“My first ten years in Hollywood were really tough. I'd be coaching friends who came to me for acting advice, and then they'd make it before I did. I'd still be helping them while they were on movie sets and I had four lines on a TV show.” YearsFirstsStillsHelpingShowsLinesActingFourAdviceTvsTenToughHollywoodCoachingTv ShowsMovie Sets Author:Michael Pena
“I started in a research lab for TV cameras, then I worked at a tape duplication facility. That was the first introduction for me to recorded music and hi-fi.” FirstsTvsResearchCamerasTapeIntroductionFacilityLabsDuplicationRecorded Music Author:Alan Parsons
“I taped my first series for PBS in 1982 at WJCT-TV in Jacksonville, Florida. The show, called 'Everyday Cooking with Jacques Pepin,' was about saving time and money in the kitchen - and it was a celebration of simple and unpretentious food.” FirstsShowsSimpleTvsCookingSeriesEverydaySavingKitchenCelebrationFloridaTime And MoneyPbsSaving Time Author:Jacques Pepin
“The Wire,' I was such a fan of that show the first season - I think that's the best-written show on TV.” ThinkingFirstsShowsWrittenFansTvsSeasonsWire Author:Amy Ryan
“My second album was written while I was on the road promoting the first record. I tried to take my personal experiences and elevate them to universal experiences, so that I wasn't writing songs about living on a tour bus or being on a TV set for the first time.” WritingFirstsSongRecordsWrittenTvsFirst TimeUniversalAlbumsBusPromotingLiving OnWriting SongsPersonal Experiences Author:Kate Voegele
“While at college, I did my first lead on a network TV show, Medic.” FirstsShowsCollegeTvsTv ShowsShow MeMedics Author:Robert Vaughn
“When I first started writing for television in the seventies and eighties, the Internet didn't exist, and we didn't need to worry about foreign websites illegally distributing the latest TV shows and blockbuster movies online.” NeedsWritingFirstsShowsWorryTelevisionTvsInternetOnlineTv ShowsSeventiesEightyWebsiteBlockbuster Author:Al Franken
“How do you get into magazines? How can you get on TV or in your local newspaper? What can you do so others will take notice of your art? When I was first trying to get noticed, all of these questions went through my mind. After a lot of trial of error and a lot of reading, I began to understand the world of public relations.” WorldTryingMindFirstsArtReadingTvsRelationErrorsNewspapersTrialsLocalsMagazinesPublic Relations Author:Mark Edward
“I remember when I first came to America and I saw posters for TV shows and I was like, "What?! Why does a television show deserve space on a billboard?"” FirstsDoeShowsAmericaRememberSpaceSawsTelevisionTvsDeserveTv ShowsRemember WhenPostersTelevision ShowsBillboards Author:Jamie Bell
“When the next generation of content is developed, we have to think in a totally different way. Think about it more symbolically. The main story that you see on the TV screen is maybe like the living room of a house. But there are various other rooms in this house that you will otherwise never see. But if you use the Internet, you find out what's in the attic. And if you use the cell phone, you find out what's on the first floor. And on another medium, you find out what's in the cellar.” IfsThinkingWayFirstsDifferentStoriesUseNextHouseRoomsGenerationsTvsInternetPhonesVariousScreensMediumsCellsDifferent WaysNext GenerationCell PhoneLiving RoomCellarsAttics Author:Cyriac Roeding
“When I was 11, I moved to the United States with my two brothers and my mom. We moved to northern New York, up near the Canadian border, from Argentina, and there was nobody there that spoke Spanish, and because there was no internet at the time, not even cable TV yet, I lost the connection with my childhood friends and the culture I had been brought up with for my first decade completely.” FirstsTwoStatesCultureLostUnitedUnited StatesChildhoodNew YorkBrotherTvsMomInternetConnectionsMovedMy MomDecadesBordersSpokesCablesArgentinaTwo BrothersCable TvChildhood Friend Author:Viggo Mortensen
“If you want to do this - either write for TV, or write books - the first thing you have to do is write a lot. And I mean a ridiculous amount.” IfsWantWritingFirstsMeanBookTvsAmountRidiculous Author:Josh Lieb
“People need to take as much interest in other sports as they take in cricket, and that's where we come across a vicious cycle of performance, sponsorship, recognition, jobs and TV visibility. It's a typical chicken-and-egg story; each one is directly related to the other without an answer for what comes first.” PeopleNeedsFirstsStoriesJobsSportsInterestAnswersTvsPerformancesRecognitionRelatedEggsCyclesChickensTypicalCricketViciousVisibilitySponsorshipWhere We ComeVicious CyclesInterest In Others Author:Gagan Narang
“Back in '96, I was on "The Price Is Right" pointing at refrigerators, and "Extra," the TV show, came down. They were the first entertainment entity that put people up on the Internet, so they put my picture up, and America Online called the next day and said I got a zillion or whatever downloads. I didn't know what a download was!” PeopleKnowsFirstsSaidShowsAmericaNextTvsInternetEntertainmentExtrasOnlineEntityTv ShowsNext DayPointingRefrigeratorsDownloads Author:Cindy Margolis
“More and more we're negating the validity of first-hand experience of people from other countries and other cultures... whether it's on TV, the Internet, mobile phones or whatever - the world system we live in so values second-hand information.” PeopleWorldFirstsCountryHandsValuesCultureInformationTvsInternetPhonesOther CountriesMobileValidityOther CulturesMobile PhonesSecond HandFirst Hand Experience Author:Nitin Sawhney
“When I kicked in the first TV – a nineteen-inch Magnavox with wicker speaker panels – it felt like the most perfect thing I had done in a long time. And there's nothing like the feeling of perfection that will inspire repeated behavior.” FirstsLongDoneFeelingsFeltPerfectInspireTvsBehaviorLong TimePerfectionInchesSpeakersNineteenPerfect Things Author:Adam Rapp
“On the lip of the Grand Canyon. I've always wanted to do that. My very first TV special out of the Olympics was on a glacier in Alaska. Right after that one, I went and pitched this idea to skate in three National Parks. Like Voyageurs National Park, because it freezes over and you have these little islands that you can skate around. [The networks] were like, 'Way too expensive.'” WayFirstsLittlesIdeasWantedThreeSportsSpecialTvsLipsIslandsParksExpensiveOlympicsFreezeAlaskaSkatesCanyonsNational ParksGlaciersGrand Canyon Author:Brian Boitano
“Science may have come a long way, but as far as religion is concerned, we are first cousins to the !Kung tribesmen of the Kalahari Desert. Except for the garments, their deep religious trances might just as well be happening at a revival meeting or in the congregation of a fundamentalist TV preacher.... As we move further from the life of ignorance and superstition in which religion has its roots, we seem to need it more and more.... Why has religion become a force just when we'd have thought it would be losing ground to secularism?” WayNeedsFirstsWellsMayLongSeemsMightWould BeMovingForceReligiousAtheismIgnoranceTvsLosingHappeningsConcernedRootsMeetingsPositive AtheismDesertSuperstitionsPreacherCousinLong WayRevivalSecularismGarmentsFundamentalistCongregationTrance Author:Phil Donahue
“I chose not to jump into the media frenzy and defend myself, though I was begged to be on every single TV show in existence. They want to blame entertainment? Isn't religion the first real entertainment? People dress up in costumes, sing songs and dedicate themselves in eternal fandom.” PeopleWantFirstsRealShowsSongExistenceAtheismMediaTvsEternalDressesBlameEntertainmentPositive AtheismTv ShowsCostumesFrenzyFandoms Author:Marilyn Manson
“I started drawing comics, and at first I was very influenced by the whole pop art movement, you know, Batman was on TV and all that pop art stuff? But then my next influence was in 1966, or maybe it was '65, I don't know. Somebody showed me a copy of the "East Village Other", which was an underground newspaper. And... it had comics in it! And they weren't superhero comics.” KnowsFirstsArtWholeNextStuffInfluenceMovementTvsPopsEastDrawingNewspapersCopiesVillageSuperheroPop ArtEast Village Author:Trina Robbins
“The Omen is one of my favorites. Even though I'm an atheist now, I was brought up Catholic and can remember thinking that it could actually be real! The first Dawn of the Dead is a great one. We had a TV serial in Britain called Day of the Triffids and that was always really terrifying for me as well.” ThinkingFirstsWellsRealRememberTvsCatholicAtheistDawnBritainBeing RealSerialsGreat OnesOmen Author:Nick Frost
“Every name in a TV show has to be run by the legal department first.” FirstsShowsRunningNamesTvsDepartmentTv Shows Author:Gina Bellman
“At first all I wanted to be was famous; then I realized that fame had nothing to do with talent. I felt that I didn't do anything quite well enough, that I was one of those people who was famous but not very talented. So I said, okay, I'll be the Dinah Shore of the Seventies, on TV all the time but nobody quite knows why.” PeopleKnowsFirstsWellsSaidEnoughWantedFeltTalentTvsFameOkayI RealizedShoreSeventies Author:Cher
“Go find very early versions of things: the first TV pilot of a later-successful TV show; early audition tapes by famous actors; early demos by famous musicians. Focus on these early examples, not what they became over the next 20 years. Remember that what you're doing will constantly improve.” YearsFirstsShowsRememberNextActorsSuccessfulFocusExampleTvsMusicianVersionsPilotsTapeTv ShowsAuditionsDemosFamous MusicianFamous Actor Author:Derek Sivers
“I want kids to think that reading can be just as much fun and more so than TV or video games or whatever else they do. I think any other kind of message or morals that I might teach is secondary to first just enjoying a book.” ThinkingWantFirstsKindBookMightKidsReadingGamesFunEnjoyMoralTeachTvsMessagesVideo Author:Louis Sachar
“Theater will always be my first love. The time and dedication that goes into the rehearsal process with the cast and crew is something that TV/Movie acting does not offer.” FirstsDoeProcessActingTvsOffersTheaterCastsDedicationFirst LoveCrewRehearsal Author:April Parker Jones
“When The Simpsons came around, there really was nothing else like it on TV. It's hard to imagine, but when Fox first took the plunge with it, it was considered controversial to put animation on prime time.” FirstsHardImagineTvsPrimeFoxesAnimationControversialPlungePrime Time Author:Matt Groening
“My first paid role was my first job out of drama school, which was Just William. It was a BBC TV show. I played Ethel.” FirstsShowsSchoolJobsRolesTvsDramaPaidTv Shows Author:Lily James
“The last TV show I binged on was 'Hannibal' because it stars two of my friends, Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy, who I first met filming 'King Arthur' back in 2003, and I just lapped this show up; loved it.” FirstsTwoShowsLastsStarsTvsKingsMetsMy FriendsTv ShowsArthurKing Arthur Author:Joel Edgerton
“My very first job was something called Nobodys Watching, that Bill Lawrence who created Scrubs, it was his pilot. It was my very first TV job, and it was a sitcom. Ever since that experience, Ive been so itching to get back to that kind of environment and just to be involved with comedy.” FirstsKindJobsEnvironmentComedyTvsInvolvedBillsGet BackPilotsSitcomItching Author:Mircea Monroe
“I did Showtime at the Apollo when I was 10, and it was the first time that Id ever performed on TV, and it felt great.” FirstsFeltTvsFirst TimeApolloShowtime Author:Sevyn Streeter
“I remember when TV networks believed in the First Amendment. It is a messed up situation when Miley Cyrus gets a laugh, and Phil Robertson gets suspended.” FirstsRememberSituationLaughingTvsAmendmentsRemember WhenFirst AmendmentSuspendedMessed UpMiley Author:Bobby Jindal
“I coauthored my first nonfiction book by the time I was 25. I have been involved in nonfiction documentaries, newspapers, TV and internet since that time.” FirstsHas BeensBookTvsInternetInvolvedNewspapersNonfictionDocumentaries Author:Julian Assange
“Most kids come home from school. They don't go to their TVs first. They go to the Internet. They check their emails, or some blogs, or some sites. Then they go watch TV. Other people are at work all day 9-5 in front of a computer. They see certain clips. We're not going to hide the fact that people use the Internet. We're going to try to be as interactive as possible with our fans. I'm currently on Twitter and Facebook and Flicker and Dig. I'm on all that stuff.” PeopleTryingFirstsFactsUseHomeKidsSchoolCertainStuffWatchesFansFrontsTvsInternetComputerChecksComing HomeSiteEmailBlogsClipFlickerInteractiveTwitter And Facebook Author:Jimmy Fallon
“The great thing about the moon landing is that my grandmother got the first color TV in order to be able to see the moon landing that was in black and white.” FirstsAbleOrderBlackWhiteColorTvsMoonGreat ThingsGrandmotherBlack And WhiteMy GrandmotherLandingMoon Landing Author:Alfonso Cuaron
“I worked on 'Blue Peter' and 'Tonight' and lots of TV plays, filmed people like Rudolf Nureyev and Ted Heath, and ended up a senior cameraman with my own crew. I'd had my first short story published in 1947, and when my writing really started to take off I decided to go freelance, and eventually left the BBC in 1965.” PeopleWritingFirstsPlayStoriesLeftMy OwnTvsDecidedBlueTonightShort StoryPeterCrewSeniorCameramanFilm Crew Author:Michael Bond
“For the first time the people of Iraq are united. Today on CNN I saw a Kurd, a Shiite and a member of the Republican Guard coming together to cart off a big screen TV.” PeopleFirstsBigsTodayTogetherUnitedSawsTvsRepublicanMembersFirst TimeIraqScreensCartsCnnComing TogetherBig ScreenKurds Author:Jay Leno
“I spent my entire first pay cheque from Cracker, a TV show on ABC, on an Audi because my other car broke down and I needed to get to work.” FirstsShowsPayCarTvsNeededDown AndBrokeTv ShowsCrackersChequesAudi Author:Josh Hartnett
“My first car was in 2006 when I got on my first TV show - a BMW 328i2 four-door sedan in slate grey. That was a great day, that was.” FirstsShowsFourDoorsCarTvsTv ShowsGreySlateGreat DayBmw Author:Rebecca Mader
“I used to do volunteer work in poor areas of Cairo, and people would gather their money together to get a satellite dish. You'd see them huddling around and for the first time seeing issues being debated on TV that had never been talked about before. And that is the biggest promoter of democracy you could possibly have.” PeopleFirstsTogetherUsedPoorDemocracyIssuesSeeingTvsFirst TimeAreasDishesVolunteerSatellitesPromotersCairoVolunteer Work Author:Jehane Noujaim
“You always know when one of the first ["Harry Potter" movies] are on TV, because you'll get a text message from one of your friends saying, "How high was your voice?" It's like watching a home movie, in some sense. But you just remember because the audience sees the scenes as they're written, but we remember shooting [the scenes] and all the stories that came around it. Like the Quidditch World Cup in ["Harry Potter and the] Goblet of Fire," it's like the Glastonbury Festival at Leavesden [Studios].” KnowsWorldFirstsStoriesHomeRememberVoiceAudienceFireWrittenTvsSceneMessagesStudiosCupsShootingHarry PotterFestivalsPottersWorld CupText MessageHarry Potter MovieQuidditchGlastonbury Author:James Phelps
“In novels you're able to occupy character's internal thoughts and it's really hard to do in a film or a TV show. When you're reading a character's thoughts or when it's in first person, you're reading kind of their own story, so you have the opportunity to see what makes that character complex or complicated. And to me that's what the whole point of fiction is.” FirstsKindPersonsHardWholeCharacterStoriesShowsAbleFilmReadingOpportunityFictionNovelTvsComplexesComplicatedInternalsTv ShowsFirst Person Author:Joe Meno
“I was very dirty; I was a very dirty comic. There was no way I would have gotten on TV with the act I had when I first started.” WayFirstsTvsComicDirty Author:Gabriel Iglesias
“When I was probably about 10 or 11, and I found it was simply something I could do. When you're at school and you do something and you get praised for it, you think, "Oh, right, well I'll do that." From then on, I always thought I'd be a writer. I thought novels at first, and then I sort of naturally drifted into TV.” ThinkingFirstsWellsSchoolFoundNovelTvs Author:Steven Knight
“I first wanted to be a comedian when I was six or seven and my dad showed me Laurel and Hardy's "Perfect Day" on tv.” FirstsWantedPerfectTvsDadSixSevenMy DadComedianHardyLaurelsPerfect DaysLaurel And Hardy Author:Will Smith
“The first time I was on TV, on "Flight of the Conchords," someone put up a YouTube clip and said, 'You're too ugly to be on TV.' And I was like, 'That is exactly why it's a good thing that I'm on TV.'” FirstsSaidHumorFunnyTvsFirst TimeGood ThingsUglyFlightYoutubeClip Author:Kristen Schaal
“I made my first film McLibel independently but only by accident. I tried to get a commission from all the standard TV broadcasters but because they had been sued by McDonald's in the past none of them would commission me so I ended up making it by credit cards and rich boyfriends (I'm joking - about the boyfriends).” FirstsMadePastFilmRichTvsStandardsCreditAccidentsCardsCredit CardMcdonaldsBroadcasters Author:Franny Armstrong
“I'm part of the first generation who grew up with manga [comics] and anime [animation], you know, after 'Godzilla.' I was absorbed with Ultraman on TV and in manga. The profession of game designer was created really recently. If it didn't exist, I'd probably be making anime.” IfsKnowsFirstsGamesGenerationsTvsGrewGrew UpProfessionDesignerAnimationAnimeGodzilla Author:Satoshi Tajiri
“I just saw Twilight on TV, for the first time, a few days ago, and, when my song came on, I was just thinking that is so bazaar that I actually had a song in the movie.” ThinkingFirstsSongSawsTvsFirst TimeTwilightBazaars Author:Robert Pattinson
“The first thing I say when people ask what's the difference [between doing TV and film], is that film has an ending and TV doesn't. When I write a film, all I think about is where the thing ends and how to get the audience there. And in television, it can't end. You need the audience to return the next week. It kind of shifts the drive of the story. But I find that more as a writer than as a director.” PeopleThinkingNeedsWritingFirstsKindEndsStoriesFilmNextAsksDifferencesAudienceWeekTelevisionTvsReturnDirectorsNext Week Author:Jason Reitman