The Paper (1994)
Glenn Close: Alicia Clark
Photos
Quotes
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Bernie : In '68, a bunch of us went to cover the Olympics in Grenoble. Decided to go to the best restaurant in town. Now, the menu didn't have any prices, but we were all on expense accounts so we figured, fuck it, got drunk. Well, somehow there ended up being, I don't know, fifteen or sixteen of us at the table, and when the check came - ooooo, it was nine thousand dollars.
Alicia : Whoa.
Bernie : Yeah.
[chuckles]
Bernie : So, now we're all starting to point fingers, we're trying to figure out who invited who. And just when it was starting to get really embarrassing, this funny-lookin' old guy at the next table calls the maitre-d over.
[mimics writing]
Bernie : Ehhhh, he did a couple of squiggly lines on a napkin, signed his name, winked at us - that was it. The old guy was Pablo Picasso, and that napkin paid our bill.
Alicia : Did I miss the segue here, Bernie? What's the point?
Bernie : Well, the people we cover - we move in their world but it is their world. You can't live like them, Alicia. You'll never keep up. Now, if you try and make this job about the money, you'll be nothing but miserable, 'cause we don't get the money - never have, never will."
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Alicia : We're not exactly the Washington Post, okay?
Michael McDougal : No, we're not. We run stupid headlines because we think they're funny. We run maimings on the front page because we got good art. And I spend three weeks bitching about my car because it sells papers. But at least it's the truth. As far as I can remeber we never ever, ever knowingly got a story wrong, until tonight.
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Alicia : You... are... so... fucking... fired!
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Alicia : We taint them today, we make them look good on Saturday. Everybody's happy.
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Henry : What if these aren't the guys? What if they're innocent?
Alicia : Taint them today, we make them look good on Saturday. Everybody's happy.
Henry : Wait. This is a story that could permanently alter the public's perception of two teenagers who might be innocent and as a weekend bonus, ignite another race war. How about that? Think about this.
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Henry : For God's sakes, Alicia. We're not gonna ask some news reporter to wait until after 5:00 to make out-of-state phone calls. It's ridiculous. I'm not gonna do it.
Alicia : Okay, let's let them make free phone sex calls too.
Henry : You mean as a kind of bonus? That's not a bad idea. Why don't you start with Phil?
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Alicia : One of our security guards actually tried to frisk me. We're having drinks later.
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Alicia : There's something I'd like to discuss. I didn't want to bother you upstairs. I feel an obligation to... act on this directly with you because I think we have a good - I think we have a good relationship... and I'd like to take it further. And I think the way to do that is face to face. You know, you and I, face to face.
Graham Keighley : Alicia.
Alicia : Yeah?
Graham Keighley : I'm gay.
Alicia : Oh, umm... well, I mean, I wasn't - I mean, that's fine.
Graham Keighley : Alicia?
Alicia : Yeah?
Graham Keighley : I'm kidding.
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[Alicia is shot]
Michael McDougal : A woman's been shot. We need an ambulance.
Alicia : Could I have one too?
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[Sandusky has accidentally shot Alicia in the leg, through the wall of the phone booth]
Alicia : [in shock] A bullet came out of the wall... why did a bullet come out of the wall?
Michael McDougal : To get to the other side?
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Alicia : Oh please, Henry. You don't care whether they get beaten up or not, that's not what this is all about. We got our ass kicked yesterday, so you want to beat everyone else today, that's all.
Henry : Yeah I do. You don't? You don't?
Alicia : C'mon, give me a break.
Henry : Tell me you don't. You do. Fuck it! Let's not beat anybody today, let's not beat anybody all week. Bernie, what do you say? Let's not beat anybody til October, the whole year? Fuck it, Let's never beat anybody to the rest of our lives.
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Henry : I don't think so, I don't think so. You know, TV's gonna be all over it. They already are. It's a minor derailment. And Carmen has got great day two stuff on the Williamsburg murders. If they make a bust, we have to follow up on that.
Alicia : The subway's a major story.
Anna : Nobody died.
Lou : Somebody got maimed.
Alicia : Yeah, that helps.
Henry : [mocking] Minor derailment!
