Now @chrismcquarrie is a ten out of ten, who the hell would argue? But this is just a terrible thing to do to Chazz Palminteri.
From the actual Oscar Winning screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie:
VERBAL
The D.A. gave me immunity.
KUJAN
NOT FROM ME, YOU PIECE OF SHIT. THERE IS
NO IMMUNITY FROM ME. You atone with me or
the world you live in becomes the hell
you fear in the back of your tiny mind.
Every criminal I have put in prison
every cop who owes me a favor, every
creeping scumbag that works the street
for a living, will know the name of
Verbal Kint. You’ll be the lowest sort of
rat, the prince of snitches, the loudest
cooing stool pigeon that ever grabbed his
ankles for the man. Now you talk to me,
or that precious immunity they’ve seen so
fit to grant you won’t be worth the paper
the contract put out on your life is
printed on.
AND HE SAYS IT, WORD FOR WORD! Chazz SELLS the HELL out of it.
Try shouting this monologue out loud, preferably into Kevin Spacey’s face, and it will become clear what an accomplishment it was.
Every time I hear that last line I want to make Chazz a nice cup of tea for getting through it. Why doesn’t Verbal blink and say – “Wait. Paper? That’s a lot of prepositions.”
I’m a writer, but I like actors. You know. And I enjoy writing for them. In fact, I read that this part was written FOR Chazz Palminteri. You never know if this stuff is true, but if it is…
Even if the voluptuously talented McQuarrie wanted to see how far he could push Palminteri without actually putting in any slitted sheets, how did this line not get a massage after the first time it was spoken aloud?
Maybe all I’m saying is, how could a table read hurt before your last draft? If it looks great on the page but it clanks like it’s wrapped in an anchor chain when you hear it, think of the guy who has to say it and show him how just is the quality of your mercy.