Frankly, My Dear....

So I've got to get this in before the show begins.

Movies have become a staple of our social fabric. The most popular, most appealing, and sometimes most commercia of those can leave their mark on anyone who hasn't even seen the flick by becoming a part of our daily dialogue. After all, just think about how many times a week you quote a movie and everyone KNOWS what you're talking about. Friends don't think you're crazy when you half-whisper, "I see dead people." They know you're talking about Haley Joel-Osmont in Sixth Sense. Or "Bring out your dead" is not an exhortation to haul carcasses into the streets, but rather an homage to the comedic genius of Monty Python.

Tonight, AFI will announce their list of the Top 100 Movie Quotes of all time. The list of 400 nominees was made public months ago, but the jury was free to add quotes they though were left off.

For the record, I predict #1 will be "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" - Rhett Butler to Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. Given AFI's penchant for early Hollywood, I'd say "There's no place like home" or one of the other 5 entries from The Wizard of Oz will make the top 10, as will something from Casablanca (with its 7 entries) and something from a Katherine Hepburn movie (I'm not even counting them all!)

There is a good spectrum of choices, from The Jazz Singer to National Lampoon's Animal House to Jerry MacGuire to Pee Wee's Big Adventure ("I know you are but what am I?" in case you were wondering). They even pulled one from one of my personal faves, Say Anything ("I gave her my heart, and all she gave me was a pen").

But also for the record, some of the best quotes were left off the original list. Nothing from such quote clearinghouses as Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail or Rocky Horror Picture Show, or Stripes. I hope the jury remedied some of that.

I'll post now to get on the record before it begins, but there are my predictions. Let you know how I do.