This is one of the most famous scenes in movie history. It has been copied, mocked, duplicated, and quoted since the movie was first released more than 25 years ago. It's one of the most iconic scenes in the movie.
It was also not in the script. Not one word.
Ben Stein was lecturing the extras who were in the classroom during their down time. Writer/director John Hughes heard him and decided to film him giving his lecture. Hughes told him just to teach something he knew well, so Ben Stein gave his famous lecture on the Laffer Curve completely unscripted.
This is a lesson to all of you writers and writer/directors who are too proud, too stubborn, too stuck up to let anyone (anyone? anyone?) give you input on your script. Be open to the ideas of others, especially the creative talent you have on set interpreting your work. They may end up making you look more brilliant and funny than you actually are.
If your name is Woody Allen, you may ignore this. You have more than earned that right.
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