Crayons

Posted by ESC on May 08, 2007

In Reply to: Crayons posted by Greg on May 08, 2007

: I am looking for the source of a phrase that goes like this, "The people of a school are like crayons in a box. Some are brighter than others. Some are more popular than others, and some are sharper, but they all work together to make a beautiful picture." It may even be the exact phrase. Does anyone know the source or any other phrase or saying about crayons?

I thought I had one. But it turns out that it is "iffy." Regarding the movie Citizen Kane (imdb.com):

It is widely believed that Ted Turner had plans to colorize the film, but that wide public outcry led to his decision not to. The rumor came from a tongue-in-cheek comment from Turner that he would colorize the film in order to bait critics of the process. In actuality, Orson Welles had the rights to the film, and Turner couldn't have colorized the film even if he had wanted to. Nonetheless, the controversy over the potential alteration of this film was one of the catalysts that eventually led to the film industry requirement that all future video and TV releases of films that have been altered in any way - including the standard conversion from widescreen to "pan and scan" - must carry a disclaimer indicating the film has been "modified from its original version."

It is also widely believed that when he heard about it, Welles supposedly roared, "Tell Ted Turner to keep his crayons away from my movie!" However, being that he owned the rights to the film, it is highly unlikely that he ever made any such statement.