leave nothing but Smiles and Pawprints
If he had owned the building, I doubt the front door would be unlocked all the time.
share[deleted]
Another reason to believe Forrester owned the whole building:
It seems everyone is in agreement that Forrester is the only one living in the building. If he was only renting, his rent would hardly be sustainable for the building's owner to keep the building. Even though the building is in poor shape and in a low rent area, just the property taxes would be too much to support the income from only one tenant.
You just have to be resigned-
You're crashing by design