Where Famous Quotes Came From
If I've heard one author answer the question "Where do you get your ideas from?" with a shrug and a pained face, then I've heard one hundred. Faring somewhat better, however, are the screenwriters talking to The LA Times about the origins of some famous and beloved movie quotes. The paper has compiled anecdotal genesis stories for Sudden Impact's "Go ahead... make my day", A League of Their Own's "There's no crying in baseball", Cool Hand Luke's "What we've got here is a failure to communicate" and Forrest Gump's box of chocolates line. Would-be screenwriters take note, if not indeed notes.
There's a book in this, I think, if anybody could get enough research done. I can definitely think of countless bits of dialogue I'd be interested in discussing more.