The Fall of the House of Usher (TV Mini Series)

The Raven (2023)

Carla Gugino: Verna

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Quotes 

• Verna : What happens to you when the Ushers are gone? Which is imminent, by the way. You've enjoyed a sense of immunity throughout your life, but it isn't yours. It's theirs. Just reflected.

  Arthur Pym : Let me guess. You can do something about that.

  Verna : I can. Like I said to one of my clients, when I'm done you can stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and it won't cost you a thing.

  Arthur Pym : Is his tab coming due any time soon? Even I've got my limits.

  Verna : Fortunato Pharma will be dissolved in a bankruptcy settlement. The family trust will turn over 4.5 billion, including federal settlement fees paid in installments over nine years.

  Arthur Pym : It's a pretty sweet deal.

  Verna : It's a fucking Christmas present. It's a slap on the wrist that comes with a blowjob.

  Arthur Pym : And you can make this happen?

  Verna : Oh no. This will happen without me. Humanity will shit that bed themselves. Corporate justice in this world is a punchline.

  Arthur Pym : Then... what are you offering?

  Verna : There's a file. Camille L'Espanaye was very good at what she did. She had a file on everyone. Even you. Barely scratches the surface, but the surface alone will get you 20 to life. It gets found, or it doesn't. So you can either ride the phoenix out of Fortunato's ashes, or you can watch it fly away from a federal prison cell. This I can do.

  Arthur Pym : What are you asking in return?

  Verna : What do you have, Arthur, in this life you've built for yourself? What assets have you acquired? I'm not interested in money, property, or stock options. True assets. What have you got? No spouse. No children. No familial connections. At least, none that you care about. But everyone loves something. And in that love, there's collateral.

  Arthur Pym : No. I have no collateral. Collateral is leverage. And I won't be leveraged. No man or woman has leveraged me in seventy years of life. And I'm not going to cede that ground, not this close to the end. So, thank you for your consideration and for your generous offer. But I think I'll play out my hand, if it's all the same time to you.

  Verna : Fair enough. Thank you. This has been a pleasure.

• Roderick Usher : I guess we've finally come to it. Haven't we? World without pain. That was the whole point. Nobody can stomach a little discomfort. It hurts. It hurts and they cry and cry, and I took it away! I reached in and I snuffed out those flames in their backs, in their joints, in their heads, in their hands. I waved my wand, wasn't enough. Was never enough. They just kept wanting more. More and more.

  Verna : Oh, honey. Don't kid a kidder. Did you drive here like that? When was the last time you drove your own car? And tonight you do it barefoot. Good for you. You know, I've worked with a lot of truly influential people over the years, but when it comes to sheer body count, you're in my top five. Take a look. Those are your bodies. They'd each be alive today if it weren't for you. New one every five minutes. Just in the States, but... open it up to the world. Why did you come here tonight? On your way home. Your real home. Was it to say goodbye? One last look at your great tower. Your pyramid. That's your true monument, Roderick. Out there. It's a wonder of the world. And it's eternal. That's your legacy.

• Verna : 84,000 people just last year. Just in the U.S. And that's just a guess. It's impossible to know the real numbers. 941,878 since 1985. Again, just the U.S. Again, just a guess. But we know better, don't we? Millions, Roderick. Millions. And that's just the deaths. Who knows how many more are addicted. Ruined. Your tally is... fucking impressive, Roderick Usher

• Verna : So what would you do to make your dreams come true? People talk a good game, but money where your mouth is. What would you be willing to do? For example, what if I told you right now that you could achieve all the success you ever imagined? All the money. All the power. A lifetime of luxury. Comfort. What would you do? What would you give?

• Verna : You feel it. Both of you. In the air. We're sitting outside of time and space. This is the moment luck meets opportunity.

• Verna : What's more loving? Forty years, 50 years of a gilded life? Or 70, 80 years of anxiety, tribulation, and heartache?

• Verna : One of my favorite things about human beings. Starvation, poverty, disease, you could fix all that, just with money. And you don't. I mean, if you took just a little bit of time off the vanity voyages, pleasure cruising, billionaire space race, hell, you stopped making movies and TV for one year and you spent that money on what you really need, you could solve it all. With some to spare.