Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Written by J.K. Rowling (novel), Steve Kloves (screenplay) HAGRID: You're a wizard, Harry! HARRY: I'm a what? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9GwIeh5FIY DIALOGUE ON DIALOGUE: This line is so memorable. It's the perfect call to adventure as it's the turning point in Harry's life, when an entirely new world is opened to him. I remember hearing that line for the first time as a kid, and it still gives me chills when I watch it today.

Apocalypse Now! 1979 Written by John Milius and Francis Ford Coppola Michael Herr (narration) Inspired by the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Clip” https://youtu.be/GjB8z0Bvi14 Dialog (obviously updated from this version): A heavy BURST of AUTOMATIC WEAPONS FIRE — INSANE LAUGHTER — STATIC, and faintly, very faintly we HEAR HARD ROCK MUSIC — more STATIC — suddenly a low, clear VOICE peaceful and serene, almost tasting the words. THIRD VOICE: This is Big Rhino six — Blue Delta. MAJOR: That’s Colonel Kurtz. KURTZ (V.O.) I want that napalm dropped in the trees — spread it among the branches. We’ll give you a flare – an orange one — bright orange. (STATIC) We’d also like some white phosphorous, Blue Delta. White phosphorous, give it to me. STATIC interrupts — the Major turns the machine off. WILLARD: I only met Kurtz once. CIVILIAN: Would he remember you ? WILLARD: Maybe. CIVILIAN: What was your impression of him ? Willard shrugs. CIVILIAN: You didn’t like him. WILLARD: Anyone got a cigarette. The Major offers him one; they wait as he lights up, thinks. WILLARD: (continuing) I thought he was a lame. CIVILIAN: A lame ? WILLARD: This is years ago, before he joined Special Forces, I guess. We had an argument. CIVILIAN: About what ? WILLARD: I don’t know. He was a lame, that’s all. CIVILIAN: But why ? WILLARD: He couldn’t get through a sentence without all these big words; about why we kill. CIVILIAN: Well, he’s killing now. WILLARD: Maybe. CIVILIAN: What does that mean ? WILLARD: Maybe it’s not Kurtz. I don’t believe he’s capable of that. I just don’t believe it. CIVILIAN: It’s got to be Kurtz. The point is that Kurtz or somebody attacked a South Vietnamese Ranger Platoon three days ago. Last week a Recon helicopter was lost in the area — another took heavy damage — direct fire from their base camp. WILLARD: Our Recon flight ? CIVILIAN: Ours. WILLARD: Touchy. CIVILIAN: You can see, of course, the implications, if any of this — even rumors leaked out. WILLARD: You want me to clean it up — simple and quiet. CIVILIAN: Exactly — you’ll go up the Nung River in a Navy P.B.R. — appear at Nu Mung Ba as if by accident, re-establish your acquaintance with Colonel Kurtz, find out what’s happened – and why. Then terminate his command. WILLARD: Terminate ? CIVILIAN: Terminate with extreme prejudice. Dialog on dialog: Here we see Willard chided into accepting the mission to find and terminate Kurtz. Willard can’t believe what he hears about Kurtz. But he does understand this is simply a mission to cover up Kurtz’s embarrassing behavior. It seems perplexing he would accept the mission. On the other hand with so ruthless men as the general and the civilian giving him this information, what choice does he have? He’d probably be assassinated himself. Besides, he’s probably so screwed up at this point that he doesn’t care one way or another. Willard’s apathy is prevalent throughout the film, and in fact (I think) illustrates the extreme lack of his arc into someone else. The final version in the film has the general spelling things out more coherently in one monologue, and basically forcing Willard to agree based on the General’s logic, that Kurtz is insane, and here again, an embarrassment. Obviously embarrassment is a primary theme and factor in the decision to kill. It’s easy to find this reasoning believable.

How about embarrassment for a daily dialog theme? Example: Girl with a Dragon Tattoo (American version), where Mikael is caught sneaking away by Martin. Martin invites him in. Even though Mikael knows that is a dangerous thing to do, he goes in. Martin remarks that it’s funny how people will risk their lives to avoid embarrassment. A classic line, I think.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Jon, I will add embarrassment to the list.

Men in Black (1997) Writers: Lowell Cunningham (comic); Ed Solomon (screen story and screenplay) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmpU9zSBDXU KAY: Humans, for the most part, don't have a clue. They don't want one or need one, either. They're happy. They think they have a good bead on things. JAY: Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it. KAY: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago everybody knew the earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago you knew that people were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow. JAY: What's the catch? KAY: The catch. The catch is you will sever every human contact. Nobody will know you exist anywhere. Ever. I'll give you to sunrise to think it over. JAY: Hey, is it worth it? KAY: Oh, yeah, it's worth it...if you're strong enough. DIALOGUE ON DIALOGUE: Classic invitation to adventure. Jay has seen the truth of his world. He now knows it's vastly different than he understood just a short time before. Kay lays it on the line and gives Jay the perspective he needs to make his choice, and concludes with a challenge Jay isn't likely to refuse. Jay also understands the consequence of refusing this call: he loses the truth he's gained through a memory wipe.

The Incredibles (2004) Writer: Brad Bird https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy8D8FQPE7g BOB: Hold still? VOICE: Match. Mister Incredible. Drops the tablet, which scans the room. VOICE: Room is secure. Commence message. MIRAGE: Hello, Mister Incredible. Yes, we know who you are. Rest assured your secret is safe with us. My name is Mirage. We have something in common. According to the government, neither of us exist. Please pay attention as this message is classified and will not be repeated. I represent a top secret division of the government designing and testing experimental technology and we have need of your unique abilities. Something has happened at our remote testing facility... HELEN: Honey... BOB: Huh? What? HELEN: Dinner's ready. BOB: Okay, okay. MIRAGE: ...although it is contained in an isolated area, it threatens to cause incalculable damage to itself and to our facilities, jeopardizing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment and... HELEN: Is someone in there? BOB: It's the TV. Trying to watch... MIRAGE: ...because of its sensitive nature... HELEN: Well stop trying, it's time for dinner. BOB: One minute! MIRAGE: If you accept your payment will be triple your current annual salary. Call the number on the card. Voice matching will be used to ensure security. The supers aren't gone, Mister Incredible. You're still here. You can still do great things. Or, you can listen to police scanners. Your choice. You have twenty four hours to respond. Think about it. DIALOGUE ON DIALOGUE: In this scene Bob Parr receives a double invitation to adventure. On the surface, Mirage's promise of "triple your current annual salary" is enticing because Bob has just become unemployed. But beyond that is the implication that he can return to the glory days of being a superhero ("The supers aren't gone..."), which is the imbalance that Bob hasn't yet learned to deal with, and the weakness Mirage can exploit. Mirage even lays it on the table: "Your choice." And, she imposes a time limit to keep the tension level elevated. As the message concludes, Bob sits back in his chair, regarding all the news clippings and awards lining the walls. We can pretty much guess where his mind is going.

Hook (1991) Writers: J.M. Barrie (books and play), James V. Hart and Nick Castle (screen story), James V. Hart and Malia Scotch Marmo (screenplay) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsVMAPt1hFU PETER: Thank you. Nigel? Norman? NEVILLE: Neville, Sir. PETER: Neville. Is that English? (Laughs) Merry Christmas. As they approach the house, they notice the damaged front door. PETER: Hello? MOIRA: Liza? Toodles? GRANNY: Oh my god, the children. PETER: Maggie? MOIRA: Maggie? Jack? Maggie? Jack, talk to me! Maggie? LIZA: The wind came up. The dark closed on me. The children are screaming. The children are screaming! PETER: Jack? Maggie? The window! MOIRA: Jack! Maggie! GRANNY: Peter! PETER: (Reading) Dear Peter, your presence is required at the request of your children. Kindest personal regards, James Hook, Captain. TOOTLES: Have to fly. Have to fight. Have to crow. Have to save Maggie, have to save Jack. Hook is back. DIALOGUE ON DIALOGUE: There is a flip side to the "call" to adventure, which implies that the protagonist has the opportunity to make or refuse a choice to move forward. In the alternate, the hero is forced to recover from some antagonistic force which imposes imbalance on their world. In Hook, the Captain kidnaps Peter's children, followed by Tinkerbell kidnapping Peter and taking him to Neverland. In Independence Day, aliens attack earth. In Beetlejuice the Maitlands die in an auto accident. In Harry and Tonto, Harry is evicted from his apartment. Most disaster films use this approach. The general storyline is not about seeking a better future so much as trying to recover the perceived balance of a forfeited past.

The Matrix (1999) Blue Pill / Red Pill Script by The Wachowski Brothers Morpheus "Do you want to know what it is?" Neo nods Morpheus "The matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to Church, when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth." Neo "What truth?" Morpheus "That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch. A prison for your mind. Unfortunately no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself. This is your last chance. After this there is no turning back. You take the blue bill the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." Morpheus offers a choice of pills. Morpheus "Remember all I'm offering is the truth, nothing more" Neo takes the red pill. Morpheus "Follow me" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE7PKRjrid4 Trivia: In Neo's first 80 lines of dialogue, more than half (44) are questions. Dialogue or Dialogue: Great use of the 'show me, don't tell me' concept.

Thelma and Louise(1991) Written by: Callie Khouri https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHHabGbq6hU LOUISE: Hi. What'd he say? THELMA (V.O.):What time are you gonna pick me up? LOUISE" You're kiddin'! Alright! I'll be there around two or three. THELMA (V.O.): What kind of stuff do I bring? LOUISE :I don't know. Warm stuff, I guess. It's the mountains. I guess it gets cold at night. I'm just gonna bring everything. THELMA (V.O.): Okay. I will, too. LOUISE: And steal Darryl's fishin' stuff. THELMA (V.O.): I don't know how to fish, Louise. LOUISE: Neither do I, Thelma, but Darryl does it, how hard can it be? I'll see you later. Be ready. DIALOGUE ON DIALOGUE: This interaction between these two women might seem insignificant at first, but anyone who has seen this film can tell you that this is the beginning of a series of life-changing events for these two women. Also, you can see a glimmer of the women that Thelma turns into later on in the script when she decides to not tell her husband she is leaving, forgoing her submissive personality for the spontaneous and unpredictable persona she would adapt later on.