In Bookstores Everywhere
A fun, fascinating, and exhaustively reported deep dive into all the essential Hollywood dialogue we know and love, from “Here’s looking at you, kid” and “I’ll have what she’s having” to “Always do the right thing” and “Nooooo! Wiiiiiire! HANGERRRRRRRS!”
Drawing on interviews and archival sleuthing, the book examines the origins and deeper meanings behind hundreds of film lines: how they’ve impacted, shaped, and reverberated through the culture, defined eras in Hollywood, and become cemented in the modern lexicon.
Praise For
“You Talkin’ to Me?”
“A movie buff’s treat, curated by a real movie buff!”
“A richly entertaining and deeply researched book about the movie lines that live in our collective unconscious, infiltrate our speech, guide our actions, and shape our perceptions.”
“Brian Abrams has put together a fascinating compendium of absorbing information on the films and stars who uttered the most memorable lines heard ’round the world. Wait ’til you discover what ‘Rosebud’ really refers to!”
“From ‘You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!’ to ‘Wakanda forever,’ Brian Abrams takes the reader on an enormously entertaining, zinger-filled tour of motion-picture history.”
“Informative, fun, and compulsively readable.”
“Frankly, my dear, “You Talkin’ to Me?” is a fabulous look at the stories behind the movies’ most memorable lines. This book is the stuff that dreams are made of.”
Oral Histories
Follow Brian on Letterboxd.