Daily Dialogue — June 19, 2014

Bill swings open the office door to the morgue while loudly humming/singing along to The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”
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​Bill: Hi. How ya doin’? I’m Bill Blazejowski. You can call me Billy Blaze. You must be Chuck, right? Nice shoes.

Bill looks around the office a bit.

Bill: Hey, this is all right. I guess this is where I’m going to be workin’. I’m your new partner.

Bill simulates a jump shot.

Bill: Swish! Aaaah! They’re going crazy in the arena, they can’t believe it. It’s unbelievable. This is great. What’s our job? We, like, drive around, pick up stiffs or what? Is that what we’re supposed to do?

Chuck nods meekly. Bill picks up a framed photo off Chuck’s desk.

Bill: Hey, Chuck. Who’s this? Wife?
Chuck: Fiancée.
Bill: Aah. (Beat) Nice frame.

Bill takes a stroll around the office.

Bill: Yeah, okay. We can make stuff. We can read. Coffee. This is great. I like it.

Bill holds up his Walkman.

Bill: You wondering why I carry this tape recorder?

Chuck gives a mild shrug.

Bill: It’s to tape things. See, I’m an idea man, Chuck. All right? I get ideas all day long. I can’t control them. It’s like they come chargin’ in at me, I can’t even fight ’em if I want to. You know, aaaah! So I say them in here and that way I never forget ’em. You see what I’m sayin’? OK, here’s an example.

Bill snags a piece of trash from the trash can and holds it up.​

Bill: Watch out. Stand back. This is Bill. Idea to eliminate garbage. Edible paper. See? You eat it, it’s gone. You eat it, it’s out of there. No garbage. Got everything in here. Business ideas, inventions, musicals. Wrote a couple of musicals in here.

Chuck: Would you like to see the rest of the office?

— Night Shift (1982), written by Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: 1st day on the job, suggested by Bretton Zinger, who also suggested Night Shift.

Trivia: To get into the character of Bill Blazejowski, Michael Keaton would loudly blast the music of Bruce Springsteen, specifically the song “10th Avenue Freeze-Out” from 1975’s “Born To Run” record.

Dialogue On Dialogue: One of the best character introductions in 80s movies, a great reminder of Michael Keaton’s comic chops.

Note: Could use your suggestions for this week’s theme. Thanks!

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