Daily Dialogue — October 9, 2015

MAYO: Ninety eight, ninety nine…
FOLEY: Awww, get your face all the way down in there.
MAYO: Hundred.
FOLEY: You ready to quit now Mayo?
MAYO: No, Sir!
FOLEY: Look over there, Mayo. Look over there. Look at her. She decided to stay instead of taking liberty on this weekend. She may not make it through the program, but she got more heart and more character than you’ll ever have, and stop eyeballing me, boy! Life sure has dealt you some shitty cards, hasn’t it, Mayo?
MAYO: It’s all right, Sir! Six!
FOLEY: Bullshit. I done some checking. I looked through your files. I know about your mama. Hey, don’t eyeball me! I know your father’s an alcoholic and a whore chaser. That’s why you don’t mesh, Mayo. Because deep down — don’t you eyeball me — deep down inside you know that all these other boys and girls are better than you are. Isn’t that right, Mayo, huh, isn’t that right?
MAYO: No, Sir! No, Sir!

— An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), written by Douglas Day Stewart

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Rivalry. Today’s suggestion by Will King.

Trivia: The script languished around Hollywood for almost eight years with no studio willing to finance it. Finally at Paramount, former executive and then Disney CEO Michael Eisner was very much against the film, but relented after much persuasion by producer Don Simpson. The final budget was only a mere $6 million — part of it is due to Navy’s refusal to support the production and the skepticism of the studio on whether it will be a commercial success.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Will: “Zack Mayo wants to make something of himself, but Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley doesn’t think he has what it takes to become an aviator. Much of the relationship between these two is a constant competition between Mayo’s desire and Foley’s challenge to that desire.”