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Timothy Treadwell: Nobody friggin' knew that there are times when my life has been on the precipice of death!
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Timothy Treadwell: I'm sure gay people have problems, too.
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Timothy Treadwell: [chasing fox friend who stole Tim's hat] ... If that hat's in the den, I'm gonna fuckin' explode.
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Timothy Treadwell: [said after a long summer drought] I am the Lord's humble servant. I am Allah's disciple. I am the Floaty Thing's go-for boy. There has been a miracle here. There has been an absolute miracle. It has rained 1.65 inches of rain today!
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Timothy Treadwell: I will die for these animals, I will die for these animals, I will die for these animals.
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Sam Egli: That bear, I think, that day, decided that he had either had enough of Tim Treadwell or that something clicked in that bear's head that he thought 'Hey, you know, he might be good to eat.'
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Willy Fulton - Pilot: [singing along with song] Now the long horns are gone And the drovers are gone The Comanche's are gone And the outlaws are gone Now Quantro is gone Stan Watie is gone And the lion is gone And the Red Wolf is gone
Willy Fulton - Pilot: And Treadwell is gone...
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Timothy Treadwell: I've always wished I was gay, it would have been a lot easier. You know, it's just Bing! Bing! Bing! - gay guys, no problem. They go to restrooms and truck stops and perform sex, it's like so easy for them and stuff. But you know what? Alas, Timothy Treadwell is not gay. Bummer!
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Werner Herzog: And what haunts me, is that in all the faces of all the bears that Treadwell ever filmed, I discover no kinship, no understanding, no mercy. I see only the overwhelming indifference of nature. To me, there is no such thing as a secret world of the bears. And this blank stare speaks only of a half-bored interest in food. But for Timothy Treadwell, this bear was a friend, a savior.
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Timothy Treadwell: I'm in love with my animal friends. I'm in love with my animal friends! In love with my animal friends. I'm very, very troubled. It's very emotional. It's probably not cool even looking like this. I'm so in love with them, and they're so fucked over, which so sucks.
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Timothy Treadwell: I want rain. I want, if there's a God, to kick some ass down here. Let's have some water! Jesus boy! Let's have some water! Christ man or Allah or Hindu floaty thing! Let's have some fucking water for these animals!
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Timothy Treadwell: Well, its now after two o'clock on October 4th and the tent has caved in due to the storm and I'm still here with my little teddy bear "Teddypher the bear" and I think the storm has actually gotten a little weaker, but in the course of it getting stronger, it crushed the wall in and dent some of the poles and you really can't do much about it, because once they get like that, they stay just kinda bunged in and you're screwed and all that.
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Timothy Treadwell: [laughing] My tent crushed in and I love it. It's pathetic, but I love it.
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Timothy Treadwell: Oh my gosh! The bear, Miss Chocolate, has left me her poop! It's her crap! It was just in her butt and it's still warm! This is a gift from Miss Chocolate!
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The coroner: Here is Timothy's watch. I think you should have it.
Jewel Palovak: Thank you. Oh my gosh! It's still ticking! It's like a circle! I can't believe it still ticks.
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Werner Herzog: I believe the common denominator of the universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility, and murder.
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David Letterman: We're not going to open a newspaper one day and read about you being eaten by a bear, are we?
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[first lines]
Timothy Treadwell: I'm out in the prime cut of big green. Behind me is Ed and Rowdy, members of an up-and-coming sub-adult gang. They're challenging everything, including me. Goes with the territory. If I show weakness, if I retreat, I may be hurt, I may be killed. I must hold my own if I'm gonna stay within this land. For once there is weakness they will exploit it, they will take me out, they will decapitate me, they will chop me into bits and pieces. I'm dead. But so far, I persevere. Persevere.
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Timothy Treadwell: I would never, ever kill a bear in defense of my own life - would not go into a bear's home and kill a bear.
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Sam Egli: My opinion, I think Treadwell thought these bears were big, scary looking, harmless creatures that he could go up and pet and sing to, and they would bond as children of the universe or some odd. I think he lost sight of what was really going on.
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Marc Gaede - Ecologist: [reading a hate letter] "A bear diet consists of liberals and Dems and wacko environmentalists that think the spotted owl is the most important thing in the world. We need to somehow drastically increase the number of bears in America, especially in such key spots as the Berkley campus."
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Sven Haakanson Jr. - Alutiiq Museum Director: He tried to be a bear. He tried to act like a bear, and for us on the island, you don't do that. You don't invade on their territory.
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Timothy Treadwell: [petting a fox] You can see the bond that has developed between this very wild animal, and this vary, fairly wild person.
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Timothy Treadwell: They come here to Alaska and hear about Treadwell in the bush, and they want to go find him. Well, they can't. I'm hidden down below. No one knows where I am. Even I don't know where I am.
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Timothy Treadwell: [to loser of a courtship fight] I've had my troubles with the girls. Yeah, yeah. And I'll tell you something, if Saturn was a female human, I can just see how beautiful she is as a bear - I've always called her the Michelle Pfeiffer of bears out here.
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[last lines]
Werner Herzog: What remains is his footage. And while we watch the animals in their joys of being, in their grace and ferociousness, a thought becomes more and more clear. That it is not so much a look at wild nature, as it is an insight into ourselves, our nature. And that, for me, beyond his mission, gives meaning to his life and to his death.
Willy Fulton - Pilot: [singing along to Richard Thompson's "Coyotes", substituting Timothy Treadwell's name at strategic places]
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Timothy Treadwell: We're gonna need more rain. We need more rain! Downey is hungry! Tabitha's hungry! Melissa is eating her babies!
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Werner Herzog: [to Jewel, after he listens to the audio tape containing the violent death of Timothy and Amy. He is clearly shaken] I think you should not keep it, you should destroy it. I think that's what you should do, because it will be the white elephant in your room all your life.
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The coroner: It was on his wrist.
[touches her shoulder]
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Timothy Treadwell: Animals rule. Timothy conquered. Fuck you, Park Service!
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Himself - Coroner: I mean, these are human beings. And the question I ask is first of all: Who are you, Timothy? Who are you, Amie? And what happened to you?
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Sven Haakanson Jr. - Alutiiq Museum Director: He tried to act like a bear, and for us on the island, you don't do that. You don't invade on their territory... For him to act like a bear the way he did, to me it was the ultimate of disrespecting the bear and what the bear represents.
Werner Herzog: But he tried to protect the bears, didn't he?
Sven Haakanson Jr. - Alutiiq Museum Director: I think he did more damage to the bears... when you habituate bears to humans, they think all humans are safe... If I look at it from my culture, Timothy Treadwell crossed a boundary that we have lived with for 4,000 years.
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Sam Egli: We have a saying "He never scared the Horses".
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Timothy Treadwell: Expedition 2001 coming to an end for Grizzly People. For me, Timothy Treadwell. I came here and protected these animals as best I could. In fact, I'm the *only* protection for these animals. The government flying over a grand total of two times in two months. How dare they? How dare they challenge me? How dare they smear me with their campaigns? How dare they? When they do not look after these animals, and I come here in peace and love. Neutral and respect. I will continue to do this. I will fight them. I will be an American dissident if I need be. There's a patriotic time going on in right now but as far as this fucking government is concerned, fuck you, motherfucking Park Service!
Werner Herzog: [narrating over Treadwell's rant] Now, Treadwell crosses a line with the Park Service, which we will not cross. He attacks the individuals with whom he worked for thirteen years.
Timothy Treadwell: I beat your fucking asses. I protected the animals. I did it. Fuck you! Animals rule. Timothy conquered. Fuck you, Park Service! Okay?
Werner Herzog: It is clear to me that the Park Service is not Treadwell's real enemy. There's a larger, more implacable adversary out there. The people's world and civilization.
Timothy Treadwell: [imitating some unknown person] Yeah, Timothy I'm getting a bad feeling about you.
Werner Herzog: He only has mockery and contempt for it.
Timothy Treadwell: [still imitating] Well, I saw you on David Letterman. You're
[mock giggle]
Timothy Treadwell: fairly entertaining.
Werner Herzog: His rage is almost incandescent. Artistic. The actor in his film has taken over from the filmmaker. I have seen this madness before on a film set. But Treadwell is not an actor in opposition to a director or a producer. He's fighting civilization itself. It is the same civilization that cast Thoreau out of Walden and sent John Muir into the wild.
Timothy Treadwell: Animals rule. All right. That's my, uh, happy stuff. Let's do a couple of nice takes now. Oh, man. Did I get angry? Fuck them, right? They do not watch these animals. They don't care about these animals. All they want to do is screw people like me around. It's amazing! Let the fisherman fucking shoot the animals. Let the fuckin' poachers come in here and fuck 'em. Let the fuckin' commercial people come in and fuck 'em with their fuckin' cameras and shit and the tourists. But we're gonna go screw with Timothy Treadwell because he loves animals and teaches kids they're great. Let's do that. That's what we're gonna do. Well, fuck them. Fuck them. I beat you. I beat you, motherfuckers. I beat you. I beat you. Fuck you! I beat you. I beat ya! I'm the champion. I'm the fuckin' champion! I beat your fuckin' asses! Fuckin' losers! Fucking nobodies! Fuck! Fuckin' fucks!
[Treadwell pauses for a moment and then smiles]
Timothy Treadwell: Well, Expedition 2001 safely coming to an end. The bears moving safely into their winter dens. The foxes hiding in the woods. I came here. I studied them. Protected them. And I promise you. I promise for Grizzly People. I will be back. I will be back. And I thank the animals for keeping me safe and for inspiring me. I thank them so very much. Goodbye.
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Sam Egli: Treadwell was, I think, meaning well. Trying to do things to help the resource of the bears. But, to me, he was acting like he was working with people wearing bear costumes out there, instead of wild animals. Those bears are big and ferocious and they come equipped to kill you and eat you and that's just what Treadwell was asking for. He got what he was asking for. He got what he deserved, in my opinion. The tragedy of it was taking the girl with him. I think the only reason that Treadwell lasted as long in the game as he did, was that the bears probably thought there was something wrong with him, like he was mentally retarded or something. That bear, I think, that day, decided that he had either had enough of Tim Treadwell or that something clicked in that bear's head that he thought 'Hey, you know, he might be good to eat.' My opinion, I think Treadwell thought these bears were big, scary looking, harmless creatures that he could go up and pet and sing to, and they would bond as children of the universe or some odd. I think he had lost sight of what was really going on.
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[Ghost, a fox Treadwell has befriended, has gone into Treadwell's tent and stolen his hat]
Timothy Treadwell: Oh, goddamn it! I can't believe this! GHOST! Ghost, where's that fucking hat? That hat is so frigging valuable for this trip. Ghost, you come back here with that friggin' hat. If it's in the den, I'm gonna fucking explode.
Grizzly Man Quotes
Extended Reading
