"Let the darn thing go, will ya?" said Sally Field said during the manic 20/20 special Mad About the Oscars with Katie Couric. Field was referring to her frequently quoted speech from the 1985 Academy Awards ceremony (where she won her second Oscar for Places in the Heart), and the way it has reverberated through pop culture in the 28 years since she uttered it.
What's more, when it is referenced in movies, on TV, on virtually any talk show discussing the Oscars, it's almost always incorrectly. It's one of those phrases like "Beam me up, Scotty," "I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille," and, "We're gonna need a bigger boat," for which popular usage has rewritten history. What people think Field said — "You like me, you really like me!" — is not what she actually said: "You like me right now, you like me!" Adding to the confusion, in a 2000 Charles Schwab ad, Field parodied herself, at one point exclaiming, "You like me! You really, really like me!"
That clip, as well of dozens of others of references to the acceptance speech that won't quit, is in the above video, which I put together. Should Field win Best Supporting Actress during Sunday's ceremony, here's hoping for another to add to it.