Sunday, July 12, 2026

Exclusive: Will Smith’s Oscar Acceptance Speech Lifted “River to My People” Line from “Lawrence of Arabia”

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Will Smith’s tearful Oscar acceptance speech — his tears were like a river. And Will said in the speech he was being called upon to be “river to my people.”

Yes, well, Anthony Quinn said the exact same thing in “Lawrence of Arabia.” The French Prince lifted that line without attribution. Sharp eared spies in Hollywood alerted me to the simularities.

The speech is so tedious and self serving who knows where else it comes from? And it was clearly written for Will between the slap and the opening of the envelope.

line comes in at 2:07

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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