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Kenneth Lonergan

Kenneth Lonergan Books

Playwright

Kenneth Lonergan, born on October 16, 1962, is an accomplished American playwright known for his profound emotional depth and complex character development. His works, including 'This Is the Water' and 'You Can't Kill Me', have gained widespread recognition in the theater world, earning him awards such as the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

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Related Quotes

“There's something about the impact of a big screen that means something to me, even though I realize almost every film is fated to be seen for a year in theaters, and then forever after on television.”

Years Mean Bigs Film Realizing Forever Television Theater Impact Screens Ever After Big Screen

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I feel like if you can describe something fully and accurately, then people will be able to see it themselves - they don't need be told what to.”

People Ifs Needs Feels Able

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I grew up going to the movies, not watching them on television, so I'm still a bit resistant to TV as a medium.”

Stills Bits Television Tvs Grew Grew Up Mediums

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I still haven't quite caught on to the idea of writing without dialogue. I like writing dialogue, and there's nothing wrong with dialogue in movies.”

Writing Stills Ideas Havens Caught Dialogue Writing Dialogue

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I was nearly a teen-ager before I stopped assuming that everyone I met was Jewish.”

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“It's not a character flaw to become an adult.”

Character Adults Flaws Character Flaws

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I wrote a play once called 'Lobby Hero,' which I thought turned out very well, but there's no final version of it. I published the one we produced, but there are seven other versions with different variations sitting in my desk at home.”

Wells Different Play Home Hero Sitting Seven Finals Versions Desks Variation

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I'm always struck when I go somewhere I've never been before, especially if it's in my home town, by just how different the atmosphere can be, and how disorienting it can be - especially if there's any kind of trouble.”

Ifs Kind Different Home Trouble Towns Atmosphere Home Town

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“Little kids grow up discovering the world that's shown to them and then when you become a teenager, it kind of shrinks a little bit. I think when you get past that point, one of the important things is that you see there is more to the world than yourself.”

Thinking World Kind Littles Important Kids Past Grows Bits Growing Up Little Bit Important Things Teenager Discovering Little Kid Shrinks Discovering The World

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“Teenagers all think their life is a movie. If you break up with someone or you have a fight, you walk around with movie scores playing in your head. You sort of see yourself suffering as you're suffering. There's a lot of melodrama attached to the real events of your life.”

Ifs Thinking Real Life Is Suffering Fighting Walks Break Events Teenager Score Melodrama

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“You can shoot a film in New York without seeing the Empire State Building. Or Starbucks...although the latter is much less realistic.”

States Film Seeing New York Building Latter Empires Realistic Starbucks Empire State Building Empire State

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I often find myself writing about people taking care of each other, or trying to. And often seem to write about situations that are too big for the characters.”

People Writing Trying Character Bigs Seems Care Situation

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“There's a few people who I've accumulated over the years who I really trust to show a first cut to and to be helpful rather than unhelpful.”

People Years Firsts Shows Cutting Helpful

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I actually think storyboards are great. I don't draw well enough to do them myself. I've only used storyboards a couple of times.”

Thinking Wells Enough Used Couple Draws

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I like to let the actors work the way they want to.”

Way Want Actors

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“When you have people like Casey [Affleck] and Michelle Williams and they want to do more takes you don't say, "Sorry, that's it." And I also don't like to say, "It's fine, it's great." Unless it's clearly there.”

People Want Fine Sorry Saying Sorry

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“Some actors really like to do only a few, some like Casey [Affleck] will do as many takes as there is electrical power. At some point, you'll say, "Listen, I think it's really good." And he'll say, "You sure? You sure? There's not some other way we should try it?"”

Thinking Way Should Trying Actors Electrical Electrical Power

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I trust my judgment when I think it's boring, dull, tepid and not interesting. That's important to listen to. And the same on the set. That's a little easier because you can see it in front of you and you can just see how great they are and you know you have something wonderful when they do something wonderful.”

Thinking Knows Littles Important Interesting Wonderful Fronts Easier Judgment Boring Dull

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I take it as a sign of intimacy and friendship when you feel comfortable enough with someone to have a little rough and tumble.”

Feels Littles Enough Comfortable Intimacy Rough

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I've reached a new level of closeness with a new friend when I can make a joke at their expense. That's one of the great joys of life for me.”

I Can Joy Levels Jokes Expenses Joy Of Life Closeness New Friends Great Joy

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I wanted to be a director first to protect my writing. I'm a playwright and you don't need to protect your writing when you're in the theater because everyone's there to protect the writing. When I had an idea for a film that I really cared about as my own, I wanted to direct it, and then I immediately became interested in directing in and of itself because it's such a deep art. You suddenly have all these tools at your disposal to tell the story.”

Needs Writing Firsts Art Ideas Stories Wanted Film My Own Directors Protect Tools Direct Theater Playwright

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“[With theater] you draw the audience into the room as best you can, and in film, you can draw them into the room, you can draw them outside into the desert, you can take them out into the ocean, you can do all these amazing things.”

Film Can Do Rooms Audience Ocean Draws Theater Desert Amazing Things

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I don't think fast enough on my feet in terms of the writing to change the script too much when I'm shooting it. I like to have it set and done and know that I feel good about it and I might add a few lines here and there while we're shooting, if I think of a new joke, I might toss it in, but for the most part, I try to stick to the written script and have all the latitude exist within that.”

Ifs Thinking Knows Feels Writing Trying Done Enough Might Term Lines Too Much Written Feet Jokes Add Sticks Scripts Feel Good Shooting Here And There Toss I Feel Good Latitude

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“I would love to take control of the entire universe and for five years you give every movie the same widespread distribution no matter what movie and see if there's a real discrepancy between people coming to see science-fiction films or superhero films. I seriously bet there would be no discernible difference.”

“I think the more dangerous and dire the political circumstances seem, the more you attach value to anything that shows you why a human being is a human being or human experience or view of the world in that way.”

Thinking World Way Humans Shows Seems Political Values Human Beings Views Dangerous Circumstances Human Experience

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“The world is really heading in a very dangerous direction, it becomes that much more valuable and important to go to the movies and see human beings that are human beings.”

World Humans Important Human Beings Dangerous Valuable Headings

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“When you're a man, you're often in situations where you have to decide how far you're going to go in an argument. How big is the other guy? All this stuff that girls don't have to worry about as much, because that's not part of the equation.”

Men Guy Girl Situation Worry Argument Other Guys That Girl

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“The world doesn't grieve when you're grieving. The world goes on about its business. You're having a good day and I'm having a bad one and vice versa. And they could be very good and very bad at the same time. You multiply that by seven billion and you have one element of human experience.”

World Seven Very Good Grieving Human Experience Good Day

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

“Filmmaking, like any other art, is a very profound means of human communication; beyond the professional pleasure of succeeding or the pain of failing, you do want your film to be seen, to communicate itself to other people.”

People Want Humans Mean Art Pain Film Pleasure Failing Communication Succeed Art Is Profound Communicate Filmmaking

Author:Kenneth Lonergan

About the Author

Born: October 16, 1962
Known for: Playwright
Quotes: 29

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