Pop Culture Quotes

Pop Culture Quotes is an ongoing public interest project that shares quotes from the famous (and the infamous).

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Greetings from The Humungus! The Lord Humungus! The Warrior of the Wasteland! The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla!

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By: Max Phipps
Characters: The Toadie
From: Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
Genres: Action | Adventure | Cult Cinema | Thrillers

Context:
Max Phipps (as Toadie) announces the presence of The Humungus (played by Kjell Nilsson), leader of a band of brutal drivers and motorcyclists, as the gang pulls up to the entrance of a community of survivors that live at a gasoline refinery. The gang has just caught and murdered 2 members of the community that were scouting for a vehicle to depart the Wasteland with the gasoline they have pumped.

Toadie's announcement over a loudspeaker is a part of an ongoing terror campaign the gang is committing on the community in an effort take their gasoline and the infrastructure to refine it.

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I decided it was time to make a movie where people felt better coming out of the theater than when they went in. It had become depressing to go to the movies.

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By: George Lucas
Genres: Drama

Context:
George Lucas said this as part of a speech at the time he made the film American Graffiti. Journalist Maureen Dowd used the quote as an example of how filmmakers of the 1970's and 80's rebelled against the heavy themes of movies made during the 1960's with lighter, grander cinema.

source: www.nytimes.com,  

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I don’t have to leave the theater whistling, but would it kill you once in a while to make a movie that doesn’t make me want to take a bath with the toaster. Academy nominations used to say, 'Look what great movies we make.' Now they say, 'Look what good people we are.' It’s not about entertainment, it’s about suffering, specifically yours.

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By: Bill Maher
From: Real Time with Bill Maher
Genres: Comedy | Drama | Parody

Context:
Bill Maher made the point on his show Real Time with Bill Maher, that we could use more escapism in movies during this year of plague and tumult. The statement was discussed in an article about cultural shifts in the art of moviemaking and the shrinking audience of The Academy Awards by Maureen Dowd.

source: www.nytimes.com,  

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If we create our children in our own image... then we only have ourselves to blame - for what they become.

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By: Kevin Conway
Characters: Control Voice (Narrator)
From: The Outer Limits
Genres: Action | Romance | Science Fiction

Context:
Season 4, Episode 26: An android capable of human emotions is damaged and escapes the laboratory of the company that created him in a fit of rage. The robot, a model Mac 27, kidnaps a secretary during his escape to assist him in making his own repairs to his body. The woman begins to develop feelings for him and attempts to convince the Mac 27 that he is more than the sum of his parts.

But things aren't all that they seem and because of his anger at the betrayal, the android decides that all humans are his enemy, leading to a catastrophic rebellion.

This quote is by the narrator at the end of the episode.

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What happened at the end was that the studios had taken over everything. And it was very difficult as an independent to compete with them. They could spend so much money that the stars you had access to as an independent were asking a mega amount money. They knew you had no choice. It became harder and harder and harder.

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By: James Glickenhaus

Context:
In a 2012 interview about his movie career, filmmaker James Glickenhaus explained his reasons for retiring from the movie business.

source: en.wikipedia.org,  www.flashbackfiles.com,  

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I've known and admired Michael and Lloyd for years. They are real film guys and Troma is an iconic brand. I'm proud of the films I've made and distributed over the years and am very happy that Troma will keep them in front of fans worldwide.

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By: James Glickenhaus

Context:
Filmmaker James Glickenhaus on his 2021 deal with Troma Films to exclusively distribute his library of cult classic films including Maniac Cop, Frankenhooker, Basket Case 2 and 3, The Exterminator, Shakedown, McBain, Red Scorpion and more.

source: www.filmfetish.com,  

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Harry Callahan: Yeah, well, when an adult male is chasing a female with intent to commit rape, I shoot the bastard - that's my policy.
The Mayor: Intent? How'd you establish that?
Harry Callahan: When a naked man is chasing a woman through a dark alley with a butcher knife and a hard on, I figure he isn't out collecting for the Red Cross. (Leaves the room)
The Mayor: I think he's got a point.

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By: Clint Eastwood | John Vernon
Characters: 'Dirty' Harry Callahan
From: Dirty Harry
Genres: Action | Crime | Cult Cinema | Thrillers

Context:
The Mayor of San Francisco is outlining new guidelines that his office will be implementing for the City's police department. Harry Callahan explains his experience on the street.

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Stand very still my friend and I'll tell you just how fair I'm gonna be. There's two of us and... (Holds up gun) one of these.

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By: Pierce Brosnan
Characters: Mark Taffin
From: Taffin
Genres: Action | Thrillers

Context:
Taffin, after kidnapping and beating up a thug that's working for a shady developer, offers him a chance to escape by holding up his own rifle between them, implying the man might be able to grab the weapon and overpower Taffin.

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Alright. Alright I'll help. On one condition: when you turn against me - as you surely will - you remember, I am only your weapon.

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By: Pierce Brosnan
Characters: Mark Taffin
From: Taffin
Genres: Action | Thrillers

Context:
Taffin, an Irish tough-guy debt collector, has been asked by his local community to help rid the town of shady developers bent on building a chemical plant on the outskirts of town. He reluctantly agrees with this warning.

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If our lives are indeed the sum total of the choices we've made, then we cannot change who we are. But with every new choice we're given, we can change who we're going to be.

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By: Kevin Conway
Characters: Control Voice (Narrator)
From: The Outer Limits
Genres: Cult Television | Drama | Fantasy | Science Fiction | Television

Context:
From the Season 4, Episode 4 episode "In Another Life," which originally aired on February 16, 1998.

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Before we allow ourselves to be consumed by our regrets, we should remember the mistakes we make in life are not so important as the lessons we draw from them.

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By: Kevin Conway
Characters: Control Voice (Narrator)
From: The Outer Limits
Genres: Drama | Fantasy | Science Fiction

Context:
Season 3, Episode 4, "Last Supper," which originally aired on January 31, 1997. This was the ending quote by the show's Narrator (Kevin Conway), after an episode that centered on the girlfriend (Sandrine Holt) of a young man in college (Fred Savage). When the student brings his new love interest home to meet his parents, his father (Peter Onorati) recognizes her as the same woman he rescued from cruel experiments when he was a private in the army 20 years prior. He also had an affair with the woman after the rescue.