By: Matthew Kaiser
Movie Matt-ers is the column you need, but don’t know you want. The great and powerful Matthew will answer any and all of your movie related questions. Just be careful what you ask, he doesn’t always play nice with others. Email him at mwkaiser@live.com.
Movie Matt-ers: What Bill Said to Scarlett In Lost In Translation
What does Bill Murray’s character whisper to Charlotte (played by Scarlett Johansson) at the end of Lost in Translation? –Andrew G.
Lost in Translation (2003) was a terrific, heartfelt movie. But the ending left some people intently rewinding and trying to hear those whispered words from Bill Murray’s lips. These days the world makes things much easier to find out. Through the keen use of digital enhancement and many hours of patience from dedicated moviegoers, a video on YouTube appears to have the answer you seek.
Now, SPOILER ALERT! If you felt that the ending didn’t need further explanation, then stop reading. For everyone else, here it is:
Bob (Bill Murray): “I have to be leaving… but I won’t let that come between us, okay?”
Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson): “Okay.” *gasp*
My next question is: does he come back for her or do they go on about their lives separately? I’ll leave this answer up to all of you. Allow your minds to wander and use Bob’s whispered words to decide what you think it meant.
Do you think the movie The Thing is based on true events? – Anon
Absolutely, why would I have any reason to doubt that an alien space craft crashed in the Arctic and that a metamorphosing alien butchered a bunch of researchers?
I tell you what, I’m going to answer part of this question with a re-creation of one of my favorite movie quotes from Chasing Amy (1997). My character is, of course, “Matthew.” The person who asked this question is going to be “Anon.”
Matthew: Alright, now imagine this. There is a four-way road, okay? And dead in the center is a crisp, new, hundred-dollar bill. Now, at the end of each of these streets are four people, okay? You following?
Anon: Yeah.
Matthew: Good. Over here, we have a movie critic who is polite, watches every word he says so he doesn’t piss off his fans, and only caters to sweet movies that are family-oriented. Down here, we have a transforming, murderous alien who crash landed in the Arctic Circle and now wants to take over the world. Over here, we got a gambler who just spent his last dollar on a bad bet. And up here, the Easter Bunny. Which one is going to get to the hundred-dollar bill first?
Anon: What is this supposed to prove?
Matthew: No, I’m serious. This is a serious exercise. It’s like an SAT question. Which one is going to get to the hundred-dollar bill first? The polite movie critic, the Arctic alien, the gambler, or the Easter Bunny?
Anon: The gambler?
Matthew: Good. Why?
Anon: I don’t know.
Matthew: [shouting] Because the other three are figments of your f***ing imagination!
I hope this helps clear up my take on this. Now, I’m not saying that aliens don’t exist. But the scenario that takes place in The Thing is a far shot from being based on true events. “That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.”
Matthew Kaiser is a (self-described) highly opinionated movie geek who lives in Clearwater, Florida with his wife and cat.
