NEARLY FAMOUS MOVIE QUOTES

From the unpublished book, Line, Please by movie junket Todd Phipps of Lexington, KY.  Mr. Phipps has done extensive research on some of the most famous movie lines in the history of cinema and their initial original line from previous drafts of the script.  Here are some examples:

 

From Gone With the Wind, 1939:  “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

Rhett Butler says this after a sobbing Scarlett O’Hara blurts out, “Rhett…Rhett, if you go, where shall I go?  What shall I do?”  The original line to be uttered from Rhett to Scarlett was supposed to be, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!” and second place was “You know what?  You know WHAT?  That’s what!” but the producer, David O. Selznick, deemed the first line “extraordinarily irrelevant” and the second line “slightly out of character” for the gentleman-like rogue. 

 

From Dr. No, 1962:  “Bond…James Bond.”

The original line to be spoken by the British secret agent was to be, “My name?  It’s James.  James Bond.  My friends call me Jimmy.  You can call me James.  Doesn’t matter to me.  Do you like flowers?”  The producers thought this was a bit long-winded of 007 and decided to keep his introduction simple.  The scene where Bond was dancing through a field of daisies with his thumb up his ass was ultimately cut.

 

From The Empire Strikes Back, 1980:  “I am your father.”

The first draft of the script had Darth Vader muttering to Luke, “Who’s your daddy?” but James Earl Jones couldn’t say it without giggling like a schoolgirl, so the change to the line was made.

 

From The Godfather, 1972:  “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

Don Corleone’s famous line was supposed to be “Let’s break his friggin’ kneecaps then go to DQ for a Snickers Breeze…what?  They don’t make Breeze’s no more?  Only Blizzards?  Well, slap my ass and call me Sally!  I’m trying to watch my weight over here!” but Francis Ford Coppola fortunately chopped the line and made a few changes to make it into the memorable iconic phrase.

 

From The Wizard of Oz, 1939:  “I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!”

The original line, amazingly, was “I’ll get you, bitch, and your son of a bitch too!” but the producers thought this was a bit too harsh, especially for 1939.  Also, the original line for “Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” was “Where the f*** are we, dog?”  Once again, the producers did the right thing and made the appropriate change.

 

From Jerry Maguire, 1996:  “You had me at hello.”

Everybody melts when Renee Zellweger says this to Tom Cruise, right?  Original ideas for this line were:  “You had me at hello, ya Klingon-worshipping midget”, “You do know that L. Ron Hubbard was simply a second-rate sci-fi writer, don’t ya?  You don’t see anyone worshipping Philip K. Dick or Ray Bradbury now, do ya?” and the nearly chosen “You want me at hello?  Show me the money!”

 

From The Gold Rush, 1925:  The scene where Charlie Chaplin raises his eyebrows.

Since this was a silent movie, there were no spoken lines.  In that scene where Chaplin raises his eyebrows, he was originally supposed to smirk and tilt his head.  The change ultimately makes this one of the most celebrated movies of all time. 

 

From Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991:  “Hasta la vista, baby.”

37 takes were filmed of the California governor until this one was finally picked.  Some of the losers were “Great, thanks a bunch!”, “Au revoir, mon ami!”, “Bye-bye, birdie!”, “Don’t forget to write!”, “Mein arsch ist wund”, “Give a hoot, don’t pollute!”, “I want my MTV!”, “A drink a day keeps the shrink away”, “See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya!” and “You know what?  You know WHAT?  That’s what!”