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Quote by Michael Schur

“My main qualm about TV criticism has been when people review TV the way they review movies. They watch the pilot, and write a definitive review of the show. The obvious analogy is that you don't read the first eight pages of a book and then talk about whether the book works or not. People want so desperately in this day and age to declare something thumbs-up or thumbs-down that they declare it immediately.”

Author

Michael Schur

Michael Schur (born October 29, 1975) is an acclaimed American television producer, writer, and director. He is best known for creating and producing hit sitcoms such as The Office (U.S.), Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and The Good Place. Schur's work is characterized by humor, warmth, and deep insights into human nature, often exploring moral and ethical themes. A Harvard University graduate, he began his career as a writer for Saturday Night Live. Schur has received multiple Emmy nominations and won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series for The Office. His shows have a global fan base and have significantly influenced modern TV comedy. more

“Relative to the power that movie stars have, and producers and directors, I would say that even the most respected screenwriters have very little power in Hollywood. I don't think it's in the nature of the writer's profession to go after that power. Writers spend their time alone, hallucinating, writing, making these things up, while these other people are out schmoozing, making connections, meeting each other. They are trotting the corridors of power and making sure they've put their own imprints in it. And they're promoting themselves and their images, as they should.”

People Thinking Writing Meetings Profession Producers Relative Movie Star Me Alone

Author:Robert Towne

“The one thing you know when you're shooting a script - and I've been on a lot of sets - is space is in a script, and the distance between the page and the stage is so enormous that it is unbelievable how even the brightest people can misread your intent or not see it altogether. Scripts have air in them. Scripts are supposed to leave things up to interpretation, but people can misread things enormously, so sometimes it's just a matter of wanting to put on the screen what you had in mind.”

People Mind Sometimes Distance Unbelievable

Author:Robert Towne

“Black pride. Gay pride. White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant pride. All of these things, you know, they're polarized, aren't they? The red and blue states. Christians, that's the most insidious aspect of it, giving into this great Christian image of America. That's the most frightening thing of all. Whereas in the past they're trying to find things that unite us, to minimize the differences. Whereas today there's this belief in empowerment and entitlement by maximizing differences. I'm not so sure that that's healthy.”

Giving Trying Today Christian Past Belief Black Pride Healthy Gay Empowerment Frightening Entitlement Giving In

Author:Robert Towne

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”