"I am going to teach you the meaning of commitment. Fourteen years ago, I was forced to make a commitment to an eight-by-nine cell, now you are going to be forced to make a commitment. You could say I'm here to save you."

"[Danielle throws scalding grease over him] Are you offering me something hot? [lights a flare and holds it aloft] Let's get something straight here. I spent fourteen years in an eight by nine cell surrounded by people who were less than human. My mission in that time was to become more than human. [lets boiling wax drip on his skin] You see? Granddaddy used to handle snakes in church, Granny drank strychnine. I guess you could say I had a leg up, genetically speaking."

"[after fighting off Kersek's thugs while Bowden watches] Counselor? Counselor, is that you? Counselor, come out, come out, wherever you are! I ain't no "white trash piece of shit", I'm better than you all! I can outlearn you, I can outread you, I can outthink you, and I can out-philosophize you. And I'm gonna outlast you! You think a couple whacks to my good ol' boy guts is gonna get me down? It's gonna take a hell of a lot more than that, Counselor, to prove you're better than me! "I am like God, and God like me! I am as large as God! He is as small as I! He cannot above me, nor I beneath Him be!" Silesius, 17th century! Counselor? Counselor? Could you be there? Could you be there? [whistles] Counselor? I wonder if you're here. Ah, fuck it. You're here, you ain't here. What the fuck's the difference?"

"Tonight, you're gonna learn to be an animal! To live like an animal and to die like one!"

"What you gonna do, arrest me? You a cop? Or were you a cop? Or were you not good enough to remain on the force, cause you know what? That's the feelin' I'm gettin' here."

"[singing] On Jordan's stormy branks I stand! Oh, who will come with me? I am bound for the promised land! I am bound for the promised l-... land! I am bound for the promised land!"

"Guess I'm covered in too many tattoos, huh? But you see, there's not a hell of a lot to do in prison but desecrate your flesh."

"[watching passing teenaged girls] They're great at that age, ain't they? All those discoveries ahead of 'em. You're lucky, Counselor. My own daughter, she don't even know me. After I went inside, her mama told her I was dead - which, in a way, I was."

"I learned to read during my stretch. First, Spot Goes to the Farm, then Runaway Bunny, then law books mostly. Did you know that after I discharged you, I acted as my own attorney? Applied several times for an appeal. Mm-hmm. So, here we are - two lawyers, for all practical purposes, talking shop."

"It's not necessary to lay a foul tongue on me, my friend. I could get upset. Things could get out of hand. Then in self defense, I could do something to you that you would not like, right here."

"Zully Montero - Graciella"

"Robert Mitchum - Lt. Elgart"

"Gregory Peck - Lee Heller"

"Joe Don Baker - Claude Kersek"

"Martin Balsam - Judge"

"Nick Nolte - Sam Bowden"

"Jessica Lange - Leigh Bowden"

"Illeana Douglas - Lori Davis"

"Juliette Lewis - Danielle Bowden"

"[from TV spot] He paid his debt to society. Now he's paying back his lawyer."

"[from TV spot] One man's freedom becomes another man's fear."

"[from TV spot] There is a darkness in every soul, where evil waits."

"Robert De Niro - Max Cady"

"Fred Thompson - Tom Broadbent"

"Tom Mardirosian - Mr. Bubchik"

"Jared Harris - Goatee Smoker"

"Noah Gray-Cabey - Joey Dury/The Interpreter"

"M. Night Shyamalan - Vick Ran/The Vessel"

"Sarita Choudhury - Anna Ran/Guild member"

"Cindy Cheung - Young-Soon Choi/Guild member"

"Mary Beth Hurt - Mrs. Bell"

"Bill Irwin - Mr. Leeds"

"Bob Balaban - Harry Farber"

"Tovah Feldshuh - Mrs. Bubchik"

"Freddy Rodriguez - Reggie/The Guardian"

"Jeffrey Wright - Mr. Dury"

"It's not in the closet."

"Lullaby. And good fright!"

"It's not under the bed."

"Some stories are real."

"There is a message. There is a ceremony to be done … The hands of the guild will be needed, plus two others."

"Time is running out for a happy ending."

"A Classic Bedtime Story For A New Generation"

"It's in the back yard."

"There's a lot of things in The Cookbook people won't like to hear."

"There is no originality left in the world, Mr. Heep — that is a sad fact I have come to live with."

"Change doesn't happen, the way you say it's going to happen, without dramatic events to accelerate thinking. I wrote this thing. It might take decades or longer to create a reaction, before it anchors in the consciousness."

"A dog inside the building. Go! Shoo! … Why you're not a dog at all. … Oh, my god, this is like a moment from a horror movie. … This is precisely the moment where the mutation or beast will attempt to kill an unlikable side character. But, in stories where there has been no prior cursing, violence, nudity or death, such as in a family film, the unlikable character will escape his encounter, and be referenced later in the story, having learned valuable lessons. He may even be given a humorous moment to allow the audience to feel good about him. This is where I turn to run. You will leap for me, I will shut the door, and you will land a fraction of a second too late."