# Movie dialogue mistakes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779 "2013-05-20T01:30:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/21 "2013-05-21T03:37:33Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > Thanks, I knew it was worded as it could only be a screw up by the actor, or an intentional screw up in the writing. But with the director’s commentary, it sounds like it was intentional to show the character’s frustration. Ok, yeah, I figured that… I was going to say he was so pissed off he tripped over his words, indicative of how close he was to a breaking point. Also, RE: Macy, the Coen Bros. scripted every hem and haw in Jerry Lundegaard’s dialogue as well. Aw, fuck it, let’s take a look at that Ciera. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/22 "2013-05-21T04:05:24Z")
Pearl Harbor, when the Japanese attack one character says “I think World War 2 just started” Actually, at that time, WW2 had been going on for several years. Bloody Yanks. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/23 "2013-05-21T13:40:38Z")
> [@Rollo\_Tomasi](#): > > It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, but I’m pretty sure there’s a scene in **The Goonies** where Sean Astin calls Josh Brolin’s character “Josh” instead of the character’s name (Brand). Even worse, at the very end, one of the girls mentions being frightened by the octopus. Unfortunately, the scene with the octopus was cut out of the finished movie. Somebody in editing wasn’t paying attention :smack: I saw the deleted scene on a TV special once. You can probably find it on YouTube somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/24 "2013-05-21T17:59:47Z")
In _Brave_, Lord MacIntosh introduces his son as his “sire”, not son. (Unless in this mythical version of Scotland, “sire” means son.) This might not count, but in _The Little Mermaid_, Prince Eric tells Ariel, “No, I won’t leave you!” when his lips aren’t moving. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/25 "2013-05-21T18:12:28Z")
“The sum of the squares of any two sides of an isosceles triangle…” or however that goes. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/26 "2013-05-21T18:39:28Z")
In **Red Planet** the Tom Sizemore character, Genetics Expert, says the four nucleotides of DNA are A, G, T and…P. In the movie **Breach** , with Chris Cooper playing Robert Hanssen, Spy / Computer Expert, he at one point mentions “an OC-48 with a data rate of 2- **point** -4-8-8 megabits per second.” Yeah, pretty sure that was a comma in the script, Chris. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/27 "2013-05-21T18:41:09Z")
> [@sco3tt](#): > > **corkboard** got it pretty much correct. The actual line (spoken to Ricky Jay’s character, cinematographer Kurt Longjohn) was “My fucking wife has an ass in her cock in the driveway, Kurt. Alright? I’m sorry if my thoughts are not on the photography of the film we’re shooting tomorrow.” > > This was evidently scripted exactly as spoken in order to convey the character’s frustration at his wife’s behavior, or else Paul Thomas Anderson exhibits a wry sense of humor on the director’s commentary track: Immediately prior to this line’s appearance in the film, PTA praises Macy’s attention to detail: “Macy comes from that Mamet school of acting and dialog… and you know, everything you write, you’d better know what you’ve written because he is gonna say every single word, exactly as you’ve written them.” > > Then he pauses while the line in question is spoken, with no further commentary. So apparently it was entirely intentional. Is it possible it was written incorrectly unintentionally? Hence “…you’d better know what you’ve written…”? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/28 "2013-05-21T20:54:34Z")
From the commentary the “ass in her cock” line was in the written script, so Macy said the line that way, because that’s the kind of actor he is. And it is clear that the line was intentionally left in the movie. It is unclear if this was an unintentional mistake in the script that afterwards the director intentionally left it in the film, or if it was an intentional part of the script to have the character make this spoken mistake. It seems more likely that it was a mistake in the script, but left intentionally in the film. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RTvWZn95mZQ/hqdefault.jpg "Boogie Nights - Little Bill Driveway Scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTvWZn95mZQ) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/29 "2013-05-21T21:17:08Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > There are also the obvious differences in the robbery dialog by Pumpkin and Honey Bunny in Pulp Fiction? > > NSFW language > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_me2G-EToPU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_me2G-EToPU) > 1:56 is the intro > > But in the robbery scene we see later from Jules and Vincent’s table she flubs the line she’s delivering to " execute every one of you moth#$%@ckers" I’ve read an interview (no cite, sorry) with Tarantino that stated that this was intentional. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/30 "2013-05-22T01:47:05Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > “The sum of the squares of any two sides of an isosceles triangle…” or however that goes. This is the answer I immediately thought of. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/31 "2013-05-22T02:23:44Z")
Do you mean the Scarecrow’s line from Wizard Of Oz? That’s not a (script) error. That’s a mistake by the character. The character isn’t all that bright, despite being awarded a degree. He tries tio say something clever, but gets it wrong. It’s a deliberate joke, not a mistake. If we are allowed TV as well as movies, the first Doctor Who was notorious for it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WFFvNcgS45g/hqdefault.jpg "First Doctor - Billy Fluffs") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFFvNcgS45g) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/32 "2013-05-22T02:57:48Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > When Ewan MacGregor buys his ferry ticket to faux-Martha’s Vineyard in _The Ghost Writer_, the ticket agent asks him “single or return?.” Except that’s a British idiom - an American would say “one way or round trip?”. Not necessarily. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard both in the US. although maybe I’ve just been over here so long I’m used to “single” and “return.” It’s what I usually say. I’m not sure if this counts since it was obviously written into the dialogue and not a blooper on the part of the actor, but there’s this exchange regarding Rick Blaine: **Major Strasser:** You give him credit for too much cleverness. My impression was that he’s just another blundering American. **Captain Renault:** We musn’t underestimate “American blundering.” I was with them when they “blundered” into Berlin in 1918. Actually, the Allies did not march into Berlin at the end of the war. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/33 "2013-05-22T03:02:14Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Pearl Harbor, when the Japanese attack one character says “I think World War 2 just started” > > Actually, at that time, WW2 had been going on for several years. > > Bloody Yanks. True, but when WWII started depends on your perspective. Obviously, the British think it started in 1939, but to the Chinese it started years earlier. On a different note, was it even referred to as WWII in 1941 or was that not till later? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/34 "2013-05-22T03:09:50Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > On a different note, was it even referred to as WWII in 1941 or was that not till later? From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_war): \*\*“The term ‘World War I’ was invented by _Time_ magazine in its issue of June 12, 1939. In that same issue, the term ‘World War II’ was first used speculatively to describe the upcoming war. The first use for the actual war came in its issue of September 11, 1939. Speculative fiction authors were noting the concept of a Second World War at least as early as 1919 and 1920, when Milo Hastings wrote his dystopian novel _City of Endless Night_.” \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/35 "2013-05-22T03:33:40Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Not necessarily. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard both in the US. although maybe I’ve just been over here so long I’m used to “single” and “return.” It’s what I usually say. True - I’ve heard “single ticket” and “return trip” in American usage, so “single or return?” isn’t too much of a stretch. (I’d assumed it was an error since the screenplay was co-written by - and based on a novel by - a Brit.) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/36 "2013-05-22T04:01:21Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Obviously, the British think it started in 1939 … I’m British, and I don’t think so. I know that there had been military action by Hitler long before his invasion of Poland. However, I think I can say that it wasn’t a \*World \*war until Canada and Australia joined the fight. And that happened in September 1939. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/37 "2013-05-22T04:03:47Z")
In the movie CARRIE (the original) Sue Snell and her mother were played by real life daughter/mother Amy Irving and Priscilla Pointer. In the final scene where Sue is screaming and her mother is trying to calm her you can see Priscilla Pointer mouth “Amy!” a couple of times. One I’ve wondered about: in _The Godfather_ summit scene, Don Corleone tells the other dons that he will forgive the death of his son Sonny and everything else from the Five Family war so long as his son Michael is able to return safely. But, “But I’m a _ **superstitious** _ man, and if some unlucky accident should befall him, if he should get shot in the head by a police officer, or if he should hang himself in his jail cell, or if he’s struck by a bolt of lightning, then I’m going to blame some of the people in this room. And that, I do not forgive.” I’ve wondered if the line is supposed to be “I’m a _ **suspicious** _ man”, which would work a bit better. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/38 "2013-05-22T04:18:15Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I’m British, and I don’t think so. I know that there had been military action by Hitler long before his invasion of Poland. My understanding was that British textbooks usually date the start of WWII at 1939 which is the same with American textbooks, which understandably have an anglophile bias. Certainly the quote from the movie makes little sense since the term WWII was two years old at that time. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/39 "2013-05-22T12:28:40Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > One I’ve wondered about: in _The Godfather_ summit scene, Don Corleone tells the other dons that he will forgive the death of his son Sonny and everything else from the Five Family war so long as his son Michael is able to return safely. But, > > “But I’m a _ **superstitious** _ man, and if some unlucky accident should befall him, if he should get shot in the head by a police officer, or if he should hang himself in his jail cell, or if he’s struck by a bolt of lightning, then I’m going to blame some of the people in this room. And that, I do not forgive.” > > I’ve wondered if the line is supposed to be “I’m a _ **suspicious** _ man”, which would work a bit better. In the novel, it’s “superstitious.” ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779/40 "2013-05-22T16:11:43Z")
One from TV: in an episode of Bones, Brennan wants a chunk of concrete delivered to her lab. She says, “a 2 x 3 x 4 m section. It shouldn’t weight more than a ton.” That much concrete weighs almost 70 tons. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-dialogue-mistakes/658779.md?page=3)