The Truman Show (1998)
Ed Harris: Christof
Photos
Quotes
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Mike Michaelson : Christof, let me ask you, why do you think that Truman has never come close to discovering the true nature of his world until now?
Christof : We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented. It's as simple as that.
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Network Executive : For God's sake, Chris! The whole world is watching. We can't let him die in front of a live audience!
Christof : He was born in front of a live audience.
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[first lines]
Christof : We've become bored with watching actors give us phony emotions. We are tired of pyrotechnics and special effects. While the world he inhabits is, in some respects, counterfeit, there's nothing fake about Truman himself. No scripts, no cue cards. It isn't always Shakespeare, but it's genuine. It's a life.
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Truman Burbank : Was nothing real?
Christof : You were real. That's what made you so good to watch...
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Mike Michaelson : The Hague for Christof. Hello? The Hague? All right, we've lost that call, let's go to Hollywood, California. You're on Trutalk.
Sylvia : Hi, Christof, I'd just like to say one thing, you're a liar and a manipulator and what you've done to Truman is sick!
Christof : Well. We remember this voice, don't we? How could we forget?
Mike Michaelson : Uh, let's go to another call, what do we have...
Christof : No. No, no, no, no, no, it's fine, it's fine, Mike. I love to reminisce with former members of the cast. Sylvia, as you announced so melodramatically to the world, do you think because you batted your eyes at Truman once, flirted with him, stole a few minutes of airtime with him to thrust yourself and your politics into the limelight, that you know him? That you know what's right for him? You really think you're in a position to judge him?
Sylvia : What right do you have to take a baby and turn his life into some kind of mockery? Don't you ever feel guilty?
Christof : I have given Truman the chance to lead a normal life. The world, the place you live in, is the sick place. Seahaven is the way the world should be.
Sylvia : He's not a performer, he's a prisoner. Look at him, look at what you've done to him!
Christof : He could leave at any time. If his was more than just a vague ambition, if he was absolutely determined to discover the truth, there's no way we could prevent him. I think what distresses you, really, caller, is that ultimately Truman prefers his cell, as you call it.
Sylvia : Well, that's where you're wrong. You're so wrong! And he'll prove you wrong!
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Christof : As Truman grew up, we were forced to manufacture ways to keep him on the island.
[flashback to Truman at school]
Young Truman : I like to be an explorer, like the great Magellan.
Teacher : [rolling down a map of the world] Oh, you're too late. There's really nothing left to explore.
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Network Executive : Christof, what's going on? Do you know that there's a rumor circulating that he's dead? You hear me? The media is having a feeding frenzy with this, all the phone lines are jammed, and every network has a pirated shot of Marlon making an ass of himself in front of the cameras!
Network Executive : The sponsors are threatening to rip up their contracts.
Christof : [pointing at the "Technical fault. Please stand by" graphic] Why? We're getting higher ratings with this graphic than we've ever had on this show.
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Mike Michaelson : The show has generated enormous revenues now equivalent to the gross national product of a small country.
Christof : People forget it takes the population of an entire country to keep the show running.
Mike Michaelson : Since the show is on 24 hours a day without commercial interruption, all those staggering revenues are generated by product placement.
Christof : That's true. Everything on the show is for sale. From the actors' wardrobe, food products, to the very homes they live in.
Mike Michaelson : And of course, all of it available in the Truman catalogue and operators are standing by.
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Mike Michaelson : [about Truman's father] But how do you intend to explain his 22-year absence?
Christof : Amnesia.
Mike Michaelson : Brilliant.
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Christof : [Marlon suddenly discovers that Truman has escaped through a hole in his basement] Don't look in the camera, say something! Keep it going, keep it going!
Marlon : [to the lawn camera] He's gone!
Christof : Cut transmission!
Control Room Director : Cut transmission?
Christof : Cut it!
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Talk Show Caller : Hi, Christof. I was just wondering how many cameras you got there in that town.
Christof : Somewhere in the vicinity of 5000.
Talk Show Caller : That's a lot of cameras.
Christof : Remember, we started with just one.
[as he speaks, clips of a foetus, newborn babies in a hospital, a toddler walking along a beach and a toddler looking up at a mobile with a camera attached to it are shown]
Christof : He was curious from birth. Premature by two weeks. It was almost as if he couldn't wait to get started.
Mike Michaelson : And of course his eagerness to leave his mother's womb was the very reason he the one who was selected.
Christof : In competition with five other unwanted pregnancies, the casting of a show determined by an airdate, Truman was the one who arrived on cue.
Mike Michaelson : Incidentally, I believe Truman is the first child to have been legally adopted by a corporation?
Christof : That's correct.
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[In the control room, Christof grabs a headset and a monitor to see Truman standing in front of the door to the real world]
Christof : Truman.
[Truman hears Christof's booming voice coming from the sky]
Christof : You can speak. I can hear you.
Truman Burbank : Who are you?
Christof : I am the creator... of a television show that gives hope and joy and inspiration to millions.
Truman Burbank : Then who am I?
Christof : You're the star.
Truman Burbank : Was nothing real?
Christof : *You* were real. That's what made you so good to watch.
[Truman turns back to face the door]
Christof : Listen to me, Truman. There's no more truth out there than there is in the world I created for you. The same lies. The same deceit. But in my world, you have nothing to fear. I know you better than you know yourself.
Truman Burbank : [insulted] You never had a camera in my head!
Christof : You're afraid. That's why you can't leave. It's okay, Truman. I understand. I have been watching you your whole life. I was watching when you were born. I was watching when you took your first step. I watched you on your first day of school.
[chuckles]
Christof : The episode where you lost your first tooth.
[smiles]
Christof : You can't leave, Truman. You belong here... with me.
[Truman remains silent, contemplating]
Christof : Talk to me. Say something.
[incredulous]
Christof : Well, say something, goddamn it! You're on television! You're live to the whole world!
[Truman turns back with a familiar smile]
Truman Burbank : In case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening and good night.
[false chuckle]
Truman Burbank : Yeah.
[Truman takes a bow and then steps through the door to Christof's astonishment]
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Christof : I'm determined that television's first on-air conception still take place.
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Christof : That's our hero shot.
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Control Room Director : Move in for a close-up?
Christof : No, no, no, no, no. Move back and fade up music. And *now* go in close.
