Sean Connery as William Forrester in Finding Forrester (2000)
Forrester: Bolt the door, if you’re coming in.
Forrester: Whatever we write in this apartment stays in this apartment.
Forrester: The key to a woman’s heart is an unexpected gift at an unexpected time.
Forrester: You’re the man now, dog!
Forrester: *Punch* the keys, for God’s sake!
Forrester: No thinking – that comes later. You must write your first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head. The first key to writing is… to write, not to think!
Forrester: My name is William Forrester.
[points to ‘writers wall of fame’ pictures]
Forrester: I’m that one.
[points to ‘writers wall of fame’ pictures]
Forrester: I’m that one.
Jamal: Man, fuck you William! You wanna know what the real bullshit is? How about you let me take on this one cause you’re too damn scared to walk out that door and do something for somebody else. You’re too damn scared, man! That’s the only reason.
Forrester: [throws glass against wall and breaks it] You don’t know a goddamn thing about reason; There are no reasons! Reasons why some of us live and why some of us don’t! Fortunately for you, you have decades to figure that out!
Jamal: Yeah, and what’s the reason in having a file cabinet full of writing and keeping the shit locked so nobody can read it? What is that man? I’m done with this shit.
Forrester: [throws glass against wall and breaks it] You don’t know a goddamn thing about reason; There are no reasons! Reasons why some of us live and why some of us don’t! Fortunately for you, you have decades to figure that out!
Jamal: Yeah, and what’s the reason in having a file cabinet full of writing and keeping the shit locked so nobody can read it? What is that man? I’m done with this shit.
Forrester: Writers write things to give readers something to read.
Forrester: What’s your name?
Jamal: Jamal Wallace.
Forrester: Sounds like some kind of marmalade. How old are you?
Jamal: I’m sixteen.
Forrester: Sixteen? And you’re black. It’s remarkable.
Jamal: “Remarkable”? It’s remarkable that I’m black? What does me being black have to do with anything?
Forrester: You don’t know what to do right now, do you? If you say what you really want to, I may not read any more of this. But if you let me run you down with this racist bullshit… what does that make you?
Jamal: I’m not playing this game, man.
Forrester: I say you are playing it. An expression is worth a thousand words. Perhaps in your case, just two.
Jamal: Jamal Wallace.
Forrester: Sounds like some kind of marmalade. How old are you?
Jamal: I’m sixteen.
Forrester: Sixteen? And you’re black. It’s remarkable.
Jamal: “Remarkable”? It’s remarkable that I’m black? What does me being black have to do with anything?
Forrester: You don’t know what to do right now, do you? If you say what you really want to, I may not read any more of this. But if you let me run you down with this racist bullshit… what does that make you?
Jamal: I’m not playing this game, man.
Forrester: I say you are playing it. An expression is worth a thousand words. Perhaps in your case, just two.
Jamal: Opens the letter
Forrester: Dear Jamal, Someone I once knew wrote that we walk away from our dreams afraid that we may fail or worse yet, afraid we may succeed. You need to know that while I knew so very early that you would realize your dreams, I never imagined I would once again realize my own. Seasons change young man, and while I may have waited until the winter of my life, to see the things I’ve seen this past year, there is no doubt I would have waited too long, had it not been for you.
Forrester: Dear Jamal, Someone I once knew wrote that we walk away from our dreams afraid that we may fail or worse yet, afraid we may succeed. You need to know that while I knew so very early that you would realize your dreams, I never imagined I would once again realize my own. Seasons change young man, and while I may have waited until the winter of my life, to see the things I’ve seen this past year, there is no doubt I would have waited too long, had it not been for you.
Please share other Connery quotes or any other thoughts/memories you have about the film in the comments below. Thank you for your interest in Sean Connery and Finding Forrester.
Post by Chad Elkins. Source: IMDB