Quotessence
Home / Authors / Terry Rossio
Terry Rossio

Terry Rossio Quotes

Screenwriter

Filter quotes by topic

AllFilmIdeasAbilityDecisionDoeEasierEnoughImportantLifetimeLostMistakeNeedsScreenwritersShouldStoriesTryingWritingAbleAccuracyAccurate

Famous Terry Rossio Quotes

“In Hollywood, story content of movies follows a hierarchy of power, not the relative quality of various ideas. Hollywood does not lack for quality writing. It's just that quality writing commonly has to be sacrificed in order to propel a film into production. A studio needs a star and a director to make a film, so those are the folk who'll define the content. If they don't have the same creative sensibilities, then the content will change.”

IfsNeedsWritingDoeIdeasStoriesFilmOrderStarsQualityCreativeDirectorsHollywoodFolksProductionsVariousStudiosRelativeSensibilityHierarchyScreenwriters
Author:Terry Rossio
Create image

“Most aspiring screenwriters simply don't spend enough time choosing their concept. It's by far the most common mistake I see in spec scripts. The writer has lost the race right from the gate. Months - sometimes years - are lost trying to elevate a film idea that by its nature probably had no hope of ever becoming a movie.”

TryingYearsIdeasSometimesEnoughFilmLostCommonRaceMistakeMonthsBecomingConceptsScriptsGatesEnough TimeNo HopeScreenwritersSpecs
Author:Terry Rossio
Create image

“I'm tempted to say, 'Writing treatments is like designing a film by hiring six million monkeys to tear out pages of an encyclopedia, then you put the pages through a paper-shredder, randomly grab whatever intact lines are left, sing them in Italian to a Spanish deaf-mute, and then make story decisions with the guy via conference call.' But no... compared to writing treatments, that makes sense, too.”

WritingStoriesFilmGuyLeftLinesDecisionMillionsDesignTearsPaperSixPagesMake SenseTreatmentItalianMonkeysTemptedConferencesDeafHiringMuteEncyclopediaConference Calls
Author:Terry Rossio
Create image