What makes a movie quote so quotable?

No one can plan or guess about which movie quotations will become much repeatedScreenwriter William Goldman says the writer is mostly likely thinking about the storyQuotes are a shorthand, evoking a whole movie -- and the memories of that film

(CNN) -- Screenwriter William Goldman has written some of the most famous lines in movie history.

You know the ones. "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die" from "The Princess Bride." "Is it safe?" from "Marathon Man." "Follow the money" from "All the President's Men." "Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?" from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

He's won two Oscars, two Edgars, a Hugo and a career achievement award from the National Board of Review. He obviously knows how to write.

And he still has no idea why some of his dialogue manages to become part of the national vernacular.

There are so many factors that go into creating a movie, he says, that it's all a writer can do to get his script right.

"When you're doing a movie you have no idea who the powers on the movie are going to be, and is there going to be a star who wants this line or doesn't like that line. You're at the mercy of everybody and you do the best you can," he says. "But you never know."

(It's no wonder that another of Goldman's most famous lines is his summation of Hollywood: "Nobody knows anything.")

If you're a screenwriter, it's not exactly something you can plan. Maybe the actor gives a line a poor spin; maybe the director doesn't capture the moment; maybe the film editor changes the rhythm of the scene in the cutting room. It's been said that nobody plans to make a bad film, but with so many variables at play, even a good script isn't bulletproof.

Great cast! Great director! Why did that movie flop?

Fred Shapiro, editor of "The Yale Book of Quotations" and several other books in the field, points out that movie quotations can be a shorthand -- something that brings up powerful associations.

"Some movie quotes become popular because they evoke a great film, or a great scene, or a great actor," he says. "Sometimes the words of the quote become proverbial -- something like 'The natives are restless' or 'If you build it they will come' or 'Win one for the Gipper!' They enter into the language."

He also notes that lines tend to get condensed or changed. For example, he was quick to point out that the correct quotation from "Field of Dreams" is "If you build it, he will come."

They're also social glue. Repeat a line from popular comedies such as "Airplane!" or "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," and you can immediately establish bonds with similarly minded individuals. This summer Marvel fans have been fond of repeating, "I am Groot."

The late Harold Ramis was a champ at composing such wisecracks, anti-establishment jokes that have been repeated by generations of viewers.

During the Oscars, Pepsi even promoted its "mini can" with a commercial that featured only well-known movie quotations. Why that strategy? "We want to take this to an emotional place," Seth Kaufman, PepsiCo's VP-marketing for colas, told Advertising Age.

Shapiro makes a distinction between popular quotations and catchphrases. The latter is more of a trademark, he says -- Bugs Bunny's "What's up, doc?", for example -- and incessantly repeated. They're often even said in the voice of the performer. It's hard to say "Make my day" without evoking Clint Eastwood's clenched-jaw delivery.

These days, thanks to repeated television showings, video streaming and the Internet, quotations attach themselves to our craniums more quickly than ever.

Ironically, that means the person who wrote the immortal line is now more ignored than ever. Think about Goldman's classics: Who do you think of, the actor or the writer?

"Nobody cares about who the screenwriter is," Goldman says. "That's one of the things you have to deal with if you write a screenplay. Nobody has the least knowledge of what's going to work, and everybody wants Tom Cruise."

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Pentagon chief Hagel makes 1st trip to Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Afghanistan Friday for his first visit as Pentagon chief, saying that there are plenty of challenges ahead as NATO hands over the country's security to the Afghans.

"We are still at war," Hagel said, warning the U.S. and its allies to remain focused on the mission while noting that the U.S. never intended to stay in Afghanistan indefinitely.

"That transition has to be done right, it has to be done in partnership with the Afghans, with our allies," said Hagel, who took over the Pentagon job a little more than a week ago. "Our country as well as Afghanistan, the region, and the allies have a lot at stake here. And our continued focus and energy and attention on Afghanistan is going to be very important."

He said it was vital to remember why the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in the days after the 9/11 attacks, including the need to rid the country of terrorists and a hostile government.

On the day of Hagel's arrival, there was a fresh reminder of the conflict. Defense officials said three men wearing Afghan army uniforms and driving an Afghan army vehicle forced their way onto a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan at midday and opened fire, killing one civilian contractor and wounding other U.S. troops.

Hagel told reporters traveling with him that he plans to talk to Afghan President Hamid Karzai about the recent order expelling U.S. commandos from Wardak Province. He would not say what his message to Karzai might be.

Karzai ordered that U.S. special operations forces leave within two weeks because of allegations that Afghans working with the commandos were involved in abusive behavior and torture.

The order comes despite worries that it could leave the region more vulnerable to al-Qaida and other insurgents. U.S. officials have said they have seen no evidence that American forces were involved in the abuse of Afghan civilians. Hagel is slated to meet with U.S. commanders and Afghan leaders and plans to make his first detailed assessment of the increasingly unpopular war.

His unannounced visit comes at a turning point in the conflict, as U.S. and NATO allies set their timetable for the withdrawal of combat troops and pressure mounts on the U.S.-led effort to train the Afghan forces. Hagel must manage the transition as the U.S. steps up what will be a difficult and expensive extraction of equipment from the country even as Congress slashes billions of dollars from the defense budget.

"I need to better understand what's going on there," Hagel told reporters during the flight to Kabul. He said he wants an assessment on the progress of the Afghan forces as they prepare to take over the security of their own country.

Hagel traveled to Afghanistan four times during his two terms as senator for Nebraska, including once in 2002 shortly after the war began, in 2006 and twice in 2008. His final two visits were in 2008, once in February with then Sens. Joe Biden and John Kerry — now the vice president and secretary of state, and in July with then-Sen. Barack Obama.

While Hagel initially supported the Afghanistan war when he was senator, his enthusiasm diminished as the conflict dragged on for more than 10 years. He pointedly observed that militaries are "built to fight and win wars, not bind together failing nations." And in a radio interview this year, he acknowledged the nation's growing weariness with the war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 U.S. troops and wounded another 18,000, saying that "the American people want out" of Afghanistan.

His review of the war will likely be colored in part by his own military service. Hagel is the first Vietnam veteran to lead the Pentagon, and the first man to become defense secretary after serving only in the enlisted ranks. All the other secretaries with military service eventually served as officers. Hagel served in Vietnam alongside his brother, was wounded twice and was awarded two Purple Hearts.

There are currently about 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, down from a peak of about 100,000 in 2010. The U.S. troop total is scheduled to drop to about 32,000 by early next year, with the bulk of the decline coming over the winter months.

And, while there has been no final decision on the size of the post-2014 force, U.S. and NATO leaders say they are considering a range between 8,000 and 12,000. The size of that residual force is sharply smaller than what the top U.S. commander in the Middle East recommended. Gen. James Mattis, head of U.S. Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this week that his personal recommendation was for a U.S. force of 13,600, with the expectation that NATO allies would contribute another 6,000 to 7,000.

Hagel would not say what his assessment of the final post-2014 numbers is yet. But, he added that, "it is the Afghan people who need to make, and will make, their own decisions about their future. We can help. We have helped, as well as our allies. But there does come a time when that should be transitioned."

And the transition, he said, is happening in a way that gives the Afghan people "a very hopeful future."

The U.S. is currently in the early stages of negotiating a bilateral security agreement with Kabul that would set the legal parameters for America's continued military and diplomatic involvement with the nation.

Another source of anxiety among the allies is Afghanistan's 2014 presidential election; Karzai, who has led the country since U.S. forces toppled the Taliban in late 2001, is not running and there is no obvious successor.

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Boy Saves Grandma's House, Makes Happy News (ContributorNetwork)

According to The Week, a 12-year-old boy in Wisconsin has saved his grandmother's house from foreclosure. A youth with a history of community service, Noah Lamaide created a website to highlight his projects. In January, he edited his site to highlight the plight of his grandmother, who fell behind on mortgage payments after medical complications. Donations poured in, saving the home.

Reader comments praised the boy and the happy bit of news, claiming it was refreshing to read a positive news story for a change. Fortunately, other philanthropists, Good Samaritans, and do-gooders make the news cycle rather frequently. A look at famous philanthropists:

Bill Gates: The founder and former CEO of Microsoft is the world's most generous philanthropist. He and his wife, Melinda, created the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 1994, according to the foundation's website. To date, the organization, with the help of many wealthy donors in addition to Gates (formerly the richest person in the world), has donated more than $26 billion. Current endowment of the foundation is about $33.5 billion.

Warren Buffet: In June 2006 this billionaire investor and philanthropist donated 10 million shares of his Berkshire Hathaway stock, to be distributed over time, to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a gift worth some $31 billion. All remaining shares of Berkshire Hathaway owned by Buffet at the time of his death are to be used for philanthropic purposes within ten years.

Chuck Feeney: According to givingpledge.org, Feeney is one of the many billionaires who has joined Gates and Buffet in pledging to donate the majority of their wealth to charity. Feeney, the founder of The Atlantic Foundation (formerly The Atlantic Charities), has given some $5.5 billion to the foundation since the early 1980s.

Walter Annenberg: This wealthy publisher and former U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, according to the University of Southern California, is estimated to have donated some $2 billion during the course of his lifetime, mostly to educational institutions. Dying at age 94 in 2002, Annenberg was deceased when the Giving Pledge was made public in 2010.

Ted Turner: Forbes reports the founder of CNN and, until recently, biggest landowner in the United States has donated more than $1.5 billion to charity, including a billion-dollar pledge to the United Nations. He is also a signatory of the Giving Pledge.

T. Boone Pickens: The T. Boone Pickens Foundation reports that this oil billionaire has donated nearly $1 billion during his philanthropic career, especially to Oklahoma State University, his alma mater, and two leading medical institutions in Texas. Like the aforementioned philanthropists in this listing, Pickens is also a signatory of the Giving Pledge.

John D. Rockefeller: The wealthiest man in history, owner of Standard Oil John D. Rockefeller created the Rockefeller Foundation in 1913. Since then it has donated roughly $14 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars to charity, with major original contributions to education, the Red Cross, and medical research.

Andrew Carnegie: The second-wealthiest man in history and a key inspiration for John D. Rockefeller's future philanthropy, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie donated over $350 million before his death in 1919, reports PBS. In current figures the $350 million, gained from the sale of the Carnegie Steel Company in 1901 for over $450 million, would easily equal many billions of dollars. Carnegie donated frequently to educational institutions and foundations.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy, found at philanthropy.com, lists major individual contributors to charitable causes by year.

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Coinstar's Spectacular Quarter Makes It Worth Your Dollars (The Motley Fool)

Automated retail solutions provider Coinstar (Nasdaq: CSTR - News) beat Street estimates handsomely in the fourth quarter, and saw its shares spike 13% in extended trading.

Let's take a look at what's clicking for the company, and how it might fare going forward.

A look at the quarter
Coinstar acquired DVD rental services provider Redbox in 2009, and this proved to be the major driver behind the company's top-line growth. The Redbox division showed an astounding 40% growth from last year with the release of new DVD titles and deployment of its new kiosks. Coinstar's revenue increased to $520 million from $391 million a year ago.

The jump in the top line was cushioned by controlled spending, resulting in earnings of $1 per share compared to $0.65 per share projected by analysts. And, what's more, Coinstar once again expects to topple Street expectations of $515 million this quarter, with revenue guidance between $530 million and $550 million.

Expanding rapidly
Coinstar's novel idea of converting loose change into cash, conceived by founder Jens Molbak 20 years ago, is now a kiosk-based business chain ranging across various countries. The company has added new product offerings to its kiosks through a string of acquisitions and partnerships over the last few years.

Coinstar's wholly owned subsidiary Redbox has now set its eyes on acquiring NCR Corporation's DVD rental business in a deal worth around $100 million. This acquisition, which is expected to be complete by the third quarter of this year, will give Coinstar access to NCR's 10,000 DVD rental kiosks, providing fuel for its top-line growth.

Netflix killer?
But that's not the end as far as its expansionary moves are concerned. Redbox, which has already eaten into its arch-rival Netflix's (Nasdaq: NFLX - News) share, is now preparing another challenge for the online video streaming giant. This time it has found an ally in Verizon (NYSE: VZ - News), through offering online video services to customers along with its existing rental services from kiosks. Reports suggest that Verizon will have a 65% share in this venture, which is being touted as a Netflix killer and goes online in the later half of the year. It's expected that the rental rates from the Redbox-Verizon stable will be cheaper than what Netflix currently offers.

The Foolish takeaway
Coinstar has grown tremendously in the past few quarters and is making impressive moves to keep up the speed. This is one stock which you should take a look at if you are considering a new addition to your portfolio.

To stay up to speed with Coinstar's rapid growth, add it to your Watchlist.

Fool contributor Harsh Chauhan owns none of the stocks mentioned in the article. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Netflix. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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AIG makes $972 million TARP repayment to Treasury (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Treasury Department received a $972 million repayment from American International Group (AIG.N), funded by proceeds from the sale of AIG'S American Life Insurance Co. subsidiary last November, Treasury said on Tuesday.

Treasury said its remaining investment in AIG now stands at $50 billion, and the Federal Reserve has about $17.5 billion in loans outstanding to the investment vehicles that hold former AIG assets.

After the latest repayment, the government retains a 77 percent stake in AIG through its holdings of common and preferred stock in the insurer.

At the peak of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, the U.S. government bailout for AIG was valued at about $182 billion.

The release of some of the proceeds that had been held in escrow from the sale of AIG's American Life subsidiary to MetLife last year allowed AIG to make the repayment.

Treasury said it now has received overall repayments and other income totaling $317 billion from investments made under TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program funded by taxpayers that was used to bail out distressed financial firms.

That $317 billion figure represents nearly a 77 percent return out of the total $413 billion disbursed through TARP, Treasury said.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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Gross' PIMCO makes a big move into mortgages (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bill Gross, manager of the world's largest bond fund, ramped up buying of mortgage-backed securities in September on the likelihood the Federal Reserve's reinvestment program in those securities will boost prices significantly.

Gross increased mortgage debt to 38 percent of assets in his $242 billion PIMCO Total Return Fund (PTTRX.O) in September, from 32 percent in August, as the U.S. central bank announced last month that it "will now reinvest principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities."

PIMCO's latest bet on mortgages isn't going unnoticed.

Gross, who helps oversee $1.2 trillion as co-chief investment officer at PIMCO, made headlines earlier this year and came under heavy criticism when the manager widely known as the "bond king" bet heavily against U.S. Treasuries -- one of the biggest outperformers of this year.

His move into mortgage-backed securities also comes as the PIMCO Total Return fund's cash equivalents and money-market securities fell to negative 19 percent September, from negative 9 percent in August.

In having a so-called negative position in cash equivalents and money-market securities, it is an indication of derivative use and short-term securities being put up as collateral as a way to boost leverage and increase the fund's holdings in bonds with longer maturities such as mortgage-backed securities, Treasuries and corporate bonds, according to Eric Jacobson, director of fixed-income research at Morningstar who has covered PIMCO for more than a decade.

Over the years, some analysts in the fixed-income world have pointed out that Gross' use of derivatives to boost leverage and exposure to higher-yielding assets is what distinguishes the Total Return Fund from an ordinary plain vanilla bond fund.

"One very basic thing to know, too, is that PIMCO classifies anything with a duration of one year or shorter as cash -- regardless of sector," Jacobson added.

Jacobson said after careful examination of the PIMCO fund's effective duration of 7.14 years -- about double over the last six months -- "it doesn't necessarily mean PIMCO raised their pure interest-rate risk to the United States. They didn't double down on Treasuries."

Rather, PIMCO took on "loose" interest rate risk to other credit and government markets, he said, noting that the Total Return fund increased exposure in non-U.S. developed and emerging markets securities in September.

Duration is a bond's sensitivity to interest rate fluctuations, and going longer duration is an investment strategy when rates are expected to remain low or drop further and vice versa.

All told, the PIMCO Total Return fund's bad call on Treasuries earlier this year has cost it.

It is up only 1.06 percent year to date versus the benchmark BarCap U.S. Aggregate Index which is up 3.99 percent. But on a three-year basis, the fund is up 10.14 percent against the benchmark's 9.36 percent returns. The fund has also held up well over the last five years, with the fund up 7.80 percent versus the BarCap's 5.48 percent returns.

(Reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Matthew Goldstein and Andrew Hay)

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The U.S. Debt Default Chaos Makes Banks Look Vulnerable (The Motley Fool)

Just when the sluggish economy had started to show some encouraging signs, the news of the U.S. hitting the debt ceiling of $14.29 trillion reared its head. There have been several debates on whether to raise the ceiling. But now the only way out seems to be a hike in the debt limit, or else what would follow would be "catastrophic economic consequences," as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned.

The debt crisis has almost gobbled up economies such as Greece, Ireland, and Portugal. At the moment, it's staring us right in the face. And in case you think this debt demon would shy away from pouncing on the world's biggest economy -- you are being a bit too complacent. The U.S. budget deficit last year stood at 8.9% of gross domestic product. Standard & Poor's has already lowered its outlook for the U.S.' long-term credit rating to negative from stable, and the looming debt default poses a serious threat to its coveted AAA credit rating. While this is a huge concern, there are other problems gnawing at the edges.

The colossal debt burden is already projecting a negative image for the U.S., and this is prompting major foreign securities holders to trim their treasury holdings. China, the biggest foreign owner of U.S. debt, reduced its holdings by $9 billion in March, as compared to the previous month. This was a fifth consecutive monthly reduction.

Banks on the brink
Needless to say, almost all the industries would take a hit. One wrong move, and it could spell disaster. But at this point in time, the banking industry looks more vulnerable than others. The beleaguered American banks had somehow managed to keep themselves from collapsing during the ugly financial crisis. And now, when they are rebounding from the crisis, the possibility of the country defaulting on its debt raises an unavoidable question -- would the magnitude of the effects be a repeat of Lehman Brothers? Or something even worse?

U.S banks have been coming back strong after going through one of the worst phases in history. They are now focusing on declining provisions for loan losses. In fact, this has been a wide-ranging trend across the industry and has enabled both big banks such as Bank of America (NYSE: BAC - News) and Citigroup (NYSE: C - News) and regional banks such as BankAtlantic Bancorp (NYSE: BBX - News) and Hudson City Bancorp (Nasdaq: HCBK - News) to witness a significant improvement in their credit quality. Interest rates are at an all-time low at the moment and banks are reluctant to lend now.

If the U.S. defaults on its debts, interest rates will soar drastically and will hamper all commercial activities. Costs of credit ranging from business and consumer loans to home mortgages, auto financing, and credit cards would go through the roof. More importantly, a default would inevitably call for measures like cutting down on federal spending. Banks that buy bonds directly from the Federal Reserve, either to hold or resell to consumers, would take a severe hit, and this will subsequently cripple the whole economy.

The Foolish bottom line
But even if the U.S. manages to escape a default, which is more than likely to happen, the key question remains unanswered. How many times is the U.S. going to raise its ceiling? The massive public debt going out of control definitely remains a huge concern. In fact, as pointed out by JPMorgan, any delay in hiking the debt ceiling may have an adverse effect on the markets. Watch out, Fools.

Fool contributor Zeeshan Siddique does not own any of the stocks mentioned in the article.The Fool owns shares of Bank of America and also holds a short position in the stock in a different portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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