"So, what would you like to know? You're a journalist; it's your job to ask me questions. What do I do with the girls? That's a good question. Well, before I do what we're doing, I sit down, relax, have a drink. I like that part a lot. Having a chat when both of you know that one of you is going to die. Afterwards I just get rid of them, far out at sea. Unlike my father. He left them scattered all over the place, like trophies. That's not very smart, if you ask me. He was a loud and garish man; frankly, he got what he deserved. You can't be a sloppy technician like that. You can't drink to excess, like he did. This takes discipline. It's a science of a thousand details: the planning, the execution, the cleanup. I guess I don't have to tell you, but you're going to create quite a mess. Let me ask you something. Why don't people trust their instincts? They sense something is wrong, someone is walking too close behind them... You knew something was wrong, but you came back into the house. Did I force you, did I drag you? No. All I had to do was offer you a drink. It's hard to believe the fear of offending can be stronger than the fear of pain but, you know what? It is, and they always come willingly. And they sit there, and they know it's all over, just like you do, but somehow they still think they have a chance. Maybe if I say the right thing, maybe if I'm polite, if I cry, if I beg. And when I see the hope draining from their face, like it's draining from yours right now, I feel myself getting hard. But you know, we're not that different, you and I. We both have urges. Satisfying mine requires more towels."

"You'll have more luck with a gun. When we go hunting. I want to show you something. Bring your drink. Leave my knife."

"She's had a rough life. Can we please not make it any rougher?"

"It was then that I noticed Harriet wasn't there. And she wasn't there the next morning, or the next, or the next 40 years."

"You will be investigating thieves, misers, bullies. The most detestable collection of people you will ever meet. My family."

"Isn't it interesting how fascists always steal the word "freedom"?"

"I miss our meetings. I'm sure you don't, why would you? I was always such a headache for you, never showing up with good news, only problems. I have good news now. I made a friend. I mean one that you'd approve of. I'm happy."

"Put your hand back in my shirt."

"May I kill him?"

"Do you doubt anything I've said? Do you doubt the reports that have followed me around all my life? What do they say, if you could sum it up? They say I'm insane. It's alright, you can nod. Because it's true. I am insane. Nod."

"[about Blomkvist] He's had a long standing sexual relationship with his co-editor of the magazine. Sometimes he performs cunnilingus on her. Not often enough in my opinion."

"He promised me Wennerstrom's carcass on a plate. This isn't even the plate."

"Before he died, your brother hung me from a hook...Harriet."

"Your boss, Armansky, he tells me you only do jobs that interest you, so I guess I should be flattered."

"So you're born in the capital of the world and you can never escape. And that's how it is because that's how everyone wants it to be. It is all about want. No one needs anything here. It is about when you wake up in the morning and the snow is already coming down and it's bright between the buildings where the sun falls but already dark where the shadows are. And it's all about the want. What do you want? Because if you don't want something you've got nothing. You are adrift. You're washed away and then buried under the snow in shadow. And when in the spring the snow melts, no one will remember where you were frozen and buried. And you will no longer be anywhere."

"Ashley Johnson as Mary Beth Cadwell"

"Dana Ivey as Grace Higginbotham"

"David Oyelowo as Preacher Green"

"Nelsan Ellis as Henry"

"Mary Steenburgen as Elaine Stein"

"Joshua A. Downes as Mr. Blackly"

"Aunjanue Ellis as Yule May Davis"

"Brian Kerwin as Robert Phelan"

"Sissy Spacek as Mrs. Walters"

"Mike Vogel as Johnny Foote"

"Emma Henry/Eleanor Henry as Mae Mobley Leefolt"

"Cicely Tyson as Constantine Bates"

"Chris Lowell as Stuart Whitworth"

"Anna Camp as Jolene French"

"Allison Janney as Charlotte Phelan"

"Ahna O'Reilly as Elizabeth Leefolt"

"Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote"

"Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson"

"Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook"

"Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark"

"Lila Rogers as Young Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan"

"Emma Stone as Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan"

"[when Hilly realizes what was in Minny's pie and runs off, gagging] And you didn't have just ONE, you had TWO slices!!! [begins laughing hysterically, as Minny flees] RUN, MINNY, RUN!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"I may have trouble remembering my own name, or what country I live in, but there are two things I can't seem to forget: that my own daughter threw me into a nursing home, and that she ate Minny's shit."

"[to Hilly] Eat my shit."

"[to Eugenia] You ain't got nothing left here but enemies in the Junior League. You done burned every bridge there is. And you ain't never gonna get another man in this town, everybody know that. So don't walk your white butt to New York, run it!"

"Frying chicken just tend to make you feel better about life."

"[to Eugenia] Isn't that what all you girls from Ole Miss major in - professional husband hunting?"

"If you can love your enemy, you already have a victory."

"[hysterical] It's Skeeter! She put it in the newsletter. I specifically said, "Drop old coats at my house," not commodes!!! Why would she do this to me?"

"[to Stuart] I'm sorry, but were you dropped on your head as an infant, or were you just born stupid?"

"[to Eugenia] Every day you're not dead in the ground, when you wake up in the morning, you're gonna have to make some decisions. Got to ask yourself this question: "Am I gonna believe all them bad things them fools say about me today?" You hear me today? "Am I gonna believe all them bad things them fools say about me today? You hear me today?" All right? As for your mama, she didn't pick her life. It picked her. But you, you're gonna do something big with yours. You wait and see."

"[to Eugenia] Courage sometimes skips a generation. Thank you for bringing it back to our family."

"[to Eugenia] Your eggs are dying. Would it kill you to go on a date?"