Language I WORD CLASS: INSERTS Prof.

Mauricio de Vasconcellos

1) Big Fish (2003), extract

KEYS in the lock. LAUGHTER in the hallway. The door swings open to reveal a drenched Will carrying
four sacks of groceries, the bottoms collapsing from the rain. His wife Josephine pushes past him to get
the phone.

JOSEPHINE: Allo oui?

Will begins stripping out of his wet clothes, each layer unleashing a new drizzle. He plays it up, trying to
get a reaction out of Josephine.

JOSEPHINE: (on phone) Yes, he's here.

She hands the phone to Will, concerned.

JOSEPHINE: It's your mother.

Half-stripped, Will takes the phone. This won't be good news.

WILL: (on phone) Hi. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

As Josephine takes off her rain coat, we see she is very, very pregnant. She listens carefully to Will's
side of the conversation, trying to gauge how bad the news is.

WILL (CONT'D): What does Dr. Bennett say? Okay. No, sure, let me talk to him. I'll wait.

He covers the mouthpiece. Looks over to Josephine.

JOSEPHINE: It's bad.

WILL: It's more than they thought. They're going to stop chemo.
JOSEPHINE: You need to go.
WILL: Probably tonight.
JOSEPHINE: I'm going with you.
WILL: You don't have to.
JOSEPHINE: I'm going with you.
 2) Monologue: transcript

Speaker 1: Oh, look at this! Theyre all over the place! Im fed up with it, really I am. If Ive told you

once, Ive told you a thousand times. Why should I have to do it for you? Youre the one who put them

there and theyre yours not mine. Oh yes, I know, youre going to do it later. I wish I had a pound for

every time Id heard that. Look, Ive got better things to do, all right? Oh, dont look like that, of course it

matters, its symptomatic of your whole attitude, this. Oh God, its almost time to pick them up now and

Ive got nothing done at all this afternoon, thanks to you. Yes, it is your fault and dont pretend its not

and theyre just as bad. They think if you can get away with it, so can they. Its just not fair. Look, Im

warning you, if you dont make an effort to change

Speaker 2: Excuse me, um arent you er? Oh haha no, course youre not, sorry. Silly of me.

Its just that er in this light, but er now I can see I was wrong. Yeah. And youre quite a bit taller

too. Sorry again. Has anyone mentioned the resemblance before, I wonder? No, no, I suppose not. Oh,

dont you? Oh, you know, Jane um Jane whatsername, cant remember her other name. She

was in that sitcom: you know, she played the daughter and Geoffrey Palmer played the father. No, not,

Geoffrey Palmer the other one, um the one whos in the coffee commercial, whats he called? Er

oh, you know, the mother was played by that blonde actress, the one who was in that accident recently.

Miracle she wasnt killed, apparently. Anyway, she was the mother and this Jane was the daughter, and

you look just like her, you know. So can I? Oh.