Daily Dialogue — May 26, 2017

Emma Horton: You both of you have beautiful eyes and your hair is too long. I mean, I don’t care how long it gets in the back, but keep your bangs cut, OK, it’s too long.
Tommy Horton: That’s a matter of opinion.
Emma Horton: Just keep it short, alright?
Tommy Horton: Are you getting well?
Emma Horton: Look, I’m sorry about this but I can’t help it, and I can’t talk to you for too long or I’ll get real upset. I want you to make a lot of friends. And I want you to be real nice to the girls ’cause they’re gonna be real important to you, I swear.
Tommy Horton: I’m not afraid of girls. What makes you think that?
Emma Horton: Well, you may be later on.
Tommy Horton: I doubt it.
Teddy Horton: Why don’t you shut up? Shut up!
Tommy Horton: You shut up!
Emma Horton: Ted, give me a kiss, come on. Tommy, you be sweet. Be sweet. And stop tryin’ to pretend like you hate me. I mean, it’s silly.
Tommy Horton: I like you.
Emma Horton: OK then, will you listen especially close?
Tommy Horton: What?
Emma Horton: Listen real hard?
Tommy Horton: I said ‘what’?
Emma Horton: I know you like me. I know it. For the last year or two, you’ve been pretending like you hate me. I love you very much. I love you as much as I love anybody, as much as I love myself. And in a few years when I haven’t been around to be on your tail about something or irritating you, you could… remember that time that I bought you the baseball glove when you thought we were too broke. You know? Or when I read you those stories? Or when I let you goof off instead of mowing the lawn? Lots of things like that. And you’re gonna realize that you love me. And maybe you’re gonna feel badly, because you never told me. But don’t — I know that you love me. So don’t ever do that to yourself, all right?

— Terms of Endearment (1983), screenplay by James L. Brooks, novel by Larry McMurtry

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Hospital, suggested by Angry Cyborg.

Trivia: Jennifer Jones originally owned the book rights and wanted to play the part of Aurora. Sissy Spacek was originally scheduled to play the Debra Winger role. Jones and her husband, millionaire Norton Simon, originally commissioned the screenplay from Brooks as a comeback film. The writer subsequently decided that the character of Aurora should not have to be tailored to suit a particular actress and persuaded Paramount to purchase the rights from the Simons. On accepting the Adapted Screenplay Oscar, Brooks especially thanked Jennifer Jones Simon.

Dialogue On Dialogue: The maternal instincts demonstrated here by Emma are strong, stepping outside her own fate with death to convey a truth to her oldest son so as not to feel guilty after she’s gone.