Daily Dialogue — February 17, 2015

HUMMEL: I’ll come straight to the point, General Kramer. Eighty-three Force econnaissance Marines have died under my various commands. Forty-seven in northern Laos and southern China …
HAYDEN SINCLAIR: Southern China? We never admitted we sent troops into China.

There is a pause.

HUMMEL: Who is that. Identify yourself.

Everyone stares at Sinclair.

HAYDEN SINCLAIR: White House Chief of Staff Sinclair, General.
HUMMEL: How old are you, White House Chief of Staff Sinclair?
HAYDEN SINCLAIR: I’m thirty-three.
HUMMEL: Well, White House Chief of Staff Sinclair, by your ninth birthday, I had led over two hundred incursions into China and personally killed that many of the enemy. General, put some duct tape over Mr. Sinclair’s fat, ignorant mouth. He has shit for brains and he is wasting my time.

— The Rock (1994), screenplay by David Weisberg & Douglas Cook and Mark Rosner, story by David Weisberg & Douglas Cook

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Prison.

Trivia: Quentin Tarantino was an uncredited screenwriter on this film, along with Jonathan Hensleigh who wrote the shooting script, and Aaron Sorkin.

Dialogue On Dialogue: This is an interesting spin on prison movies where instead of the energy about people attempting to break out, here the plot is about trying to get in to stop an insidious plot against humanity… or in this case, San Francisco.

If you have a suggestion for this week’s theme, please post in comments.