Daily Dialogue — March 5, 2020

INT. LIBRARY — MORNING

The President now looks nearly as bad as Rand. He sits, turns to Chance.

PRESIDENT: Do you agree with Ben, Mr. Gardiner? Are we finished? Or do you think we can stimulate growth through temporary incentives?
CHANCE: (a beat) As long as the roots are not severed, all is well and all will be well in the garden.
PRESIDENT: (a pause)… In the garden?
CHANCE: That is correct. In a garden, growth has its season. There is spring and summer, but there is also fall and winter. And then spring and summer again…
PRESIDENT: (staring at Chance) … Spring and summer… (confused) Yes, I see… Fall and winter. (smiles at Chance) Yes, indeed… (a beat) Could you go through that one more time, please, Mr. Gardiner?
RAND: I think what my most insightful friend is saying, Mr. President, is that we welcome the inevitable seasons of nature, yet we are upset by the seasons of our economy.
CHANCE: Yes. That is correct.
PRESIDENT: (pleased) …Well, Mr. Gardiner, I must admit, that is one of the most refreshing and optimistic statements I’ve heard in a very, very long time.

— Being There (1979), screenplay by Jerzy Kosinski based on his novel

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Library. Today’s suggestion by Gsmiley.

Trivia: It took Peter Sellers nearly nine years to get this movie made by a studio, mainly because by the 1970s Sellers’ career had hit rock bottom and no studio in Hollywood would work with him. After the revival (and success) of the Pink Panther movies, Lorimar Pictures finally greenlit the project.

Trivia: Allegedly, both Lawrence Olivier and Burt Lancaster were offered the role of Rand before it went to Melvyn Douglas, who won his second supporting actor Oscar.

Dialogue On Dialogue: This scene is the height of satire where Chance (Peter Sellers) is spewing the most basic thoughts about gardening and it gets interpreted as global economic wisdom.