Russell Crowe Monologues

You fought for me? You manipulated me! Into where I am now - staring at the Brown & Williamson building, it's all dark except for the tenth floor. That's the legal department, that's where they fuck with my life!

There are times when I wish I hadn't done it. There are times when I feel com… compelled to do it. If you asked me, would I do it again, do I think it's worth it? Yeah I think its worth it.

So, what you're saying is it wasn't enough to fire me for no good reason. Now you question my integrity? On top of the humiliation of being fired, you threaten me? You threaten my family? It never crossed my mind not to honor my agreement. And I will tell you, Mr. Sandefur... and Brown & Williamson too - fuck me? Well, fuck you!

I believe Mr. Sandefur perjured himself because I watched those testimonies very carefully.

Part of the reason I'm here is that I felt that their representations clearly misstated - at least within Brown and Williamson's representation - clearly misstated what is common language within the company: "We are in the nicotine delivery business."

The process is known as "impact boosting". While not spiking nicotine, they clearly manipulate it. There was extensive use of this technology known as "ammonia chemistry". It allows for the nicotine to be more rapidly absorbed in the lung and therefore affect the brain and central nervous system. The straw that broke the camel's back for me, and really put me in trouble with Sandefur, was a compound called coumarin. When I came on board at B. and W., they had tried the transition from coumarin to a similar flavor that would give the same taste, and had been unsuccessful. I wanted out immediately. I was told that it could affect sales, so I should mind my own business. I constructed a memo to Mr. Sandefur indicating I could not in conscience continue with coumarin, a product we now know and we had documentation was similar to coumadin, a lung-specific carcinogen.

I sent the documents forward to Sandefur. I was told that we would continue to work on a substitute but we weren't going to remove it as it would impact sales, and that was his decision.

You manipulated me into where I am now - staring at the Brown and Williamson Building. It's all dark except the tenth floor. That's the legal department, where they fuck with my life!

A can opener! A $39.95 can opener. I cancelled payment... it was junk. You ever bounce a check, Lowell? You ever look at another woman's tits? You ever cheat a little on your taxes? Whose life, if you look at it under a microscope, doesn't have any flaws...?

Maybe that's what you've been telling yourself all these years to justify having a good job. Having status. Maybe for the audience, its just voyeurism, something to do on a Sunday night. And maybe it won't change a fucking thing. And people like myself, and my family are left hung out to dry, used up, broke, alone.

I have to put my family's welfare on the line here, my friend! And what are you puttin' up? You're puttin' up words!

I find chemistry to be magical. I find it an adventure, an exploration into the physical building blocks of our universe.

Up to you, Jeffrey! That's the power you have, Jeffrey! Vital inside information the American public need to know! Lowell Bergman, the hotshot who never met a source he couldn't turn around!

The simple truth is, not all of us become the men we once hoped we might be. But we are all God's creatures. If there are those among us who thought ill of Mr. Hollom, or spoke ill of him, or failed him in respect of fellowship… then we ask for your forgiveness, Lord. And we ask for his.

God be praised.

Tosh! Name a shrub after me. Something prickly and hard to eradicate.

Subject to the requirements of the service. I cannot in all conscience delay for the sake of an iguana or giant peccary. Fascinating, no doubt, but of no immediate application.

I have known you to spend hours staring into a deserted bird's nest.

If wind and tide had been against us, I should have said yes. They're not. I'm obliged to say no.

I command a king's ship, not a private yacht! WE DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR YOUR DAMNED HOBBIES, SIR!

Right lads, now, I know there's not a faint heart among you, and I know you're as anxious as I am to get into close action. But we must bring them right up beside us before we spring this trap. That will test our nerve, and discipline will count just as much as courage. The Acheron is a tough nut to crack… more than twice our guns, more than twice our numbers, and they will sell their lives dearly. Topmen, your handling of the sheets to be lubberly and un-navy like. Until the signal calls, you're to spill the wind from our sails, this will bring us almost to a complete stop. Gun crews, you must run out and tie down in double quick time. With the rear wheels removed, you've gained elevation. and without recoil, there'll be no chance for re-load, so gun captains, that gives you one shot from the lardboard battery… one shot only. You'll fire for her mainmast. Much will depend on your accuracy… however… even crippled, she will still be dangerous, like a wounded beast. Captain Howard and the marines will sweep their weather deck with swivel gun and musket fire from the tops. They'll try and even the odds for us before we board. They mean to take us as a prize.

And we are worth more to them undamaged. Their greed... will be their downfall. England is under threat of invasion, and though we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home. This ship, is England. So it's every hand to his rope or gun, quick's the word and sharp's the action. After all... surprise is on our side.

Stop 30 years of privilege and tradition. I'd rather have them three sheets to the wind than face a mutiny.

I respect your right to disagree with me, but I can only afford one rebel on this ship. I hate it when you talk of the service in this way. It makes me feel so very low. You think I want to flog Nagle? A man who hacked the ropes that sent his mate to his death? Under MY orders? Do you not see? The only things that keep this wooden world together are hard work...

Men must be governed! Often not wisely, but governed nonetheless.

You've come to the wrong shop for anarchy, brother.

Would you call me an aged man-o-war, doctor? The Surprise is not old; no one would call her old. She has a bluff bow, lovely lines. She's a fine seabird: weatherly, stiff and fast... very fast, if she's well handled. No, she's not old; she's in her prime.

The first time he spoke to me… I shall never forget his words. I remember it like it was yesterday. He leaned across the table, he looked me straight in the eye, and he said "Aubrey… may I trouble you for the salt?"

I've always tried to say it exactly as he did ever since.

The second time... The second time he told me a story... about how someone offered him a boat cloak on a cold night. And he said no, he didn't need it. That he was quite warm. His zeal for his king and country kept him warm.

I know it sounds absurb, and were it from another man, you'd cry out "Oh, what pitiful stuff" and dismiss it as mere enthusiasm. But with Nelson... you felt your heart glow.

Damn, he was good. Just came out of nowhere. Hit us with a full broadside, cut across our tail and took out our rudder. Damn fine gunnery. We only slipped away because of the fog. Quite fortunate, really. He may have had the weather gauge, but we had the weather gods.

I never realized that the study of nature could advance the science of naval warfare.

This is a ship of war, and I will grind whatever grist the mill requires in order to fulfill my duty.

The number one fear of people isn't dying, it's public speaking.

They don't want this to stop. It employs too many people. Cops, lawyers, judges, probation officers, prison guards... The day d

Laurie, look, I'm sorry I never gave you the kind of life you wanted, all right.I'm sorry it was never enough.Don't punish me for being honest.Don't take my boy away.

What? Haven't you heard? We're all fucking crazy over here. You know what we do here? Cops… arrest… bad guys. The next time you come across the bridge, you should call me first. Just make sure it's safe.

His name is Frank Lucas, originally from Greensboro, North Carolina, he has a couple of arrests years ago for gambling and for carrying an unlicensed firearm. For fifteen years he was Bumpy Johnson's driver, bodyguard and collector. Hhe was with him when he died, he has five brothers, he's the oldest and a lot of cousins, they're all living up here now, spread out in the five boroughs and New Jersey. His brother's businesses are the distribution and collection points of Frank's dope and his money. Everything about Frank's life seems unpretentious and broadly legitimate, he starts early, gets up at 5am, has breakfast in a diner in Harlem usually by himself, then he starts work, takes a meeting with his accountant and with his lawyer. At nights he usually stays at home, if he does go out, it's only one of two clubs or a handful of restaurants with his wife, ball players, musicians and his friends and never organized crime guys. Sundays he takes his mother to church and changes the flowers on Bumpy's grave, every Sunday no matter what.

I want to know everyone you've met for the last twenty years. Everyone you sold to. Every cop you ever paid off. Every one who ever stole from you. Every one you remember.

This is the newly formed Essex County narcotics squad, our mandate is to make major arrests, no street guys, we're looking for the suppliers and distributors, Heroin, Cocaine, Amphetamines, no grass under a thousand pounds, no powder under forty kilograms, any less than that we're going to waste our time, we're going to handling the big shipments, the big money, the big temptation

I got possession, supply, conspiracy, bribing a law officer, I got your offshore bank accounts, your real estate, your businesses, all bought with money from heroin, I got hundreds of parents from dead kids, addicts who OD'ED and that's my story, that's how I make it all stick for the jury, this man murdered thousands of people and he did it from a penthouse driving a Lincoln, I got a line people wanting to testify against you that stretches out the door and around the block.

You ever read the bible, Dan? I read it one time. I was eight years old. My daddy just got hisself killed over a shot of whiskey and my mama said "we're going back East to start over". So she gave me a bible, sat me down in the train station, told me to read it. She was gonna get our tickets. Well, I did what she said. I read that bible from cover to cover. It took me three days. She never came back.

I've always liked you Byron, but you never know when to shut up. Even bad men love their mommas.

Now, you see Dan, generally pretty much everyone wants to live. That means Butterfield, too. He's gonna walk out on you. He's gonna come back up here, and he's gonna walk out on you. Now, what you gotta figure is why you and your boy are gonna die. Because Butterfield's railroad lost some money?

I knew a girl there. She was the daughter of a Sea-Captain. She had the most beautiful green eyes. About the greenest eyes I ever saw. Like yours. And I'd stare deep into them and they'd just change color infront of me. All the colors of the sea. What'd you say your name was again?

Well, would you look at all this? You all spared no expense this time, Byron. I gotta say, though, it's probably cheaper just to let me rob the damn thing.

They're going to kill me in the morning... I'll never see the sun.

Well, Tommy, it seems that there was a Pinkerton inside that coach that wasn't quite dead yet. Now, I know Charlie told you, because we done got but a few rules in this outfit. And this is what happens when you put us all at risk.

My name is Gladiator.

My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the TRUE emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

Fratres! Three weeks from now, I will be harvesting my crops. Imagine where you will be, and it will be so. Hold the line! Stay with me! If you find yourself alone, riding in the green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you're already dead! Brothers, what we do in life… echoes in eternity.

I knew a man once who said, "Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back."

You must know. He was your father.

Strength and honor.

Five thousand of my men are out there in the freezing mud. Three thousand of them are bloodied and cleaved. Two thousand will never leave this place. I will not believe that they fought and died for nothing.

Ancestors, I ask you for your guidance. Blessed mother, come to me with the Gods' desire for my future. Blessed father, watch over my wife and son with a ready sword. Whisper to them that I live only to hold them again, for all else is dust and air. Ancestors, I honor you and will try to live with the dignity that you have taught me.

Quintus! Release my men. Senator Gracchus is to be reinstated. There was a dream that was Rome. It shall be realized. These are the wishes of Marcus Aurelius.

I have to believe that when things are bad I can change them.

You think you're telling me something? Like, what, boxing is dangerous, something like that? You don't think working triple shifts and at night on a scaffold isn't just as likely to get a man killed? What about all those guys who died last week living in cardboard shacks to save on rent money just to feed their family, 'cause guys like you have not quite figured out a way yet to make money off of watching that guy die? But in my profession - and it is my profession - I'm a little more fortunate.

the thing is I can't afford to pay the heat and I had send my kids to live with relatives, they keep cutting shifts down at the dock, you just don't get picked every day, I sold everything I got to anybody who would buy, I went on public assistance at the relief office, they gave me nineteen dollars, I need another eighteen dollars and thirty eight cents so I can pay the heating bill and get the kids back, you all know me well enough to know, if I had anywhere else to go I wouldn't be here, if you could help me through this time I would surely be grateful

I've always believed in numbers, in equations, in logic and reason.But after a lifetime of such pursuits: I ask What truly is logic? Who decides reason? My quest has taken me to the physical, the metaphysical, the delusional, and back. I have made the most important discovery of my career - the most important discovery of my life. It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reasons can be found. I am only here tonight because of you

I've gotten used to ignoring them and I think, as a result, they've kind of given up on me. I think that's what it's like with all our dreams and our nightmares, Martin, we've got to keep feeding them for them to stay alive.

If we all go for the blonde and block each other, not a single one of us is going to get her. So then we go for her friends, but they will all give us the cold shoulder because no on likes to be second choice. But what if none of us goes for the blonde? We won't get in each other's way and we won't insult the other girls. It's the only way to win. It's the only way we all get laid.

I find you attractive. Your aggressive moves toward me... indicate that you feel the same way. But still, ritual requires that we continue with a number of platonic activities... before we have sex. I am proceeding with these activities, but in point of actual fact, all I really want to do is have intercourse with you as soon as possible.

I still see things that are not here. I just choose not to acknowledge them. Like a diet of the mind, I just choose not to indulge certain appetites; like my appetite for patterns; perhaps my appetite to imagine and to dream.

I don't exactly know what I am required to say in order for you to have intercourse with me. But could we assume that I said all that. I mean essentially we are talking about fluid exchange right? So could we go just straight to the sex.

I assume you've gotten quite used to miscalculation. I read your pre-prints. Both of 'em. One on Nazi scientists and the other one on, uh... non-linear equations, and I'm extremely confident that there's not one seminal or innovative idea in either one of them... Enjoy your punch.