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Robert Benton

Robert Benton Biography

Screenwriter

Robert Benton is an American screenwriter born on September 29, 1932. Known for his profound character development and masterful storytelling, Benton is one of the most influential screenwriters in film history.

Robert Benton is an American screenwriter born on September 29, 1932. Known for his profound character development and masterful storytelling, Benton is one of the most influential screenwriters in film history.

Related Quotes

“My education was an education by movies.”

Author:Robert Benton

“I was dyslexic before anybody knew what dyslexia was. I was called 'slow'. It's an awful feeling to think of yourself as 'slow' - it's horrible.”

Thinking Feelings Horrible Awful Think Of You Dyslexic Dyslexia

Author:Robert Benton

“In America, people rarely stay in the town where they grew up, rarely stay in close proximity to their parents throughout their lives. You rarely find parents in their old age being taken care of by their children.”

People Children Care Age America Parent Taken Grew Grew Up Towns Old Age Proximity

Author:Robert Benton

“My next film is always shaped by the last one... by the things I feel I didn't get right, or the things I like and want to try to develop further, but it always comes out of the last picture.”

Want Feels Trying Lasts Film Next

Author:Robert Benton

“All my life I've felt like somebody's wife, or somebody's mother or somebody's daughter. Even all the time we were together, I never knew who I was. And that's why I had to go away. And in California, I think I found myself.”

Thinking Together Mother Found Felt Wife Daughter California Going Away

Author:Robert Benton

“New York was big enough and wide enough that it allowed for reasonably eccentric people like me to thrive. It was a perfect place for me.”

People Enough Bigs Perfect New York Wide Like Me Thrive Eccentric

Author:Robert Benton

“Everybody thought New York was this hard, cruel place, and I found it to be an extraordinarily wonderful place filled with the most interesting people.”

People Hard Found Interesting Wonderful New York Filled Most Interesting Wonderful Places

Author:Robert Benton

“Although I had a few jobs that I didn't like, or quit, or got fired from, I really loved New York from the moment I got here and I never stopped.”

Moments Jobs New York Quitting

Author:Robert Benton

“There was a kind of cultural life in New York that wasn't as solidified as it is now, it wasn't as money-driven. If you look at the size of the successful art galleries compared to the size of galleries now - there was no such thing as the Gagosian Gallery or Pace Gallery. But it was a time when magazines were a vital part of American life, and Esquire gave me a free pass to every world - I could get to the art world, the theater world, the movie world. It allowed you to roam through the cultural life of New York City.”

Ifs World Looks Kind Art Cities Successful New York Theater Size Driven Magazines New York City Pace Gallery American Life Art World Art Galleries

Author:Robert Benton

“Every since high school I've been drawn to magazines.”

School High School Magazines

Author:Robert Benton

“I was dyslexic as a child and it took me years to get passed that. I read a lot but it was hard and that didn't go away until my early-to-mid-twenties. So really what I was looking at were the photographs and the illustrations in magazines.”

Years Children Hard Twenties Photograph Magazines Going Away Illustration Dyslexic

Author:Robert Benton

“The thing I loved the most about being art director was picking the photographers and working with them.”

Art Directors Photographer Art Director

Author:Robert Benton

“After the war, photography came alive, in part because everybody started to use the 35mm camera, and worked on the street instead of in a studio, and that made an enormous difference in not only how photographs looked, but what they were about.”

Made War Use Differences Alive Streets Photography Cameras Photograph Studios Enormous

Author:Robert Benton

“People who go for humor are wonderful because they do great humor. People who go for wit and end up with humor are people who have made a mistake.”

People Made Ends Mistake Wonderful Wit Made A Mistake

Author:Robert Benton

“Style tells you a lot more about the truth than substance, because it comes at the truth in an oblique way, it comes in on a slant, it doesn't tell you what it is. It's unexpected and it makes you laugh and think.”

Thinking Way Laughing Style Substance Unexpected Make You Laugh

Author:Robert Benton

“Style is a way of talking about yourself.”

Way Talking Style About Yourself Way Of Talking Talking About Yourself

Author:Robert Benton

“The greatest style is when you can't see the style though you walk away knowing it was there. It's like a perfume - there but not there.”

Walks Knowing Style Perfume

Author:Robert Benton

“Style and taste do not have anything to do with the other. It's the difference between wit and humor.”

Differences Style Taste Wit Wit And Humor

Author:Robert Benton

“Taste has nothing to do with style.”

Author:Robert Benton

“Style is the most ephemeral thing I know. It's not about how effective you are it's about how you are effective.”

Knows Style Ephemeral

Author:Robert Benton

“Style lasts forever and taste doesn't.”

Lasts Forever Style Taste

Author:Robert Benton

“Beauty doesn't have anything to do with prettiness. Beauty has to do with something else; it gets into an area where words can't go.”

Areas Prettiness

Author:Robert Benton

“It's interesting that there are places that words can't get to.”

Author:Robert Benton

“Sometimes other people have better ideas.”

People Ideas Sometimes

Author:Robert Benton

“Having one perfect thing was less important than having a range of ideas, realizing they were all taking you in a certain direction.”

Important Ideas Certain Realizing Perfect Range Perfect Things

Author:Robert Benton

“I couldn't sit down and write a novel or a short story - even now - because of my dyslexia. But I learned narration through movies.”

Writing Stories Novel Down And Short Story Narration Dyslexia

Author:Robert Benton

“Movie narration in the forties was radically different than the narrative involved in books.”

Book Different Involved Narrative Forty Narration

Author:Robert Benton

“Twilight is about getting older and relationships - not about a murder mystery. It's about love when you reach a certain age; nothing is in primary colors.”

Age Certain Mystery Color Murder Primaries Twilight Getting Old Getting Older Murder Mysteries Primary Colors

Author:Robert Benton

“Movies without meaningful dialogue play well all over the world. The Apostle is probably the best movie of the year, but it won't do squat in Korea.”

World Years Wells Play Meaningful Dialogue Korea Apostles Squat

Author:Robert Benton

“I'd like to know what law is it that says that a woman is a better parent, simply by virtue of her sex.”

Knows Law Sex Parent Virtue Parenthood Kramer

Author:Robert Benton

About the Author

Born: September 29, 1932
Known for: Screenwriter
Quotes: 30

Related Topics

Style People New York Magazines Taste Thinking Age Art Certain Children

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

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