The Terry Fox Story (1983) Movie Script
1
Yeah! Beat you, Alward.
What's the score now?
- Fifty-six, thirty-four.
- Thirty-three.
Last score doesn't count.
We agreed on that, Doug.
You agreed on that.
Trick knee my ass.
Didn't start the counting today,
did it?
Didn't come up lame today, did I?
You got your car with you?
- Yeah, I got my car.
- Great. You can give me a ride home.
So, what's for supper?
So nice of the crown prince
to drop in.
Sorry about that, Ma.
I missed my ride.
Bullshit. You were playing
one-on-one with Doug.
- Shut up, jerk.
- P.U.
Somebody smells
like a locker room in here.
You hang around a lot
of locker rooms, do you?
- Thanks.
- Dad!
- Terr, what's this, crimes-ology?
- No, kinesiology.
- It's the study of mostly...
- I don't care how you pronounce it.
It's just, your dad and I
wanted to know.
- You wanted to know, Betty.
- What this kinesiology...
is going to get you
when you graduate, may I ask?
- Cover Girl in the second?
- I don't know.
We eat with a fork and knife
around here.
Figured on being maybe a gym teacher
or something like that.
I thought we decided on something
a little more professional.
What, like Guy Le Fleur or Bobby Orr?
No, like medicine or pharmacology.
Don't be rude.
Don't you even know
what a real profession is, dummy?
Listen to the expert talking.
Queen of the locker rooms.
- What's wrong with your leg?
- I just twisted it. It's okay.
Listen, right after supper, I want to
sit down, discuss this kinesiology.
Can't, Ma.
I got to study for an exam.
Will you get the gravy?
After the exam will do fine.
Can't. Tomorrow night we're playing
U of A. It's the big tournament.
I see.
It's like your dad says.
You're all grown up now.
You don't need my approval anymore.
But, before you sit down,
nip upstairs and make your bed.
- Come on, Mom. I'm starving.
- Poor little Terry.
Dad, do I?
Want some help with
your hospital corners, Terry?
- Come on. Watch out.
- Are you a low fist man? Okay.
- Watch out!
- Ali and Frazier are at it again.
You big jerks.
- I got you.
- Can anyone get into this?
Go get them, Rolly.
Ready for the big time?
It's the old man again.
Cut his arm off.
- Help. Get his other arm.
- Okay.
I got this arm. Go got him.
- Jesus Christ, Judith!
- What happened? I'm sorry.
Maybe it's serious.
Maybe it's ligaments?
Is that it, Dad?
Do I need an operation?
Terry, you got a malignant tumor
in your knee.
- What's that?
- That's cancer.
So, we're going to have
to amputate your leg.
Start chemotherapy treatments
to kill any cancer cells...
that may be circulating in your body.
- You're going to cut off my leg?
- Yes. I'll be frank with you.
You have a fifty to seventy percent
chance of survival.
- Now, two years ago...
- You're going to cut off my leg.
I don't believe this.
Shit, what the hell am I going to do
without my leg?
- Don't swear, Terry.
- How can you say that to me?
They're going to cut off my leg.
They're going to cut off my leg.
Okay.
Now, this is only temporary...
until your stump
quits changing shape.
Go ahead. Put all your weight
into the bucket.
Go on, all of it. Yes. That's it.
It feels funny,
like my leg's still there.
Okay.
Now, I want you to try it.
Come on. It's not going to fall off.
It's held on by suction.
It's really weird.
It's like stepping on air.
"Your treatment, Terry, is going
to take twelve to fourteen months."
"But, after you've been here
for a few weeks..."
"you'll be able to spend
most of that at home."
"Now, I have to warn you that
chemotherapy is not very pleasant."
"We use two very powerful drugs,
adreomycin and methotrexate."
"They have very strong side effects."
"You're going to lose your hair,
although that'll grow back."
"You're going to be very sick
to your stomach."
"I must warn you that there's also
some danger of heart failure."
Forget it!
I'm not doing this anymore!
- Mr. Fox.
- Forget it. Leave me alone.
- Forget it!
- Orderly!
Orderly!
Yeah, okay. I'm caught.
That's pretty good.
Thanks. I just picked it up
a few weeks ago.
I'm already another Picasso.
Anyway, it keeps you away
from the zombies for a while.
Yeah, how do you stand this place?
Well, you either fight it
or you give up and eat poppies.
Bob Cady, Hodgkin's disease.
Terry Fox, sarcoma of the knee.
So, they chopped it off
and all's well that ends well?
Yeah, I guess so. How about you?
Me? I was supposed to drop dead
last October...
but the treatments are working.
I chuck my guts out every day
for five or six hours.
But, the tumor is gone.
Chest is clear.
Call me bloody Lazarus.
Hey, listen, do you mind
if I do your picture?
Yeah, sure. Okay.
When are you going to get
out of there, Terry?
- I got to go to school.
- Buzz off, will you?
Are you washing the car in there
or something?
You've been in there
for twenty-five minutes.
Would you shut up, for God's sake?
Yeah!
Beat you Alward, ya bastard.
Beat me?
The finish line was back there.
No way.
It's always been this Rick rock.
Rick rock? My ass.
The finish line is the garbage bin.
You just can't stand losing, can you?
Rick rock.
Where'd you get that one?
So, what's bothering you?
Can't I look out a window
without having a problem?
Cheeky now.
I know when you're burdened.
This is so ridiculous, racing Doug
up and down that bloody mountain.
Where's it going to get me,
put rockets in my wheelchair...
and shoot for the bloody sun?
You're overdoing it, you know?
You got your basketball
four nights a week.
- Sit-ups. Push-ups.
- You think so, do you?
You're dropping barbells
all over the floor upstairs.
You're knocking plaster
off the ceiling.
That's because I never felt better
in my life.
Listen to you.
They're calluses.
- You know what we should do?
- No.
Just before Dad and the kids
get home...
let's you and me slip out
down to the pub for a beer or two.
I can't go to a pub tonight.
I got chemotherapy tomorrow.
So that's it.
- I hate that place.
- Come on.
Terry, you're almost through.
The results are negative.
Can't stand to see people
hurt so much.
Look, even your hair is growing back.
It's all curly now.
Don't, Mom.
Come on.
Come on.
- Come on.
- Just leave me alone.
Hello?
Let me out of here!
You've got to help me
get out of here!
Please, help me.
Help me!
Will someone please help me?
Bob?
Bob?
Bob Cady?
- Help me.
- Help. Nurse?
Nurse!
- Help me.
- Help me!
Look, you want to play
a little one-on-one?
Don't jump on the rebounds, I don't
want to run you over with my chair.
I know. Don't worry, I'm fast.
- You are pretty good at this.
- I've done it before.
Thanks a lot.
Hi.
Hi.
Hi, I'm Terry Fox, and I'd...
Look, you've got a really,
really great jump shot.
That's it, Gogie! You did it!
That was great!
You did it. You'll be ordering
a cheeseburger, fries and a shake...
in a couple of weeks.
Gogie, I'll be right back.
You wait right here, okay? Here.
- Hi there.
- Hi.
I was sort of just passing by.
Who was that guy you were with?
That's Gogie.
He's mentally handicapped.
- Look, what's your name?
- Rika.
- Mine's Terry Fox.
- I know.
Look, on Friday nights
I don't do too much.
How about you?
Not much.
Maybe we could do it together.
I mean...
Maybe go to dinner or...
Rika, would you go out with me?
No.
- Of course I would.
- You would?
Sure, but right now I got to go.
- See you.
- Okay. Bye-bye.
You don't mind if I hold your hand?
No, go ahead.
But you're supposed to be shy.
I don't feel shy when I'm with you.
Come on. You can't even
look at me in the eye.
Yeah, sure I can.
I like looking at you.
Then look.
See?
There's a couple of things
you should probably know about me.
Like what?
Well, for one thing,
I'm a champion arm wrestler.
You're a champion arm wrestler.
- Yeah. Come on.
- Okay.
- Ready?
- Yes.
Positive?
Watch out.
- What was the other thing?
- What other thing?
The other thing I'm supposed to know
about you.
I'm a Christian.
So?
So, it's important to me,
believing in God, and...
when I get close to someone, I like
to know how they feel about God, too.
I don't know what I feel about God,
but I know how I feel about you.
Now I'm your slave?
Here, let me get you up here.
What are you touching that for?
Because it's you.
Look, don't. Not my hair.
Come on. Come here.
I'll do it real gently
and I'll comb out every curl. Okay?
Look, you may
not understand this, but...
losing my hair was worse
than losing my leg.
When I lost my leg,
I figured that was it.
That was the price I had to pay,
and I paid it.
But losing my hair...
just reminds me of the cancer inside.
You just don't know
what it's like in that clinic.
Little kids, babies, with things
growing out the side of their heads.
One night, I go to bed. There was
this kid in this bed across from me.
When I woke up in the morning,
he was gone...
and there was another kid in the bed,
looking scared to death.
He didn't even know
what he was in for.
Hey, what's this?
- That's a leg.
- See, I told you.
You're crazy.
You're going to wreck your stump.
Not if you build me a bucket
that fits right.
Yeah.
How does the leg work now?
It works fine.
The first couple laps hurt.
It takes a long time for my right leg
to come through, though.
My left leg has to take
all the stress.
Yeah.
Got a couple of blisters, too,
but I did it. I ran a whole mile.
Yeah.
Look, they want us to drive
up the road and see where he is.
No. He'll be here.
- See you, Rika.
- Bye.
All right, Terry!
Go for it!
Come on, Terry!
What are you doing?
Terry.
What are you doing?
I saw it.
Give me that.
You're going to wake him up.
Would you stop it? Stop it.
Rika, come on.
- What? Come on what?
- Not here.
Why not here?
In front of everyone?
So what? What's wrong with
showing how you feel?
- They're all asleep, anyway.
- Doug's not asleep.
Yeah, but he's driving.
He's also looking
in the rearview mirror.
What's he going to see in the dark?
Silly bunny.
- Rika, can you keep a secret?
- Sure.
Next summer,
I'm going to run across Canada.
- You mean all the way across Canada?
- You don't believe I can do it.
No, I know you can do it.
You can do anything you want to.
That's what I love about you.
All I meant was that
can your body take it?
Yeah, sure my body can take it.
All right. So what's the big secret?
I just don't want Mom finding out.
You're kidding.
The doctor's office called at three,
wondering where you were.
Yeah.
Hey, Mom?
Next summer,
I'm going to run across Canada.
- No, you're not.
- Yes, Mom, I am.
Terry, you're doing no such thing.
Mom, look, I'm not asking
your permission. I'm telling you.
I'm telling you that
that's the dumbest idea...
I ever heard, okay?
You running across...
You know, I knew you're going
to say something like that to me.
You don't understand anything I do.
You don't even know why I run.
Go ahead. Run!
Run marathons!
Run across this continent!
- You got all your doctors here!
- There's doctors everywhere!
You're enrolled in university.
You got your whole life...
to prepare for.
So why on Earth?
I'll tell you why. I want to help
raise money to fight cancer.
If you want to do something
to fight cancer...
you just stop pretending to forget
your X-ray appointments, okay?
I'm running
whether you like it or not.
Who's going to tell Dad,
me or you?
I will.
Thanks, Mom.
Sit down, shut up,
and don't yell when I tell you.
Is this about Judith?
No. It's Terry.
He's got this bright idea
he's going to run across Canada.
When?
That's five, seven,
seven divided by sixteen.
- Wait a minute.
- What?
Five hundred and seventy-seven miles
in sixteen days.
That's more than
thirty-six miles a day.
Even you can't run
thirty-six miles a day, King Kong.
Look, I want to end up back here
September sixth.
I wouldn't count on getting back here
before December.
Terry, it's five thousand
one hundred and fifty miles.
Yeah, it means I'll have to move.
That's all.
I don't want to be running
in Alberta in wintertime.
- It's thirty below in Calgary.
- It's forty below in Winnipeg...
and that's before Calgary.
What are we talking about?
It'll be winter in Newfoundland
when you start.
How come you're starting there?
How come you're going all the way
to Newfoundland to start?
Why don't you just start here?
Open the door and run.
Even the wind blows
from west to east.
I don't know.
I guess, I just always wanted
to run home.
Thanks a lot.
Okay, look,
I've got it figured out now.
Run twenty-six miles a day.
That's a marathon a day, right?
Wake up five in the morning.
Run six miles before breakfast.
You can pace me in the van.
What do you mean I can pace you?
Well, you're coming aren't you?
Nice of you to let me know
what I'm going to be doing...
for the next nine months.
Look. I need someone who can drive
and someone who knows running.
Someone who will put up
with your crap, you mean.
- Can I come?
- Get lost.
Look at your leg.
You look at it.
- You're bleeding, Terr.
- Yeah, I know. It does that.
My stump's got to get used to it.
You don't even know
when you're hurting yourself.
- Get upstairs and wash it off.
- I'm just taking a break right now.
- I've still got seven miles to go.
- You'll get an infection.
I'm not going to get an infection.
I know my own body, for God's sake.
I can't stand what this is doing
to you. It's all you think about.
It's just driving yourself to death
and everybody else crazy.
Well, I'm going to stick my right leg
in the Atlantic Ocean.
Then I'm going to run across Canada
and stick it in the Pacific Ocean.
What...
what makes you think
that you can run that far?
I'm running thirteen miles a day
right now. You want to see me run?
No. That won't be necessary.
Look, this is a good idea.
I mean it'll raise a million dollars.
If you'll sponsor me.
You are going to sponsor me.
So, they're not going to sponsor you.
Yeah. They'll sponsor me
if I raise the money.
Great.
So, what are you going to need?
You better make a list.
Well, I'm going to need a van,
food...
I don't know, running shoes, legs.
You better start writing letters,
you know, like to Ford, Adidas...
GM, Puma.
- You write them for me.
- Why me?
Because your English is better
than mine.
What do I tell them?
Tell them I'm going to run
a marathon a day...
for seven months.
I'm going to make it.
Tell them about the kids
in the hospital...
and how their hurting
has got to stop.
Tell them I believe in miracles
because I have to.
What's the matter, Terry?
Hey.
I think we ought to break it off
for a little while.
I don't get it.
Look, you don't understand.
I can't think of anything
but this run.
I don't care.
I'm not jealous of the run.
Look, I'll go with you on the run.
Rika, you don't understand. I don't
want to think of anybody else.
Do you experience
any shortness of breath?
No.
- Dizziness?
- No.
Rapid tiring?
No.
You're going to run with
or without my blessing?
Doctor, I feel fine.
I've already run over
three thousand miles in practice.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Rika, if I tell you something,
you promise not to tell anyone?
Sure.
I'm getting those dizzy spells again.
Doctors think I have
an enlarged heart.
Why do you tell me a thing like that?
Look, you're the only one
I can talk to.
Thanks a lot.
"Hey, Rika.
I'm going to commit suicide,
but don't tell anybody."
Boy, you've got
a heart problem all right.
Rika, I want you to come with me.
Last week, you tell me you don't
have the time of day for me.
Now, you expect me to drop everything
on two weeks notice...
and just take off for six or seven
months with two guys in a camper.
- One of whom might drop dead.
- Rika, I need you.
Yeah, you need me
to take care of you.
I thought that's what you wanted.
Terry, when are you going to grow up?
You got to start giving a little.
What do you think
I'm doing this run for?
Rika, please come.
Terry.
I'll tell you why.
Once I wanted to, but...
- No way.
- Give me one good reason why not.
- What do you think I've been doing?
- Give me another one, then.
- Okay, Gogie.
- What?
- The retarded kid I teach.
- Yeah, I know.
What's more important, a retarded kid
or me running across Canada?
They're both important.
Terry?
Terry.
On behalf of all fair citizens,
I commend you...
for this tremendous undertaking,
this motivation.
I wish you personal health.
And I thank you so very much for
what you're doing for all of us...
in your marathon of hope.
We hope with you.
God bless you.
Thank you.
Well, I guess
this is where it all begins.
This morning
I was down at Cape Spear...
and I dipped my foot
in the Atlantic Ocean.
It's chilly, I bet you, my boy!
Actually, I didn't feel a thing
with this leg.
The reason I'm running is to raise
money for cancer research and...
Well, thank you very much.
- I hope you make it.
- Well, I'm sure going to try.
Get me a dry sock.
Hurry up, will you?
Jesus, Murphy.
Come on.
I can't stand out here all day.
Give me a break.
I only need one sock, you klutz.
Where the hell are we?
Somewhere between Chapel Arm
and Norman's Cove.
Jesus Christ, I'm not even running
twenty miles a day.
Did you flush?
Oh my God. What the...
What? Oh, that.
That's your good cooking.
Can't you at least dump it yourself?
Didn't you say that all I had to do
is run and you'd look after my crap?
- Hi.
- Morning.
Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi you, boy.
Hey!
Hey. So, you be Terry Fox.
Yeah, that's right.
I'm running across Canada.
Well, ain't you got the nerve.
- God bless you, my son.
- Okay, bye-bye.
I'm not saying
he's going to make it...
and I'm not saying he ain't going to
make it. Doesn't really matter.
What matters is he's making
a lot of people feel happy.
Hi.
That was more than a goddamn mile.
I couldn't pull over back there.
Listen, you can't take a rest now.
We're behind schedule.
There are people waiting up ahead.
What are you trying to do to me?
You keep pushing me like this
and I'm not going to make it.
I'm not pushing you.
Look, we'll cancel if you want.
I don't care.
- It doesn't matter.
- Just get lost.
Yeah, so where is everybody?
I called the mayor's office
yesterday.
They got the days mixed up.
What about the radio station
and the newspaper people?
Did you talk to anyone?
The Cancer Society guy
was supposed to set up the press.
That's your job, asshole.
- Will you turn that damn thing off?
- It's four-thirty.
Buzz off. I feel shitty.
Yesterday, you threw a fit
when I woke you five minutes late.
Didn't you hear me?
I'm not running.
You're not running?
Why didn't you tell me before?
I could have slept in, too.
Why didn't you tell me a month ago?
You just don't give a damn, do you?
You're the one that doesn't give
a damn, you selfish bastard!
Treat me like some dumb flunky.
"Where's my sock?
Where's my chocolate bar? What's
this thing floating in my water?
Where's the million people gathered
around, ready to kiss my feet?"
You don't give a damn about anyone
but yourself.
You don't know what I'm going through
out there, do you?
This is just one big ego trip
for you.
You know sometimes I don't know
whether I'm going to make it.
I don't give a damn
whether you make it or not.
You know something?
You're an asshole!
Okay. I promised I'd drive,
so I'll drive one mile at a time.
But, that's all I'm doing for you
anymore.
You jerk.
"This ferry is due to arrive
in North Sydney, Nova Scotia...
in approximately one hour."
- Hi.
- Hi.
Hi.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
- Bye-bye.
- Bye.
I bet some of you out there
feel sorry for me.
Well, don't.
Artificial legs
have their advantages.
I broke my right knee a few times
and I didn't feel a thing.
To me, the important part of this run
is that cancer can be beaten.
So, when you're cheering
and clapping for me...
you're not just cheering
and clapping for me, you're...
There's also someone else
in this run with me.
My friend, Doug, is helping me.
Some days, when everything
seems a little too much...
the last twelve miles feels like
the hardest thing in the world to me.
I bitch at Doug because...
he's the only one there
that I can bitch at.
It's just not fair to him...
because, you know, he gets no credit,
just my bitching.
People say I have courage.
I'm not just the only one.
You didn't tell me
you had a heart problem.
Who told you that?
Rika. Just like you told
those people today.
I mean,
why couldn't you tell me that?
Why don't you care?
I don't even know
why you run anymore.
I mean...
- you run so angry.
- Sometimes, I am angry.
I'm angry because...
Forget it.
Well, don't get angry at me...
because I'm trying, too.
When you get mad, Doug,
why don't you just say so?
I mean, so we can argue it out.
I can't argue with you.
You'd always win.
You've been practicing with
your family for so many years.
Let's just knock this off, okay?
Okay?
Yeah, okay.
Except, you gotta stop calling me
asshole. I really hate that.
Yeah, okay.
Darrell, what are you doing here?
Yeah, so, where is everyone?
It's six-thirty in the morning.
Oh, yeah?
Hey, everybody under sheets
and blankets, rise and shine.
Terry Fox is here
on the marathon of hope.
Good morning, Evanston.
Everybody,
come out and meet Terry Fox.
He's running five thousand miles
across Canada
to raise money for cancer research.
Come on out
and make your donations.
A dollar from every Canadian
to raise the money for cancer.
Come on, everybody. Rise and shine.
Come out and meet Terry Fox.
He's running five thousand miles.
You asshole!
What?
To Montreal, a lift?
I'm running across Canada to help
raise money for cancer research.
How are you?
Terry, I'm Bill Vigars.
The guy from The Cancer Society
from Toronto?
Yeah.
Drove all night to meet you.
Man, it's cold out here.
And what, you're Doug? Darrell?
- Darrell.
- Right. Yeah.
Nice.
Smells like a shithouse in here.
How can you stand it?
Wait a minute. Terry?
Wait. Terry?
Terry, we got plans to discuss.
Terry? I got plans that I want
to discuss with you.
I want to talk to you about Ontario.
- Ontario?
- Yeah.
What about Quebec? People don't
even know what I'm doing here.
Yesterday,
I actually got offered rides.
Yeah? Male or female?
I mean, it's pathetic.
I've run a hundred miles
and raised thirty-five dollars.
All right, I got a plan.
Four months ago,...
you're just an item on page 47
of the Toronto Star.
Yesterday, your picture
was on page eight.
By the time we cross Ottawa River,
you could be national news.
So, if you tell me
your working schedule...
when you run and all,
I'll try to work around it, alright?
I'm up to twenty-six miles a day now.
I guess I better pick up the pace
a little bit.
No, slow down. Just hold back
a little bit, all right?
- You know what you need to do?
- What?
Lose your spare tire here.
No. What I'm trying to say is
we can't reach the Ontario border...
until June twenty-seventh.
Look, I've got my stride up now.
Everything is working for me good...
and you said you're going to run
around my schedule.
Do you want to run or raise money?
Because I got the whole thing
arranged. If you'll listen to me...
I'm telling you,
Toronto is the place to raise money.
In Ontario we can get
between five and ten...
more than five million dollars.
On July eleventh...
Wait. July eleventh...
I'll have the whole city of Toronto
out waiting for you. I promise.
Yeah, that's great,
but what about Quebec?
- Don't people get cancer in Quebec?
- I don't know.
Jesus Christ. I don't...
Let me tell you something, Terry.
Even in Toronto, where there's going
to be a lot of hype, remember this.
Some people are going to shit
all over you...
because they don't understand
what you're doing.
Do you understand what I'm doing?
Yeah, I think I do. Yeah.
- Are you ready to order?
- Okay...
I'll have the waffles
and the eggs with hash browns...
a hamburger medium-rare and...
Well, you might as well
just bring everything...
on this side of the menu,
and a vanilla shake.
I'll have the same, please.
Go, Terry, go!
Go, Terry, go!
Go, Terry, go.
Go, Terry, go!
Another eight miles and we should
be there by two o'clock, okay?
You can count on it.
We saved our milk money this week
and our teacher chipped in, too.
Here's seventeen dollars
and we think you're great.
Thank you.
"Terry, Jim Thompson, CTV News."
- "How's the leg holding up?"
- "Which one?"
"Jeff Lyons,
City Post News, Toronto."
"What do you think about out there
on the road?"
"I think one day at a time."
"When I'm running,
I think one mile at a time."
"Take one telephone pole at a time."
"I guess, I'm reaching for those
telephone poles to pull me along."
"I think of home a lot."
"I think of running to Vancouver,
right down to the ocean."
"I keep thinking,
if I take another step..."
"I'm going to make it."
"I just got to keep on going."
See what's behind us?
Mommy, he's coming!
Hurry up!
He's coming up the road!
You'll be there, he'll be there.
Alright.
Thank you.
I'm Jill. Come with me,
I got my own place.
Terry, wait. Please.
Excuse me. Coming through.
Step back, please. Step back.
Please, step back.
Terry?
You're running for my Jeffrey,
you know.
Now, he's at home with cancer.
Yeah, you're right.
I am running for your Jeffrey.
There's a speech back in Oshawa.
There's a shopping plaza
at Pickering.
Tonight, there's a big reception
at Scarborough Civic Center. Okay?
- Did I agree to that?
- Yeah.
It's all geared
to the Toronto schedule right here.
I've still got eight miles to go.
I guess that means I have to move it.
Look, Terry.
You may not understand this...
but I love you.
It's crazy working
for The Cancer Society.
I don't even know what cancer is.
Then, I hear you talking
to that woman out there.
Come on, Terry!
Let's go, Terry! Let's go!
Hi, Mom.
Look at all these people.
Now do you think
I'm going to make it?
What kind of question is that?
I always knew you'd make it.
You got to make it.
The toast of Toronto
and the hero of all Canada.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Terry Fox.
We love Terry!
We love Terry!
Go, Terry, go!
Go, Terry, go!
Give us a little room here.
Joggers bugging you?
Pop in for their few minutes of glory
and then pop out again.
But, I'm the one who runs
a whole twenty-six miles.
Okay, I'll get rid of them.
Don't worry.
No, I don't want any.
How would you like to run
with a Mr. Peanut instead?
Mister who?
You know, the guy who goes around
as a giant peanut...
with a top hat and a monocle?
Now, don't laugh.
Now Planter's is going to make
a big donation.
Okay, then.
How about if you jump
into a snappy new car...
and drive off into the sunset
on a beach in the Pacific?
I have a car dealer
that's willing to contribute...
a hundred thousand dollars
and let you keep the car.
- I'm not a car salesman neither.
- I'll keep the car.
Okay, but look, Terry.
We got to make that reception
in Barrie tonight.
How far is it to Barrie?
Five miles.
What do they want from me, blood?
Look, Terry.
- Back up there.
- You okayed all this in Toronto.
Back away please, folks.
Some privacy now, please.
It's a water break. Please back up.
We'll give you your...
Stop with the camera.
In Quebec, you're pissed off because
we weren't getting the people out.
Now you're complaining...
because they won't leave you alone.
Now what do you want?
You didn't tell me
about the extra miles.
I thought you'd be happy
with the extra fundraising.
What happens
if I don't finish this run?
- What do you mean by that?
- I'm not the bionic man.
Terry...
The Society is counting on
that reception in Barrie.
If you don't show, it's my ass.
I could be back
selling encyclopedias. You know?
Good luck, Terry.
You're doing a great job, Terry.
We're with you.
Thank you very much.
Thanks. Hey!
Bill, where is this kid?
I got the mayor and 400 people
waiting in there.
He was supposed to be here
three quarters of an hour ago.
That wasn't five miles.
It was more like ten.
We're almost halfway there.
Once we get to the top
of Cavers Mountain...
it's downhill all the way
to The Rocky Mountains.
Yep.
All right. Go ahead, say it.
One of the first things
you ever said to me...
when I met you was there'd be
people shitting on me.
You didn't tell me
you're going to be one of them.
Look, Terry,
I'm sorry about the ten miles.
The local guy told me it would be...
- between five and six miles.
- It's not just the ten miles.
It's the run.
It's not mine anymore.
Everything's going just as we planned
including my being a bastard...
but boy, you sure can be one, too.
No more extra miles.
Okay. It's a deal.
Bill, did you really sell
encyclopedias?
Yes. Encyclopedias and peanuts,
rubbers, you know, a lot of things.
- Do you need a hand?
- No. I'm okay, Bill.
You want to just toss me a towel?
Thanks.
Terry, is there something else
bothering you?
I'm just tired.
I want to get home.
You'll get me home, Bill?
I'll get you home.
Hey!
Hey!
You go get them, baby.
You can do it, you son of a bitch.
"For Terry on your birthday."
"They say the dragon never sleeps."
"He stalks his prey
in silence cold..."
"and when he strikes
what evil fire within his venom."
"One day, the snake,
in careless greed..."
"dared seize a knight
born of the sun."
"The bite burned deep
right to the soul."
"The snake held fast. Damage done.
But death could not win."
"For though the fire
had pierced him through..."
"knight of the sun
held strong and true."
"The fever broke. The serpent fled,
one limb his prize."
"The knight rose up.
These words he spoke."
"You have broken my body,
but not my spirit."
"I will not mourn,
nor will I fear it."
"Beware, dread beast.
You have not won this battle."
"My quest has just begun."
"Love, Rika."
Did you read this one?
"He only ran a hundred and fifty
of seventy hundred miles...
from Gaspe to Montreal.
Did the rest by van?
Because Quebeckers showed
no interest in him."
Yesterday, they said
I was bleeding all over the place!
You were.
Look, Terry...
You're not running
for the goddamn newspapers,...
or for the TV, or for the sponsors
in their fancy suits.
Now, it doesn't matter what they say.
It's your run.
You're running for all those guys
you're in the hospital with...
and for the guys
who are still there now.
You run for the millions
who believe in what you're doing...
not for the jerks who don't.
Okay?
- Terry?
- What?
Nothing.
Nothing.
When did you lose your leg?
Two months ago.
Same thing that happened to you.
- You're riding a bike already?
- Sure. It's easy.
I tried once and my leg fell off.
Well, it's just takes
a little practice.
I see you lost all your hair there.
Don't worry about it, though.
It grows back.
Mine came back in all curly.
Do you swim?
No, I don't know.
Sure you can.
Come on, I'll teach you.
You're going to teach me
how to swim.
Yes.
Come on, It's easy.
Watch out! Here I come!
I'll get you!
I'm all right.
- Cold?
- No, it's not that bad.
You guys want to eat?
Your appetite? Let's go.
There's someone out here...
that's going through the same thing
that I went through...
except for he's ten years old.
Rick followed me for six miles today
on his bike...
and then taught me how to swim.
Sometimes, I wonder
if what I'm doing is any good.
If it has any aim.
Today, I realized that it does.
I realized something else, too.
The run is not just a run.
This may sound a little bit mushy,
but...
You taught me what it's about.
It's about people.
It's about...
It's about reaching out to people
and having them touch you back.
Where's Darrell and Bill?
They went up ahead to Thunder Bay.
How far is Thunder Bay?
Eighteen miles.
Are you all right, Terr?
Everything's getting harder.
Leg's not snapping back.
Goddamn cough's back.
Now I'm getting these pains
in my chest.
Terry.
Let me take you to a hospital.
Where's the map?
No, I want the one of Canada.
Okay, folks. If you can just pull
your cars to the front of the line...
Terry Fox will be able to continue
his run in a few minutes.
I'm going to stick close to you.
No, go ahead and mark out the mile.
I'll be there.
- Super, Terry. Do it. Come on.
- You're the best.
- Come on make it, Terry.
- You're doing great.
All right, Terry.
All right.
Okay. Take me to a hospital.
I'm sorry.
Hello? Rika? Hi.
Yeah, this is Terry.
Yeah, I'm in Thunder Bay.
Boy, is it ever good to hear
your voice.
I don't want you to tell me
you told me so, but...
I've got cancer again.
Yeah, in my lungs.
I don't know why I'm calling you
with this kind of news, but...
I just really need someone
to talk to.
- Hi, Mom.
- Hi, Terr.
- Hi, son.
- Hi, Dad.
We're taking you home, Terr.
It's unfair. That's what it is.
It's just unfair.
No, it's not, Dad. It's not unfair.
This happens to a lot of people.
I didn't sit around on my ass.
I'm still fighting.
I want to walk.
- You sure?
- Yeah.
Let's get his lungs drained
right away.
It still smells like a shithouse
in here.
Mr. Vigars? You're wanted up
on the second floor immediately.
- Have you seen my shoe, Bill?
- Here. Got it.
"Yeah, it was so simple and honest."
"If you want to run across Canada
you just go out and do it."
"You say 'I'm going to do it.'
There's no trick. There's no magic."
"He was embarrassed when people
started calling him hero..."
"for doing what he loved."
"He said, he felt like Dorothy
in the 'Wizard Of Oz'..."
"having one great, big adventure."
"Going places he'd never been before.
Seeing things he had never seen."
"He's hurt all time,
but it didn't matter."
"I mean, he could quit anytime,
but he didn't."
"Back in Vancouver, Terry took
his treatments and went home."
"I don't know
if he knew he was dying..."
"but if he did, he didn't show it."
"He went to some kung-fu movies
that he thought were pretty dumb."
"He went for beers."
"He horsed around
with his family and friends."
"And in January he even went back..."
"to the old Hastings Track
up the street."
"I mean, it's amazing, this kid."
"They had a big telethon
and everything."
"They raised
twenty-four million dollars."
"A dollar for every Canadian,
remember."
"They gave him the Order Of Canada."
"They even named a mountain
after him."
"I mean, can you imagine that?
A whole mountain."
"I mean, can you just imagine?"
"He would have loved that one."
"He was a good kid."
"I don't want you to forget him."
Yeah! Beat you, Alward.
What's the score now?
- Fifty-six, thirty-four.
- Thirty-three.
Last score doesn't count.
We agreed on that, Doug.
You agreed on that.
Trick knee my ass.
Didn't start the counting today,
did it?
Didn't come up lame today, did I?
You got your car with you?
- Yeah, I got my car.
- Great. You can give me a ride home.
So, what's for supper?
So nice of the crown prince
to drop in.
Sorry about that, Ma.
I missed my ride.
Bullshit. You were playing
one-on-one with Doug.
- Shut up, jerk.
- P.U.
Somebody smells
like a locker room in here.
You hang around a lot
of locker rooms, do you?
- Thanks.
- Dad!
- Terr, what's this, crimes-ology?
- No, kinesiology.
- It's the study of mostly...
- I don't care how you pronounce it.
It's just, your dad and I
wanted to know.
- You wanted to know, Betty.
- What this kinesiology...
is going to get you
when you graduate, may I ask?
- Cover Girl in the second?
- I don't know.
We eat with a fork and knife
around here.
Figured on being maybe a gym teacher
or something like that.
I thought we decided on something
a little more professional.
What, like Guy Le Fleur or Bobby Orr?
No, like medicine or pharmacology.
Don't be rude.
Don't you even know
what a real profession is, dummy?
Listen to the expert talking.
Queen of the locker rooms.
- What's wrong with your leg?
- I just twisted it. It's okay.
Listen, right after supper, I want to
sit down, discuss this kinesiology.
Can't, Ma.
I got to study for an exam.
Will you get the gravy?
After the exam will do fine.
Can't. Tomorrow night we're playing
U of A. It's the big tournament.
I see.
It's like your dad says.
You're all grown up now.
You don't need my approval anymore.
But, before you sit down,
nip upstairs and make your bed.
- Come on, Mom. I'm starving.
- Poor little Terry.
Dad, do I?
Want some help with
your hospital corners, Terry?
- Come on. Watch out.
- Are you a low fist man? Okay.
- Watch out!
- Ali and Frazier are at it again.
You big jerks.
- I got you.
- Can anyone get into this?
Go get them, Rolly.
Ready for the big time?
It's the old man again.
Cut his arm off.
- Help. Get his other arm.
- Okay.
I got this arm. Go got him.
- Jesus Christ, Judith!
- What happened? I'm sorry.
Maybe it's serious.
Maybe it's ligaments?
Is that it, Dad?
Do I need an operation?
Terry, you got a malignant tumor
in your knee.
- What's that?
- That's cancer.
So, we're going to have
to amputate your leg.
Start chemotherapy treatments
to kill any cancer cells...
that may be circulating in your body.
- You're going to cut off my leg?
- Yes. I'll be frank with you.
You have a fifty to seventy percent
chance of survival.
- Now, two years ago...
- You're going to cut off my leg.
I don't believe this.
Shit, what the hell am I going to do
without my leg?
- Don't swear, Terry.
- How can you say that to me?
They're going to cut off my leg.
They're going to cut off my leg.
Okay.
Now, this is only temporary...
until your stump
quits changing shape.
Go ahead. Put all your weight
into the bucket.
Go on, all of it. Yes. That's it.
It feels funny,
like my leg's still there.
Okay.
Now, I want you to try it.
Come on. It's not going to fall off.
It's held on by suction.
It's really weird.
It's like stepping on air.
"Your treatment, Terry, is going
to take twelve to fourteen months."
"But, after you've been here
for a few weeks..."
"you'll be able to spend
most of that at home."
"Now, I have to warn you that
chemotherapy is not very pleasant."
"We use two very powerful drugs,
adreomycin and methotrexate."
"They have very strong side effects."
"You're going to lose your hair,
although that'll grow back."
"You're going to be very sick
to your stomach."
"I must warn you that there's also
some danger of heart failure."
Forget it!
I'm not doing this anymore!
- Mr. Fox.
- Forget it. Leave me alone.
- Forget it!
- Orderly!
Orderly!
Yeah, okay. I'm caught.
That's pretty good.
Thanks. I just picked it up
a few weeks ago.
I'm already another Picasso.
Anyway, it keeps you away
from the zombies for a while.
Yeah, how do you stand this place?
Well, you either fight it
or you give up and eat poppies.
Bob Cady, Hodgkin's disease.
Terry Fox, sarcoma of the knee.
So, they chopped it off
and all's well that ends well?
Yeah, I guess so. How about you?
Me? I was supposed to drop dead
last October...
but the treatments are working.
I chuck my guts out every day
for five or six hours.
But, the tumor is gone.
Chest is clear.
Call me bloody Lazarus.
Hey, listen, do you mind
if I do your picture?
Yeah, sure. Okay.
When are you going to get
out of there, Terry?
- I got to go to school.
- Buzz off, will you?
Are you washing the car in there
or something?
You've been in there
for twenty-five minutes.
Would you shut up, for God's sake?
Yeah!
Beat you Alward, ya bastard.
Beat me?
The finish line was back there.
No way.
It's always been this Rick rock.
Rick rock? My ass.
The finish line is the garbage bin.
You just can't stand losing, can you?
Rick rock.
Where'd you get that one?
So, what's bothering you?
Can't I look out a window
without having a problem?
Cheeky now.
I know when you're burdened.
This is so ridiculous, racing Doug
up and down that bloody mountain.
Where's it going to get me,
put rockets in my wheelchair...
and shoot for the bloody sun?
You're overdoing it, you know?
You got your basketball
four nights a week.
- Sit-ups. Push-ups.
- You think so, do you?
You're dropping barbells
all over the floor upstairs.
You're knocking plaster
off the ceiling.
That's because I never felt better
in my life.
Listen to you.
They're calluses.
- You know what we should do?
- No.
Just before Dad and the kids
get home...
let's you and me slip out
down to the pub for a beer or two.
I can't go to a pub tonight.
I got chemotherapy tomorrow.
So that's it.
- I hate that place.
- Come on.
Terry, you're almost through.
The results are negative.
Can't stand to see people
hurt so much.
Look, even your hair is growing back.
It's all curly now.
Don't, Mom.
Come on.
Come on.
- Come on.
- Just leave me alone.
Hello?
Let me out of here!
You've got to help me
get out of here!
Please, help me.
Help me!
Will someone please help me?
Bob?
Bob?
Bob Cady?
- Help me.
- Help. Nurse?
Nurse!
- Help me.
- Help me!
Look, you want to play
a little one-on-one?
Don't jump on the rebounds, I don't
want to run you over with my chair.
I know. Don't worry, I'm fast.
- You are pretty good at this.
- I've done it before.
Thanks a lot.
Hi.
Hi.
Hi, I'm Terry Fox, and I'd...
Look, you've got a really,
really great jump shot.
That's it, Gogie! You did it!
That was great!
You did it. You'll be ordering
a cheeseburger, fries and a shake...
in a couple of weeks.
Gogie, I'll be right back.
You wait right here, okay? Here.
- Hi there.
- Hi.
I was sort of just passing by.
Who was that guy you were with?
That's Gogie.
He's mentally handicapped.
- Look, what's your name?
- Rika.
- Mine's Terry Fox.
- I know.
Look, on Friday nights
I don't do too much.
How about you?
Not much.
Maybe we could do it together.
I mean...
Maybe go to dinner or...
Rika, would you go out with me?
No.
- Of course I would.
- You would?
Sure, but right now I got to go.
- See you.
- Okay. Bye-bye.
You don't mind if I hold your hand?
No, go ahead.
But you're supposed to be shy.
I don't feel shy when I'm with you.
Come on. You can't even
look at me in the eye.
Yeah, sure I can.
I like looking at you.
Then look.
See?
There's a couple of things
you should probably know about me.
Like what?
Well, for one thing,
I'm a champion arm wrestler.
You're a champion arm wrestler.
- Yeah. Come on.
- Okay.
- Ready?
- Yes.
Positive?
Watch out.
- What was the other thing?
- What other thing?
The other thing I'm supposed to know
about you.
I'm a Christian.
So?
So, it's important to me,
believing in God, and...
when I get close to someone, I like
to know how they feel about God, too.
I don't know what I feel about God,
but I know how I feel about you.
Now I'm your slave?
Here, let me get you up here.
What are you touching that for?
Because it's you.
Look, don't. Not my hair.
Come on. Come here.
I'll do it real gently
and I'll comb out every curl. Okay?
Look, you may
not understand this, but...
losing my hair was worse
than losing my leg.
When I lost my leg,
I figured that was it.
That was the price I had to pay,
and I paid it.
But losing my hair...
just reminds me of the cancer inside.
You just don't know
what it's like in that clinic.
Little kids, babies, with things
growing out the side of their heads.
One night, I go to bed. There was
this kid in this bed across from me.
When I woke up in the morning,
he was gone...
and there was another kid in the bed,
looking scared to death.
He didn't even know
what he was in for.
Hey, what's this?
- That's a leg.
- See, I told you.
You're crazy.
You're going to wreck your stump.
Not if you build me a bucket
that fits right.
Yeah.
How does the leg work now?
It works fine.
The first couple laps hurt.
It takes a long time for my right leg
to come through, though.
My left leg has to take
all the stress.
Yeah.
Got a couple of blisters, too,
but I did it. I ran a whole mile.
Yeah.
Look, they want us to drive
up the road and see where he is.
No. He'll be here.
- See you, Rika.
- Bye.
All right, Terry!
Go for it!
Come on, Terry!
What are you doing?
Terry.
What are you doing?
I saw it.
Give me that.
You're going to wake him up.
Would you stop it? Stop it.
Rika, come on.
- What? Come on what?
- Not here.
Why not here?
In front of everyone?
So what? What's wrong with
showing how you feel?
- They're all asleep, anyway.
- Doug's not asleep.
Yeah, but he's driving.
He's also looking
in the rearview mirror.
What's he going to see in the dark?
Silly bunny.
- Rika, can you keep a secret?
- Sure.
Next summer,
I'm going to run across Canada.
- You mean all the way across Canada?
- You don't believe I can do it.
No, I know you can do it.
You can do anything you want to.
That's what I love about you.
All I meant was that
can your body take it?
Yeah, sure my body can take it.
All right. So what's the big secret?
I just don't want Mom finding out.
You're kidding.
The doctor's office called at three,
wondering where you were.
Yeah.
Hey, Mom?
Next summer,
I'm going to run across Canada.
- No, you're not.
- Yes, Mom, I am.
Terry, you're doing no such thing.
Mom, look, I'm not asking
your permission. I'm telling you.
I'm telling you that
that's the dumbest idea...
I ever heard, okay?
You running across...
You know, I knew you're going
to say something like that to me.
You don't understand anything I do.
You don't even know why I run.
Go ahead. Run!
Run marathons!
Run across this continent!
- You got all your doctors here!
- There's doctors everywhere!
You're enrolled in university.
You got your whole life...
to prepare for.
So why on Earth?
I'll tell you why. I want to help
raise money to fight cancer.
If you want to do something
to fight cancer...
you just stop pretending to forget
your X-ray appointments, okay?
I'm running
whether you like it or not.
Who's going to tell Dad,
me or you?
I will.
Thanks, Mom.
Sit down, shut up,
and don't yell when I tell you.
Is this about Judith?
No. It's Terry.
He's got this bright idea
he's going to run across Canada.
When?
That's five, seven,
seven divided by sixteen.
- Wait a minute.
- What?
Five hundred and seventy-seven miles
in sixteen days.
That's more than
thirty-six miles a day.
Even you can't run
thirty-six miles a day, King Kong.
Look, I want to end up back here
September sixth.
I wouldn't count on getting back here
before December.
Terry, it's five thousand
one hundred and fifty miles.
Yeah, it means I'll have to move.
That's all.
I don't want to be running
in Alberta in wintertime.
- It's thirty below in Calgary.
- It's forty below in Winnipeg...
and that's before Calgary.
What are we talking about?
It'll be winter in Newfoundland
when you start.
How come you're starting there?
How come you're going all the way
to Newfoundland to start?
Why don't you just start here?
Open the door and run.
Even the wind blows
from west to east.
I don't know.
I guess, I just always wanted
to run home.
Thanks a lot.
Okay, look,
I've got it figured out now.
Run twenty-six miles a day.
That's a marathon a day, right?
Wake up five in the morning.
Run six miles before breakfast.
You can pace me in the van.
What do you mean I can pace you?
Well, you're coming aren't you?
Nice of you to let me know
what I'm going to be doing...
for the next nine months.
Look. I need someone who can drive
and someone who knows running.
Someone who will put up
with your crap, you mean.
- Can I come?
- Get lost.
Look at your leg.
You look at it.
- You're bleeding, Terr.
- Yeah, I know. It does that.
My stump's got to get used to it.
You don't even know
when you're hurting yourself.
- Get upstairs and wash it off.
- I'm just taking a break right now.
- I've still got seven miles to go.
- You'll get an infection.
I'm not going to get an infection.
I know my own body, for God's sake.
I can't stand what this is doing
to you. It's all you think about.
It's just driving yourself to death
and everybody else crazy.
Well, I'm going to stick my right leg
in the Atlantic Ocean.
Then I'm going to run across Canada
and stick it in the Pacific Ocean.
What...
what makes you think
that you can run that far?
I'm running thirteen miles a day
right now. You want to see me run?
No. That won't be necessary.
Look, this is a good idea.
I mean it'll raise a million dollars.
If you'll sponsor me.
You are going to sponsor me.
So, they're not going to sponsor you.
Yeah. They'll sponsor me
if I raise the money.
Great.
So, what are you going to need?
You better make a list.
Well, I'm going to need a van,
food...
I don't know, running shoes, legs.
You better start writing letters,
you know, like to Ford, Adidas...
GM, Puma.
- You write them for me.
- Why me?
Because your English is better
than mine.
What do I tell them?
Tell them I'm going to run
a marathon a day...
for seven months.
I'm going to make it.
Tell them about the kids
in the hospital...
and how their hurting
has got to stop.
Tell them I believe in miracles
because I have to.
What's the matter, Terry?
Hey.
I think we ought to break it off
for a little while.
I don't get it.
Look, you don't understand.
I can't think of anything
but this run.
I don't care.
I'm not jealous of the run.
Look, I'll go with you on the run.
Rika, you don't understand. I don't
want to think of anybody else.
Do you experience
any shortness of breath?
No.
- Dizziness?
- No.
Rapid tiring?
No.
You're going to run with
or without my blessing?
Doctor, I feel fine.
I've already run over
three thousand miles in practice.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Rika, if I tell you something,
you promise not to tell anyone?
Sure.
I'm getting those dizzy spells again.
Doctors think I have
an enlarged heart.
Why do you tell me a thing like that?
Look, you're the only one
I can talk to.
Thanks a lot.
"Hey, Rika.
I'm going to commit suicide,
but don't tell anybody."
Boy, you've got
a heart problem all right.
Rika, I want you to come with me.
Last week, you tell me you don't
have the time of day for me.
Now, you expect me to drop everything
on two weeks notice...
and just take off for six or seven
months with two guys in a camper.
- One of whom might drop dead.
- Rika, I need you.
Yeah, you need me
to take care of you.
I thought that's what you wanted.
Terry, when are you going to grow up?
You got to start giving a little.
What do you think
I'm doing this run for?
Rika, please come.
Terry.
I'll tell you why.
Once I wanted to, but...
- No way.
- Give me one good reason why not.
- What do you think I've been doing?
- Give me another one, then.
- Okay, Gogie.
- What?
- The retarded kid I teach.
- Yeah, I know.
What's more important, a retarded kid
or me running across Canada?
They're both important.
Terry?
Terry.
On behalf of all fair citizens,
I commend you...
for this tremendous undertaking,
this motivation.
I wish you personal health.
And I thank you so very much for
what you're doing for all of us...
in your marathon of hope.
We hope with you.
God bless you.
Thank you.
Well, I guess
this is where it all begins.
This morning
I was down at Cape Spear...
and I dipped my foot
in the Atlantic Ocean.
It's chilly, I bet you, my boy!
Actually, I didn't feel a thing
with this leg.
The reason I'm running is to raise
money for cancer research and...
Well, thank you very much.
- I hope you make it.
- Well, I'm sure going to try.
Get me a dry sock.
Hurry up, will you?
Jesus, Murphy.
Come on.
I can't stand out here all day.
Give me a break.
I only need one sock, you klutz.
Where the hell are we?
Somewhere between Chapel Arm
and Norman's Cove.
Jesus Christ, I'm not even running
twenty miles a day.
Did you flush?
Oh my God. What the...
What? Oh, that.
That's your good cooking.
Can't you at least dump it yourself?
Didn't you say that all I had to do
is run and you'd look after my crap?
- Hi.
- Morning.
Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi you, boy.
Hey!
Hey. So, you be Terry Fox.
Yeah, that's right.
I'm running across Canada.
Well, ain't you got the nerve.
- God bless you, my son.
- Okay, bye-bye.
I'm not saying
he's going to make it...
and I'm not saying he ain't going to
make it. Doesn't really matter.
What matters is he's making
a lot of people feel happy.
Hi.
That was more than a goddamn mile.
I couldn't pull over back there.
Listen, you can't take a rest now.
We're behind schedule.
There are people waiting up ahead.
What are you trying to do to me?
You keep pushing me like this
and I'm not going to make it.
I'm not pushing you.
Look, we'll cancel if you want.
I don't care.
- It doesn't matter.
- Just get lost.
Yeah, so where is everybody?
I called the mayor's office
yesterday.
They got the days mixed up.
What about the radio station
and the newspaper people?
Did you talk to anyone?
The Cancer Society guy
was supposed to set up the press.
That's your job, asshole.
- Will you turn that damn thing off?
- It's four-thirty.
Buzz off. I feel shitty.
Yesterday, you threw a fit
when I woke you five minutes late.
Didn't you hear me?
I'm not running.
You're not running?
Why didn't you tell me before?
I could have slept in, too.
Why didn't you tell me a month ago?
You just don't give a damn, do you?
You're the one that doesn't give
a damn, you selfish bastard!
Treat me like some dumb flunky.
"Where's my sock?
Where's my chocolate bar? What's
this thing floating in my water?
Where's the million people gathered
around, ready to kiss my feet?"
You don't give a damn about anyone
but yourself.
You don't know what I'm going through
out there, do you?
This is just one big ego trip
for you.
You know sometimes I don't know
whether I'm going to make it.
I don't give a damn
whether you make it or not.
You know something?
You're an asshole!
Okay. I promised I'd drive,
so I'll drive one mile at a time.
But, that's all I'm doing for you
anymore.
You jerk.
"This ferry is due to arrive
in North Sydney, Nova Scotia...
in approximately one hour."
- Hi.
- Hi.
Hi.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
- Bye-bye.
- Bye.
I bet some of you out there
feel sorry for me.
Well, don't.
Artificial legs
have their advantages.
I broke my right knee a few times
and I didn't feel a thing.
To me, the important part of this run
is that cancer can be beaten.
So, when you're cheering
and clapping for me...
you're not just cheering
and clapping for me, you're...
There's also someone else
in this run with me.
My friend, Doug, is helping me.
Some days, when everything
seems a little too much...
the last twelve miles feels like
the hardest thing in the world to me.
I bitch at Doug because...
he's the only one there
that I can bitch at.
It's just not fair to him...
because, you know, he gets no credit,
just my bitching.
People say I have courage.
I'm not just the only one.
You didn't tell me
you had a heart problem.
Who told you that?
Rika. Just like you told
those people today.
I mean,
why couldn't you tell me that?
Why don't you care?
I don't even know
why you run anymore.
I mean...
- you run so angry.
- Sometimes, I am angry.
I'm angry because...
Forget it.
Well, don't get angry at me...
because I'm trying, too.
When you get mad, Doug,
why don't you just say so?
I mean, so we can argue it out.
I can't argue with you.
You'd always win.
You've been practicing with
your family for so many years.
Let's just knock this off, okay?
Okay?
Yeah, okay.
Except, you gotta stop calling me
asshole. I really hate that.
Yeah, okay.
Darrell, what are you doing here?
Yeah, so, where is everyone?
It's six-thirty in the morning.
Oh, yeah?
Hey, everybody under sheets
and blankets, rise and shine.
Terry Fox is here
on the marathon of hope.
Good morning, Evanston.
Everybody,
come out and meet Terry Fox.
He's running five thousand miles
across Canada
to raise money for cancer research.
Come on out
and make your donations.
A dollar from every Canadian
to raise the money for cancer.
Come on, everybody. Rise and shine.
Come out and meet Terry Fox.
He's running five thousand miles.
You asshole!
What?
To Montreal, a lift?
I'm running across Canada to help
raise money for cancer research.
How are you?
Terry, I'm Bill Vigars.
The guy from The Cancer Society
from Toronto?
Yeah.
Drove all night to meet you.
Man, it's cold out here.
And what, you're Doug? Darrell?
- Darrell.
- Right. Yeah.
Nice.
Smells like a shithouse in here.
How can you stand it?
Wait a minute. Terry?
Wait. Terry?
Terry, we got plans to discuss.
Terry? I got plans that I want
to discuss with you.
I want to talk to you about Ontario.
- Ontario?
- Yeah.
What about Quebec? People don't
even know what I'm doing here.
Yesterday,
I actually got offered rides.
Yeah? Male or female?
I mean, it's pathetic.
I've run a hundred miles
and raised thirty-five dollars.
All right, I got a plan.
Four months ago,...
you're just an item on page 47
of the Toronto Star.
Yesterday, your picture
was on page eight.
By the time we cross Ottawa River,
you could be national news.
So, if you tell me
your working schedule...
when you run and all,
I'll try to work around it, alright?
I'm up to twenty-six miles a day now.
I guess I better pick up the pace
a little bit.
No, slow down. Just hold back
a little bit, all right?
- You know what you need to do?
- What?
Lose your spare tire here.
No. What I'm trying to say is
we can't reach the Ontario border...
until June twenty-seventh.
Look, I've got my stride up now.
Everything is working for me good...
and you said you're going to run
around my schedule.
Do you want to run or raise money?
Because I got the whole thing
arranged. If you'll listen to me...
I'm telling you,
Toronto is the place to raise money.
In Ontario we can get
between five and ten...
more than five million dollars.
On July eleventh...
Wait. July eleventh...
I'll have the whole city of Toronto
out waiting for you. I promise.
Yeah, that's great,
but what about Quebec?
- Don't people get cancer in Quebec?
- I don't know.
Jesus Christ. I don't...
Let me tell you something, Terry.
Even in Toronto, where there's going
to be a lot of hype, remember this.
Some people are going to shit
all over you...
because they don't understand
what you're doing.
Do you understand what I'm doing?
Yeah, I think I do. Yeah.
- Are you ready to order?
- Okay...
I'll have the waffles
and the eggs with hash browns...
a hamburger medium-rare and...
Well, you might as well
just bring everything...
on this side of the menu,
and a vanilla shake.
I'll have the same, please.
Go, Terry, go!
Go, Terry, go!
Go, Terry, go.
Go, Terry, go!
Another eight miles and we should
be there by two o'clock, okay?
You can count on it.
We saved our milk money this week
and our teacher chipped in, too.
Here's seventeen dollars
and we think you're great.
Thank you.
"Terry, Jim Thompson, CTV News."
- "How's the leg holding up?"
- "Which one?"
"Jeff Lyons,
City Post News, Toronto."
"What do you think about out there
on the road?"
"I think one day at a time."
"When I'm running,
I think one mile at a time."
"Take one telephone pole at a time."
"I guess, I'm reaching for those
telephone poles to pull me along."
"I think of home a lot."
"I think of running to Vancouver,
right down to the ocean."
"I keep thinking,
if I take another step..."
"I'm going to make it."
"I just got to keep on going."
See what's behind us?
Mommy, he's coming!
Hurry up!
He's coming up the road!
You'll be there, he'll be there.
Alright.
Thank you.
I'm Jill. Come with me,
I got my own place.
Terry, wait. Please.
Excuse me. Coming through.
Step back, please. Step back.
Please, step back.
Terry?
You're running for my Jeffrey,
you know.
Now, he's at home with cancer.
Yeah, you're right.
I am running for your Jeffrey.
There's a speech back in Oshawa.
There's a shopping plaza
at Pickering.
Tonight, there's a big reception
at Scarborough Civic Center. Okay?
- Did I agree to that?
- Yeah.
It's all geared
to the Toronto schedule right here.
I've still got eight miles to go.
I guess that means I have to move it.
Look, Terry.
You may not understand this...
but I love you.
It's crazy working
for The Cancer Society.
I don't even know what cancer is.
Then, I hear you talking
to that woman out there.
Come on, Terry!
Let's go, Terry! Let's go!
Hi, Mom.
Look at all these people.
Now do you think
I'm going to make it?
What kind of question is that?
I always knew you'd make it.
You got to make it.
The toast of Toronto
and the hero of all Canada.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Terry Fox.
We love Terry!
We love Terry!
Go, Terry, go!
Go, Terry, go!
Give us a little room here.
Joggers bugging you?
Pop in for their few minutes of glory
and then pop out again.
But, I'm the one who runs
a whole twenty-six miles.
Okay, I'll get rid of them.
Don't worry.
No, I don't want any.
How would you like to run
with a Mr. Peanut instead?
Mister who?
You know, the guy who goes around
as a giant peanut...
with a top hat and a monocle?
Now, don't laugh.
Now Planter's is going to make
a big donation.
Okay, then.
How about if you jump
into a snappy new car...
and drive off into the sunset
on a beach in the Pacific?
I have a car dealer
that's willing to contribute...
a hundred thousand dollars
and let you keep the car.
- I'm not a car salesman neither.
- I'll keep the car.
Okay, but look, Terry.
We got to make that reception
in Barrie tonight.
How far is it to Barrie?
Five miles.
What do they want from me, blood?
Look, Terry.
- Back up there.
- You okayed all this in Toronto.
Back away please, folks.
Some privacy now, please.
It's a water break. Please back up.
We'll give you your...
Stop with the camera.
In Quebec, you're pissed off because
we weren't getting the people out.
Now you're complaining...
because they won't leave you alone.
Now what do you want?
You didn't tell me
about the extra miles.
I thought you'd be happy
with the extra fundraising.
What happens
if I don't finish this run?
- What do you mean by that?
- I'm not the bionic man.
Terry...
The Society is counting on
that reception in Barrie.
If you don't show, it's my ass.
I could be back
selling encyclopedias. You know?
Good luck, Terry.
You're doing a great job, Terry.
We're with you.
Thank you very much.
Thanks. Hey!
Bill, where is this kid?
I got the mayor and 400 people
waiting in there.
He was supposed to be here
three quarters of an hour ago.
That wasn't five miles.
It was more like ten.
We're almost halfway there.
Once we get to the top
of Cavers Mountain...
it's downhill all the way
to The Rocky Mountains.
Yep.
All right. Go ahead, say it.
One of the first things
you ever said to me...
when I met you was there'd be
people shitting on me.
You didn't tell me
you're going to be one of them.
Look, Terry,
I'm sorry about the ten miles.
The local guy told me it would be...
- between five and six miles.
- It's not just the ten miles.
It's the run.
It's not mine anymore.
Everything's going just as we planned
including my being a bastard...
but boy, you sure can be one, too.
No more extra miles.
Okay. It's a deal.
Bill, did you really sell
encyclopedias?
Yes. Encyclopedias and peanuts,
rubbers, you know, a lot of things.
- Do you need a hand?
- No. I'm okay, Bill.
You want to just toss me a towel?
Thanks.
Terry, is there something else
bothering you?
I'm just tired.
I want to get home.
You'll get me home, Bill?
I'll get you home.
Hey!
Hey!
You go get them, baby.
You can do it, you son of a bitch.
"For Terry on your birthday."
"They say the dragon never sleeps."
"He stalks his prey
in silence cold..."
"and when he strikes
what evil fire within his venom."
"One day, the snake,
in careless greed..."
"dared seize a knight
born of the sun."
"The bite burned deep
right to the soul."
"The snake held fast. Damage done.
But death could not win."
"For though the fire
had pierced him through..."
"knight of the sun
held strong and true."
"The fever broke. The serpent fled,
one limb his prize."
"The knight rose up.
These words he spoke."
"You have broken my body,
but not my spirit."
"I will not mourn,
nor will I fear it."
"Beware, dread beast.
You have not won this battle."
"My quest has just begun."
"Love, Rika."
Did you read this one?
"He only ran a hundred and fifty
of seventy hundred miles...
from Gaspe to Montreal.
Did the rest by van?
Because Quebeckers showed
no interest in him."
Yesterday, they said
I was bleeding all over the place!
You were.
Look, Terry...
You're not running
for the goddamn newspapers,...
or for the TV, or for the sponsors
in their fancy suits.
Now, it doesn't matter what they say.
It's your run.
You're running for all those guys
you're in the hospital with...
and for the guys
who are still there now.
You run for the millions
who believe in what you're doing...
not for the jerks who don't.
Okay?
- Terry?
- What?
Nothing.
Nothing.
When did you lose your leg?
Two months ago.
Same thing that happened to you.
- You're riding a bike already?
- Sure. It's easy.
I tried once and my leg fell off.
Well, it's just takes
a little practice.
I see you lost all your hair there.
Don't worry about it, though.
It grows back.
Mine came back in all curly.
Do you swim?
No, I don't know.
Sure you can.
Come on, I'll teach you.
You're going to teach me
how to swim.
Yes.
Come on, It's easy.
Watch out! Here I come!
I'll get you!
I'm all right.
- Cold?
- No, it's not that bad.
You guys want to eat?
Your appetite? Let's go.
There's someone out here...
that's going through the same thing
that I went through...
except for he's ten years old.
Rick followed me for six miles today
on his bike...
and then taught me how to swim.
Sometimes, I wonder
if what I'm doing is any good.
If it has any aim.
Today, I realized that it does.
I realized something else, too.
The run is not just a run.
This may sound a little bit mushy,
but...
You taught me what it's about.
It's about people.
It's about...
It's about reaching out to people
and having them touch you back.
Where's Darrell and Bill?
They went up ahead to Thunder Bay.
How far is Thunder Bay?
Eighteen miles.
Are you all right, Terr?
Everything's getting harder.
Leg's not snapping back.
Goddamn cough's back.
Now I'm getting these pains
in my chest.
Terry.
Let me take you to a hospital.
Where's the map?
No, I want the one of Canada.
Okay, folks. If you can just pull
your cars to the front of the line...
Terry Fox will be able to continue
his run in a few minutes.
I'm going to stick close to you.
No, go ahead and mark out the mile.
I'll be there.
- Super, Terry. Do it. Come on.
- You're the best.
- Come on make it, Terry.
- You're doing great.
All right, Terry.
All right.
Okay. Take me to a hospital.
I'm sorry.
Hello? Rika? Hi.
Yeah, this is Terry.
Yeah, I'm in Thunder Bay.
Boy, is it ever good to hear
your voice.
I don't want you to tell me
you told me so, but...
I've got cancer again.
Yeah, in my lungs.
I don't know why I'm calling you
with this kind of news, but...
I just really need someone
to talk to.
- Hi, Mom.
- Hi, Terr.
- Hi, son.
- Hi, Dad.
We're taking you home, Terr.
It's unfair. That's what it is.
It's just unfair.
No, it's not, Dad. It's not unfair.
This happens to a lot of people.
I didn't sit around on my ass.
I'm still fighting.
I want to walk.
- You sure?
- Yeah.
Let's get his lungs drained
right away.
It still smells like a shithouse
in here.
Mr. Vigars? You're wanted up
on the second floor immediately.
- Have you seen my shoe, Bill?
- Here. Got it.
"Yeah, it was so simple and honest."
"If you want to run across Canada
you just go out and do it."
"You say 'I'm going to do it.'
There's no trick. There's no magic."
"He was embarrassed when people
started calling him hero..."
"for doing what he loved."
"He said, he felt like Dorothy
in the 'Wizard Of Oz'..."
"having one great, big adventure."
"Going places he'd never been before.
Seeing things he had never seen."
"He's hurt all time,
but it didn't matter."
"I mean, he could quit anytime,
but he didn't."
"Back in Vancouver, Terry took
his treatments and went home."
"I don't know
if he knew he was dying..."
"but if he did, he didn't show it."
"He went to some kung-fu movies
that he thought were pretty dumb."
"He went for beers."
"He horsed around
with his family and friends."
"And in January he even went back..."
"to the old Hastings Track
up the street."
"I mean, it's amazing, this kid."
"They had a big telethon
and everything."
"They raised
twenty-four million dollars."
"A dollar for every Canadian,
remember."
"They gave him the Order Of Canada."
"They even named a mountain
after him."
"I mean, can you imagine that?
A whole mountain."
"I mean, can you just imagine?"
"He would have loved that one."
"He was a good kid."
"I don't want you to forget him."