Daily Dialogue — February 12, 2018

Answering Machine (V.O.): Message one, September 11th, 8:56 a.m.
Thomas Schell (V.O.): Are you there? Hello? If you’re there, darling, pick up.
Ugh. I just tried the office, but no one was picking up. Uh, listen, uh, something’s happened. I’m okay. They’re telling us to stay where we are
and wait for the firemen. I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll give you another call when I have a better idea of what’s going on. I wanted to let you know that I’m okay and not to worry… and I’ll call again soon. All right, bye-bye.

— Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011), screenplay by Eric Roth, novel by Jonathan Safran Foer

This week’s Daily Dialogue theme: Voice Mail.

Trivia: The Questionnaire that Oscar gives The Renter have fifteen questions on them. They are: 1. What is your full name? 2. What is your nationality? 3. What is your occupation? 4. What did your father do for a living? 5. What did your mother do for a living? 6. Were you ever married? 7. Did you have children? 8. Where have you traveled in the world? 9. How did you learn of the apartment for rent? 10. Did you ever know my father, Thomas Schell? 11. When you did speak, what other languages did you know? 12. Were you ever a soldier in a war? 13. Did you ever kill anyone? 14. Do you have any friends? 15. Why did you stop talking?

Dialogue On Dialogue: The Opening Incident of this movie takes place in Manhattan on 9/11/2001. The five voice mail messages from young Oskar’s father set the entire story into motion.