Joan Vollmer: So, do they have ruins down in Guatemala?
William S. Burroughs: It's all ruins. Or it all will be, given enough time.
Joan Vollmer: Ah, just like people.
William S. Burroughs: Yes. But people decay more promptly than Mayan temples.
Beat (2000)
1 quote
Directed by: Gary Walkow
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Courtney Love, Lisa Sheridan, Patricia Llaca
Genres: Drama
Factual error: In the epilogue text, the movie claims that author William S. Burroughs "got a good lawyer, claimed that the gun discharged accidentally, and was absolved of Joan Vollmer's killing." This is patently untrue, as is most of the content of the film. In point of fact, Burroughs was arrested for the shooting of Joan Vollmer (his common-law wife), he gave wildly conflicting accounts of the incident to police, and he spent two weeks in the Mexico City jail before making bail. Burroughs was ordered to remain in Mexico City and report to authorities once a week, which he did for a year, pending his trial. When his "good lawyer" also shot somebody and fled the country, Burroughs fled back to the USA to escape prosecution in Mexico. A Mexican court found Burroughs guilty of manslaughter (in absentia). He was never "absolved" of the killing.
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