"There seemed to be some genuine affection [for me] that I didn't know was prevalent," he said, in his low, tough-guy rumble.
The former colleague of Jean-Paul Sartre on the literary journal Les Temps Modernes, and one-time youthful Resistance fighter, is now 75: a low, sturdy build, a tough, lined face, steady critical eyes, and weariness, too - of the business of hawking his wares around the world (all too necessary for this kind of film).
He has high and low modes, tough and soft poses, but he's always facing outwards, to us, his audience.
The review is likely to include low pay, tough crime measures including asbos, and the "contributory principle" in the welfare state.
The piece requires extraordinary agility, the ability to play with exquisite softness both high and low (especially tough on the horn) and a mastery of complex rhythms.
And there are those with color screens (heavier, thicker, pricier, great to read in low light, tough to read in sunlight).
Building a distinct and lasting brand while keeping costs low is tough, especially in this space.
This factor influences the availability of phenolic compounds through its effects on plant adaptations to low nutrients (tough, phenol rich, toxic leaves) which in turn affect litter decomposition and leaching [11, 12].
Proposals supporting universal health care, a moratorium on the death penalty, punishments against corporations that pay low wages, tougher rules for international trade, and better health care for prisoners were withdrawn or overwhelmingly defeated.
The film, as such, builds to a moment when Derek, at his lowest, receives tough love and compassion from his high school English teacher Sweeney (played by Avery Brooks), who is black.
"I think the first two weeks following the Ryder Cup was a really tough low, one of the biggest lows of my career," he says.
