In high school, I was lucky enough to have a big group of girlfriends that have really inspired a lot of the stories in my books. I'm still close with my friends from that time, so it's never very hard to put myself back into that place, that voice.
When I was starting out, when I put aside my career as an economist. I looked at every book, went to every show, did my first stories, developed my first films. A fabulous time.
Edmond: We are kings or pawns, a man once said. Luigi: Who told you this? Edmond: Napolean Bonaparte. Luigi: Bonaparte? [laughs] Luigi: Oh, Zatarra, the stories you tell.
[after telling an obviously made-up story of how he created the Little Tramp characters] George Hayden: That's bullshit, and you know it. Charlie Chaplin: But the truth is so boring, George!
Ralphie: I want an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle! Mrs. Parker: No, you'll shoot your eye out.
Mr. Parker: What is the name of the Lone Ranger's nephew's horse? Mother: Ah... Victor! His name is Victor. Mr. Parker: How the hell did you know that? Mother: Everybody knows that!
Mother: Randy? What's wrong? Whatcha cryin' for? Randy: Daddy's gonna kill Ralphie! Mother: No he's not... Randy: Yes he is! Mother: No, I promise, Daddy is not going to kill Ralphie!
Boy in School: [Firemen come to pull Flick off pole] Holy cow, it's the fire department! Ralphie: Oh no... Boy in School: [policemen come] Wow, it's the cops!
Ralphie: [Giving his teacher a fruit basket instead of just an apple] I thought you might like something different. Ralphie as Adult: Yes, clearly, a little bribe never hurts.
Mom: [Playing Santa] And this is for daddy... [Picks up a gift-wrapped bowling ball and drops it in The Old Man's Lap] Mom: Here, from me to you. The Old Man: [high-pitched] Thanks a lot!
Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] There has never been a kid who didn't believe vaguely but incessantly that he would be stricken blind before he reached 21, and then they'd be sorry.
Ralphie as Adult: C+? Oh no, it CAN'T be! Ralphie: C+? Miss Shields: [in Ralphie's fantasy, dressed as the Wicked Witch] C+! C+! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Ray Kinsella: My name's Ray Kinsella. You used my father's name in one of your stories: John Kinsella. Terence Mann: You're seeing a whole team of psychiatrists, aren't you?
Mrs. Fox: This story's too predictable. Mr. Fox: Predictable? Really? Then, how does it end? Mrs. Fox: In the end, we all die. Unless you change.
Indiana Jones: We're in trouble! Willie: Trouble? What kind of trouble? Indiana Jones: It's a long story. Better hurry up or you won't get to hear it.
[last lines] Lowell Bergman: What do I tell the my source for the next tough story, huh? 'Hang in with us, you'll be ok maybe'? No. What got broken here doesn't go back together.
Jeffrey Wigand: How did a radical journalist from Ramparts Magazine end up at CBS? Lowell Bergman: I still do the tough stories. 60 Minutes reaches a lot of people.
Jimmy: [after Dave has told him a story about a boy being molested filled with inconsistency] One more time... about the boy, and I will cut you the fuck open!
Ransom Stoddard: You're not going to use the story, Mr. Scott? Maxwell Scott: No, sir. This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.
Bastian's Father: Good morning, Bastian. Bastian: [trying to get the lid off of a jar] Morning, Dad. I had another dream, Dad, about Mom.
C. K. Dexter Haven: You'll never be a first class human being or a first class woman until you've learned to have some regard for human frailty.
