Phenomenon (1996)

Forest Whitaker: Nate Pope

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Quotes 

• George Malley : [this is from a scene cut from the normal version, after George has escaped from the hospital]  ... and this I wrote for you, Nate. This is about soils and some of my own thoughts.

  Nate Pope : Your thoughts?

  George Malley : Yea.

  Nate Pope : You write down the secret to life in here, George?

  George Malley : Ahh Nate, you think I know that?

  Nate Pope : I think you know something. What? You sum it up in this book here? Or maybe you didn't sum it up. Maybe you think I wouldn't get it, or that I wouldn't understand it.

  George Malley : Ahh Nate, you already know it.

  Nate Pope : I want you to tell me George.

  George Malley : All right.

  [pulls out an eraser] 

  George Malley : Here you go.

  Nate Pope : That's a dumb eraser, George.

  George Malley : Come here. Now Nate, everything that we need is already in us, we just got to clear away the crap that it's buried under. Now I want you to erase something.

  [Nate erases] 

  George Malley : OK. There you go.

  [pointing at the eraser] 

  George Malley : See that? That's the crap. Love is buried under fear, and partnership, is right there under competition, and there's compassion underneath the greed. Nate, you gotta take your eraser and do the work. It's hard work and nobody can do it for you. There's no drug. That's the sum of it.