Trumbo Quotes
Dalton Trumbo: [challenging John Wayne]If you're gonna talk about World War II as if you personally won it, let's be clear where you were stationed - on a film set, shooting blanks, wearing makeup, and if you're going to hit me, I'd like to take off my glasses.
Movie: Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo: Friends? What friends? Who the hell has the luxury of friends? I've got allies and enemies. There's no room for anything else.
Movie: Trumbo
Frank King: [Agreeing to hire Trumbo]All right, when do I get my goods?.
Dalton Trumbo: Three days.
Frank King: A hundred page screenplay in three days? Are you trying to fuck me? 'Cause if you fuck me I will fuck you.
Dalton Trumbo: Mr. King, I've heard this speech. [pause]
Dalton Trumbo: It was better in jail.
Dalton Trumbo: Three days.
Frank King: A hundred page screenplay in three days? Are you trying to fuck me? 'Cause if you fuck me I will fuck you.
Dalton Trumbo: Mr. King, I've heard this speech. [pause]
Dalton Trumbo: It was better in jail.
Movie: Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo: [V.O]What the imagination can't conjure, reality delivers with a shrug.
Movie: Trumbo
Niki Trumbo: We're having birthday cake.
Dalton Trumbo: When you hear me working, you don't knock.
Niki Trumbo: But it's my birthday.
Dalton Trumbo: You don't knock. Ever.
Niki Trumbo: So the house is on fire, you don't wanna know?
Dalton Trumbo: I work in a bathtub, surrounded by water. So I'm fairly certain that even if the whole goddamn country was on fire, that I can still function as this family's personal slave. And all I ask is not to be interrupted for every little slice of fucking birthday cake. What? It's ridiculous!
Dalton Trumbo: When you hear me working, you don't knock.
Niki Trumbo: But it's my birthday.
Dalton Trumbo: You don't knock. Ever.
Niki Trumbo: So the house is on fire, you don't wanna know?
Dalton Trumbo: I work in a bathtub, surrounded by water. So I'm fairly certain that even if the whole goddamn country was on fire, that I can still function as this family's personal slave. And all I ask is not to be interrupted for every little slice of fucking birthday cake. What? It's ridiculous!
Movie: Trumbo
Frank King: I'm in this for the money and the pussy and they're both falling off the trees!
Movie: Trumbo
Frank King: [shouting furiously]Wanna keep me from hiring union? I'll go downtown, hire a bunch of winos and hookers. It doesn't matter. I make garbage! You wanna call me a pinko in the papers? Do it! None of the people that go to my fucking movies can read!
Movie: Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo: [Presenting his new script to the producers]Oh, one problem though.
Hymie King: Expensive?
Dalton Trumbo: Worse. It's good.
Hymie King: Expensive?
Dalton Trumbo: Worse. It's good.
Movie: Trumbo
Edward 'Ed' Muhl: Kirk, if you don't get rid of Trumbo, I will.
Kirk Douglas: And right after I quit, you can re-shoot all my scenes. You see, Ed, for better or worse, I AM Spartacus.
Kirk Douglas: And right after I quit, you can re-shoot all my scenes. You see, Ed, for better or worse, I AM Spartacus.
Movie: Trumbo
Frank King: Trumbo, we can't afford you!
Dalton Trumbo: Well, how much did you pay for the script of... that [points to movie poster]
Dalton Trumbo: Bad Men of Tombstone?
Frank King: 1200 bucks.
Dalton Trumbo: All right, I'll write you a movie for 1200 then.
Frank King: And you don't want your name on it?
Dalton Trumbo: No, *you* don't want my name on it.
Hymie King: You got that right. Especially if you're still, uh, you know - up to stuff. Are you?
Dalton Trumbo: Perpetually.
Hymie King: Jesus.
Dalton Trumbo: Well, how much did you pay for the script of... that [points to movie poster]
Dalton Trumbo: Bad Men of Tombstone?
Frank King: 1200 bucks.
Dalton Trumbo: All right, I'll write you a movie for 1200 then.
Frank King: And you don't want your name on it?
Dalton Trumbo: No, *you* don't want my name on it.
Hymie King: You got that right. Especially if you're still, uh, you know - up to stuff. Are you?
Dalton Trumbo: Perpetually.
Hymie King: Jesus.
Movie: Trumbo
Hedda Hopper: We've been friends for a long time. When did you become such a bastard?
Kirk Douglas: I've always been a bastard. You just never noticed.
Kirk Douglas: I've always been a bastard. You just never noticed.
Movie: Trumbo
Hedda Hopper: Now what do you do when you love something but it stops loving you back?
Louis B. Mayer: You fight.
Hedda Hopper: No, no, no. You love it more until it surrenders.
Louis B. Mayer: You fight.
Hedda Hopper: No, no, no. You love it more until it surrenders.
Movie: Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo: [voiceover]... and reality has delivered, in all its beautific wonder, to the Federal penal system, J. Parnell Thomas - convicted of tax evasion.
J. Parnell Thomas: Well, look at us - just a couple of jailbirds.
Dalton Trumbo: Except you actually committed a crime.
J. Parnell Thomas: Well, look at us - just a couple of jailbirds.
Dalton Trumbo: Except you actually committed a crime.
Movie: Trumbo
Frank King: I make crap films. You are way too good and too expensive to write for me.
Movie: Trumbo
Otto Preminger: You keep up this level of work, and I'll make sure your name is on my movie [pauses]
Otto Preminger: to take the blame.
Otto Preminger: to take the blame.
Movie: Trumbo
Lucille Ball: This is Lucille Ball. All of us agree that the Constitution of the United States must be defended. But the way to do this is not by shutting up the man you disagree with. You must fight for his right to speak and be heard. All civil liberties go hand in hand. And when one goes, the others are weakened. Just as a collapse of one pillar in a house would endanger the whole structure.
Movie: Trumbo
Arlen Hird: Look, I know what I am. Okay? I want this whole country to be different, top to bottom. If I get what I want, nobody gets their own lake.
Dalton Trumbo: Well, that would be a very dull life, don't you think?
Arlen Hird: Yeah, for you. Not for the guys who built this. If I'm wrong, tell me, but ever since I've known you, you talk like a radical. But you live like a rich guy.
Dalton Trumbo: That is true.
Arlen Hird: Well, I don't know that you're... I don't think you're willing to lose all of this just to do the right thing.
Dalton Trumbo: [scoffs]Well, I despise martyrdom and I won't fight for a lost cause. So you're right. I'm not willing to lose it all. Certainly not them. But I am willing to risk it all. That's where the radical and the rich guy make a perfect combination. The radical may fight with the purity of Jesus. But the rich guy wins with the cunning of Satan.
Dalton Trumbo: Well, that would be a very dull life, don't you think?
Arlen Hird: Yeah, for you. Not for the guys who built this. If I'm wrong, tell me, but ever since I've known you, you talk like a radical. But you live like a rich guy.
Dalton Trumbo: That is true.
Arlen Hird: Well, I don't know that you're... I don't think you're willing to lose all of this just to do the right thing.
Dalton Trumbo: [scoffs]Well, I despise martyrdom and I won't fight for a lost cause. So you're right. I'm not willing to lose it all. Certainly not them. But I am willing to risk it all. That's where the radical and the rich guy make a perfect combination. The radical may fight with the purity of Jesus. But the rich guy wins with the cunning of Satan.
Movie: Trumbo
John Wayne: You won't get any takers. Not here, anyway.
Dalton Trumbo: Oh, why is that? All it says is that Congress has no right to investigate how we vote or where we pray, what we think, say or how we make movies. Hello, I'm Dalton Trumbo.
John Wayne: Congress has the right to go after anything they think is a threat.
Dalton Trumbo: Well, that's where we disagree and that's the point. We both have the right to be wrong.
Dalton Trumbo: Oh, why is that? All it says is that Congress has no right to investigate how we vote or where we pray, what we think, say or how we make movies. Hello, I'm Dalton Trumbo.
John Wayne: Congress has the right to go after anything they think is a threat.
Dalton Trumbo: Well, that's where we disagree and that's the point. We both have the right to be wrong.
Movie: Trumbo
Niki Trumbo: [about their neighbor]He knows. He sees Kirk Douglas coming in and out of here. And Otto Preminger and his Rolls. He's an idiot. But he's not stupid. [Trumbo chuckles]
Niki Trumbo: Has he called the FBI? Congress? No, because everything they can do, they've already done. That Oscar belongs to you. Get it!
Dalton Trumbo: My God! You're nothing like me. You're worse. [Niki smiles]
Niki Trumbo: Has he called the FBI? Congress? No, because everything they can do, they've already done. That Oscar belongs to you. Get it!
Dalton Trumbo: My God! You're nothing like me. You're worse. [Niki smiles]
Movie: Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo: Hello? Oh hello, Otto.
Otto Preminger: I've read your last draft.
Dalton Trumbo: What do you think?
Otto Preminger: My answer is on the front page of today's New York Times. [Trumbo checks the paper and sees Otto has given him screen credit under his real name]
Dalton Trumbo: [Amused]You hated it that much?
Otto Preminger: Merry Christmas, Mr. Trumbo.
Otto Preminger: I've read your last draft.
Dalton Trumbo: What do you think?
Otto Preminger: My answer is on the front page of today's New York Times. [Trumbo checks the paper and sees Otto has given him screen credit under his real name]
Dalton Trumbo: [Amused]You hated it that much?
Otto Preminger: Merry Christmas, Mr. Trumbo.
Movie: Trumbo
Hedda Hopper: Now listen, Ed, we'll picket every theater that movie is in unless you pull the prints tonight, and you get that traitor's name off of it.
Edward 'Ed' Muhl: Hedda, you can't put me in this position. That's expensive and pointless.
Hedda Hopper: Then you can kiss your movie, your studio, and your miserable ass goodbye.
Edward 'Ed' Muhl: Hedda, you can't put me in this position. That's expensive and pointless.
Hedda Hopper: Then you can kiss your movie, your studio, and your miserable ass goodbye.
Movie: Trumbo
Niki Trumbo: It's crazy, how mad you make me. Since all I ever wanted was to be just like you.
Dalton Trumbo: Well, I'm afraid to say that you've succeeded. [Niki smiles]
Dalton Trumbo: Well, I'm afraid to say that you've succeeded. [Niki smiles]
Movie: Trumbo
Edward 'Ed' Muhl: Kirk. Hedda Hopper just told me the American Legion is going to boycott us unless you get rid of Trumbo.
Kirk Douglas: Ed, he's not done with the script. His name will never be on the thing. What's anybody boycotting?
Edward 'Ed' Muhl: [to the make-up artists]Kirk... Just a second. Please. Please. Just give me five seconds, please. [the make-up artists clear away]
Edward 'Ed' Muhl: Listen. Twenty million Americans are saying loud and clear, they will never buy a ticket to our movie unless you fire one writer. Here's fifty. Pick one.
Kirk Douglas: Ed, he's not done with the script. His name will never be on the thing. What's anybody boycotting?
Edward 'Ed' Muhl: [to the make-up artists]Kirk... Just a second. Please. Please. Just give me five seconds, please. [the make-up artists clear away]
Edward 'Ed' Muhl: Listen. Twenty million Americans are saying loud and clear, they will never buy a ticket to our movie unless you fire one writer. Here's fifty. Pick one.
Movie: Trumbo
Hedda Hopper: Forty years ago, you were starving in some shtetl. The greatest country on Earth takes you in, gives you wealth, power, but the second we need you, you do nothing. And that's exactly what my readers expect from a business run by kikes.
Louis B. Mayer: Get out!
Hedda Hopper: You know, L.B. I am fond of you. Some of my happiest years were spent on this lot. Not in your office, of course. You were always trying to fuck me on the couch. Me trying to maintain my virtue. Barely. But times change. Now I'd happily fuck you.
Louis B. Mayer: Get out!
Hedda Hopper: You know, L.B. I am fond of you. Some of my happiest years were spent on this lot. Not in your office, of course. You were always trying to fuck me on the couch. Me trying to maintain my virtue. Barely. But times change. Now I'd happily fuck you.
Movie: Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo: The blacklist was a time of evil.
Dalton Trumbo: And no one who survived it came through untouched by evil.
Dalton Trumbo: Caught in a situation that had passed beyond the control of mere individuals.
Dalton Trumbo: Each person reacted as his nature, his needs, his convictions, and his particular circumstances compelled him to.
Dalton Trumbo: It was a time of fear.
Dalton Trumbo: And no one was exempt.
Dalton Trumbo: Scores of people lost their homes.
Dalton Trumbo: Their families disintegrated. They lost!
Dalton Trumbo: And in some...
Dalton Trumbo: Some even lost their lives.
Dalton Trumbo: But when you look back upon that dark time, as I think you should every now and then, it will do you no good to search for heroes or villains.
Dalton Trumbo: There weren't any.
Dalton Trumbo: There were only victims.
Dalton Trumbo: Victims, because each of us felt compelled to say or do things that we otherwise would not.
Dalton Trumbo: To deliver or receive wounds which we truly did not wish to exchange.
Dalton Trumbo: I look out to my family sitting there, and I realize what I've put them through. And it's unfair.
Dalton Trumbo: And no one who survived it came through untouched by evil.
Dalton Trumbo: Caught in a situation that had passed beyond the control of mere individuals.
Dalton Trumbo: Each person reacted as his nature, his needs, his convictions, and his particular circumstances compelled him to.
Dalton Trumbo: It was a time of fear.
Dalton Trumbo: And no one was exempt.
Dalton Trumbo: Scores of people lost their homes.
Dalton Trumbo: Their families disintegrated. They lost!
Dalton Trumbo: And in some...
Dalton Trumbo: Some even lost their lives.
Dalton Trumbo: But when you look back upon that dark time, as I think you should every now and then, it will do you no good to search for heroes or villains.
Dalton Trumbo: There weren't any.
Dalton Trumbo: There were only victims.
Dalton Trumbo: Victims, because each of us felt compelled to say or do things that we otherwise would not.
Dalton Trumbo: To deliver or receive wounds which we truly did not wish to exchange.
Dalton Trumbo: I look out to my family sitting there, and I realize what I've put them through. And it's unfair.
Movie: Trumbo