“I liked to think I had written 'scripts' when I was in high school, but looking back at them, they were about thirty pages of wannabe-Mamet dialogue with a staple through them.” ThinkingSchoolWrittenPagesHigh SchoolScriptsDialogueThirtyLooking BackStaplesWannabes Author:Lorene Scafaria
“It makes it easier, if you can't do an American accent. I don't know. It's different. I played a character in Never Let Me Go where the script for my character was very sparse, and I enjoyed it. With Never Let Me Go, I had a whole book written from my character's point of view, so I always knew where I was. But, with Ryan [Gosling], it was just easy. He's such a brilliant actor and he is so prepared. He doesn't have to warm himself up to be in a scene. He's just in it. It draws you in, in a way.” IfsKnowsWayBookDifferentWholeCharacterActorsEasyViewsWrittenEasierSceneDrawsLet MePreparedScriptsWarmPoint Of ViewBrilliantEnjoyedAccentsLet Me GoNever Let Me Go Author:Carey Mulligan
“Even if the script's well written there's something about the life of an improvisation that resonates better than a written word, sometimes.” IfsWellsSometimesWrittenScriptsImprovisationWritten WordWell Written Author:John Travolta
“Israel is the very embodiment of Jewish continuity: It is the only nation on earth that inhabits the same land, bears the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same God that it did 3,000 years ago. You dig the soil and you find pottery from Davidic times, coins from Bar Kokhba, and 2,000-year-old scrolls written in a script remarkably like the one that today advertises ice cream at the corner candy store.” YearsTodayEarthNamesSpeakLanguageNationsWrittenLandBearsWorshipYears AgoScriptsIsraelCornersStoresBarsIceSoilCreamCoinsCandyIce CreamContinuityEmbodimentPotteryCandy Stores Author:Charles Krauthammer
“I know it's boring to say this but I always start with the script. I mean if it's well written and it's a character that I haven't necessarily played before.” IfsKnowsWellsMeanCharacterWrittenHavensScriptsBoringWell Written Author:Billy Bob Thornton
“Chris [ Nolan] and I have a strange way of working from the non-movie process, where after all these conversations and reading the script and more conversations, Chris went out and shot the films and the first thing he did, he wouldn't show it to me until I had written the music - not out of meanness, or anything, it just sort of seemed an interesting idea to see if there was some synchronicity and letting me use my imagination to the fullest instead of being constricted by cuts and images.” IfsWayFirstsIdeasUseShowsFilmReadingProcessImaginationInterestingCuttingWrittenStrangeConversationShotsScriptsMy ImaginationMeannessSynchronicityNolanInteresting Ideas Author:Christopher Nolan
“With films, I just scribble a couple of notes for a scene. You don't have to do any writing at all, you just have your notes for the scene, which are written with the actors and the camera in mind. The actual script is a necessity for casting and budgeting, but the end product often doesn't bear much resemblance to the script--at least in my case.” WritingMindEndsFilmActorsCasesWrittenProductsBearsCoupleSceneCamerasNotesScriptsCastingResemblanceScribblesBudgeting Author:Woody Allen
“The whole movie thing has never been a source of great pride for me, in that Burt Reynolds, who starred in the picture, butchered the original script I had written for the late Steve McQueen, and the result, while a massive moneymaker, was lashed by the critics. But like the old joke about Pierre the Bridge Builder, The Cannonball Run is indelibly inscribed on my so-called career portfolio, and few conversations with strangers pass without the subject of the picture arising.” WholeRunningResultsCareersWrittenSubjectsSourcePrideConversationLateJokesOriginalsCriticsScriptsStrangerBridgesMassiveBuilderPortfoliosMcqueenOld JokesCannonballs Author:Brock Yates
“When the first emperor wanted to unify the country, one of the major policies was to create one system of written signs. By force, brutal force, he eliminated all the other scripts. One script became the official script. All the others were banned. And those who used other scripts were punished severely. And then the meanings of all the characters, over the centuries, had to be kept uniform as a part of the political apparatus. So from the very beginning the written word was a powerful political tool.” FirstsCountryCharacterWantedPoliticalUsedForcePowerfulWrittenCenturyPolicyMajorsToolsScriptsOfficialsBrutalUniformsEmperorBannedWritten Word Author:Ha Jin
“I've written so many things over the years that I don't want to go back to being just a scriptwriter. I'm in what I consider to be the enviable position of all I have to do is come up with the idea and write an outline that makes it seem like it's a viable idea that will interest people, and then other people write the scripts -- and I become the executive producer or the producer, depending on how much involvement I have, and I get a creative credit and then move on to the next project.” PeopleWantWritingYearsIdeasSeemsMovingNextInterestCreativeWrittenPositionProjectsScriptsCome UpCreditProducersExecutivesInvolvementOutlines Author:Stan Lee
“I would not have made any of my films or written scripts such as Taxi Driver had it not been for Ingmar Bergman, What he has left is a legacy greater than any other director.... I think the extraordinary thing that Bergman will be remembered for, other than his body of work, was that he probably did more than anyone to make cinema a medium of personal and introspective value.” ThinkingMadeBodyFilmValuesLeftGreaterWrittenDirectorsExtraordinaryScriptsMediumsLegacyRememberedCinemaDriversIntrospectiveTaxiExtraordinary ThingsBergman Author:Paul Schrader
“Twenty-two pages is not a lot of space. Believe me. Having written a bazillion comics, I still find myself more often than nine pages into a script and realizing to my horror that I'm only about a quarter of the way through the story I wanted to tell, and the next thing you know, I'm making fresh coffee and tearing up the floorboards to rewrite.” KnowsWayBelieveStillsTwoBookStoriesWantedNextRealizingSpaceWrittenHorrorPagesTwentiesScriptsCoffeeNineComicQuartersBelieve In MeComic BookTwenty Two Author:Mark Waid
“When I first read the script a few years ago I thought it was one of the best written scripts I had ever read.” YearsFirstsWrittenYears AgoScripts Author:Victor Garber
“You have to understand that people feel threatened by a writer. It's very curious. He knows something they don't know. He knows how to write, and that's a subtle, disturbing quality he has. Some directors without even knowing it, resent the writer in the same way Bob Hope might resent the fact he ain't funny without twelve guys writing the jokes. The director knows the script he is carrying around on the set every day was written by someone, and that's just not something that all directors easily digest.” PeopleKnowsWayFeelsWritingFactsMightGuyQualityKnow HowKnowingWrittenDirectorsJokesScriptsCuriousSubtleTwelveBobThreatenedDisturbingResent Author:Ernest Lehman
“I don't see a difference between playing a performance capture role and a live action role, they're just characters to me at the end of the day and I'm an actor who wants to explore those characters in fantastically written scripts. The only caveat is a good story is a good character.” WantEndsCharacterStoriesActionActorsDifferencesRolesWrittenPerformancesScriptsThe End Of The DayCaptureGood StoryGood Character Author:Andy Serkis
“I would love to produce a film. I have written a script and am in the process of writing another, so maybe it will happen down the road. I would love to do a film in Africa.” WritingHappensFilmProcessWrittenProduceScriptsDown The Road Author:Judi Shekoni
“Maybe that's when bad scripts are written, when you choose the theme first. I consider that I've something to say when I've thought of a person, a moment, a single beat of the heart, that I think is true and interesting, and therefore should be seen.” ThinkingShouldFirstsHeartPersonsMomentsInterestingWrittenBeatsScriptsThemeYou Choose Author:Russell T Davies
“The idea was to take fine art and put it into the location of the movie scripts. The script itself is collage - some of the lines come from actual movies and I've written others to make the text work with the found image. In this way, the details of old dead guys' paintings (from the collection of the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, where this work will be exhibited in relation to the historical paintings) become illustrations of the movie scripts. I found this mélange of high art and Hollywood amusing.” WayArtIdeasGuyFoundLinesWrittenPaintingFineHollywoodRelationHistoricalScriptsDetailsCollectionsMuseumsLocationAmusingFine ArtsIllustrationCollagesHigh ArtFrankfurt Author:John Baldessari
“I improvise whenever I feel it's important, or whenever I think that something's there. It's nice to have a script that's so well-written that I don't have to improvise. I mean, I used to have to re-write whole movies; this is kind of nice.” ThinkingFeelsWritingWellsKindMeanImportantWholeUsedNiceWrittenScriptsWell Written Author:Bill Murray
“Far too often scripts are being written with race in mind, but the subject matter doesn't lend itself to any conversation on race. I applaud Jesse [Zwick] for having the courage to say, this [About Alex] just a story about friends, and they could be anyone. There's no specific color that forces a relationship to be discussed in any other manner.” MindMatterStoriesForceRaceWrittenSubjectsColorConversationScriptsAlexSubject Matter Author:Nate Parker
“I've written a lot of scripts that someone else directed, and it's absolutely vital that, if I'm gonna act in it, then I have to take off the writer hat and let the director direct.” IfsWrittenDirectorsDirectScriptsHats Author:William H. Macy
“The reason I've gotten into script-writing, which was accidental to begin with, was that I found it was a far more effective medium for violence. Which is something that I'd always written in songs, but the violence always sat strangely within a song. And I was always interested in the way in which you listen to murder ballads and things like that - these weird lines would kind of come out, like, I drug her by the hair or something - that sat weirdly in the song. Film seems to be a medium designed for betrayal and violence.” WayWritingKindReasonSeemsFilmSongFoundLinesViolenceWrittenHairDrugMurderScriptsBetrayalMediumsSatBallads Author:Nick Cave
“The hardest work that actors have done, including myself, is on poorly written scripts. And when you first start out you do anything. I did a lot of crap. I did more crap than I can tell you. But you did it because you needed the money. You have to pay for your pictures and resumes, and classes and insurance and food like everybody else. In those days if it was crap you just didn't put it on your resume.” IfsFirstsI CanDoneActorsPayClassWrittenNeededIncludingScriptsHardestCrapResumes Author:Bryan Cranston
“Most scripts that get written in Hollywood dont go anywhere.” WrittenHollywoodScripts Author:Evan Daugherty
“I structure the scripts and work on them on films and work on scenes with writers and but I haven't written a script myself, I really respect what they do and I'm fortunate I get to work with people that I really enjoy working with and we all kind of spitball and work together on these things, but I haven't written a script yet.” PeopleKindTogetherFilmEnjoyWrittenHavensSceneStructureScriptsAll KindsFortunateWorking Together Author:Tom Cruise
“A writer/director is a tough thing to gauge when someone hasn't directed a movie before. You just don't know. Sometimes it will be a great script that's written beautifully, and then the director who has also written it does not have the facility to translate it.” KnowsDoeSometimesWrittenDirectorsToughScriptsTranslateFacilityGaugesTough Things Author:Richard Ayoade
“When script is written well, then you start to make decisions of, "Well, do I want to be away from home for that long? Do I like the people involved?" When it's written well, a lot of those things go away and you can't not do it.” PeopleWantWellsLongHomeDecisionWrittenInvolvedScriptsGoing AwayAway From Home Author:Michael Cudlitz
“I'm just an actor. It's the way the script is written, and it's easy. I don't have think about it. When you receive the script, you know pretty well how to play it, apart from little technicalities like the accent.” ThinkingKnowsWayWellsLittlesPlayActorsEasyWrittenScriptsAccentsTechnicalities Author:Anthony Hopkins
“If I'm writing a novel, I'll probably get up in the morning, do email, perhaps blog, deal with emergencies, and then be off novel-writing around 1.00pm and stop around 6.00pm. And I'll be writing in longhand, a safe distance from my computer. If I'm not writing a novel, there is no schedule, and scripts and introductions and whatnot can find themselves being written at any time and on anything.” IfsWritingDealsMorningNovelWrittenSafeComputerDistanceScriptsGet UpSchedulesEmailEmergenciesIntroductionBlogsNovel Writing Author:Neil Gaiman
“I started out as an actor, but I forced myself to be a writer, even though I wasn't very good at it and had never written. I don't think I ever passed an English course in my life. My first eight to 10 scripts were pretty horrendous, but I stayed at it, stayed at it, and stayed at it, until I eventually found a voice and a subject like Rocky that people were interested in.” PeopleThinkingFirstsCoursesActorsFoundVoiceWrittenSubjectsVery GoodScriptsEight Author:Sylvester Stallone
“I remember reading scripts when I started in the business, and [Latino roles] were either nonexistent or written as the maid or a drug dealer. We're no longer just that. I'll play any part that challenges me. What's important is that all races have choices.” ImportantPlayRememberChoicesReadingChallengesRaceRolesWrittenDrugScriptsLatinoWhat's ImportantMaidsDealerDrug Dealers Author:Eva Mendes
“I'm not ambitious when it comes to my acting career. I'm not breaking down my agency's doors or sending out headshots. Even when I'm offered work, I always want small parts. When it comes to things that other people have written, I just don't know what I'm doing. I'm terrible at memorizing a script and reading lines. I get confused and I don't understand and it just looks fake to me. It's more difficult for me to be creative that way.” PeopleKnowsWayWantLooksReadingDifficultLinesActingCareersCreativeWrittenDoorsTerribleScriptsFakeAgencyConfusedAmbitiousBe CreativeBreaking DownSmall PartsMemorizingHeadshots Author:Amy Sedaris
“It's usually very, very hard for me to pick up a script that was written and try and see myself as a part of that, especially when you're used to performing all your own material. It's OK with drama, I like being handed great material but I think with comedy it's far more personal and probably a lot harder for me to find a fit.” ThinkingTryingHardUsedComedyWrittenMaterialsFitDramaPicksHarderScriptsPerforming Author:Eric Bana
“If you just read Joseph Campbell, who has written amazing books on mythology and religion, they all do come together at some point. There are some of the greatest stories that there have ever been in the Bible. All you have to do is read the book of Maccabi, it's like a film script.” IfsBookStoriesTogetherFilmWrittenScriptsMythologyAmazing Book Author:Mel Gibson
“Most scripts are written to be green lit. They're not written to be acted. And a lot of writers with the greatest intention in the world don't write for actors. They don't understand the architecture of what an actor needs to get from point A to point B.” WorldNeedsWritingActorsWrittenGreenIntentionScriptsArchitectureLit Author:Laura Linney
“I use improvisation as a writing tool to help produce material that goes into a script, but a well-crafted script shouldn't sound scripted, and oftentimes people confuse something that looks like improvisation for what is actually a very well-written script that is well-acted.” PeopleWritingWellsLooksHelpingUseSoundWrittenProduceMaterialsToolsScriptsImprovisationWell Written Author:Steve Coogan
“Lots of scripts are written and not made, even scripts that people want to make.” PeopleWantMadeWrittenScripts Author:James Salter
“When doing a revival, you have a lot of people asking you questions about someone who played it before, and to me that's neither here nor there - it has no bearing on the material that I have to use. The material that is written down in a score and script that the writers originally used is what I use.” PeopleUseUsedWrittenMaterialsAskingScriptsScoreRevival Author:Kelli O'Hara
“It's exotic for me to be given a script that's already written, and be given a pay cheque, and asked to dress up and play, and that's all.” PlayGivenPayWrittenDressesScriptsExoticCheques Author:Tilda Swinton
“In an ideal world the script is written lean and tight and therefore there are no scenes left on the cuttring room floor and therefore no extended edition.” WorldLeftRoomsWrittenSceneIdealsScriptsIdeal World Author:Peter Jackson
“In the case of my second film The Fish Child (El Niño Pez), I had written the novel about 5 years before I made into a film. In the case of The German Doctor I had published the novel a year before I started writing the script, I even had another project to shoot. But I had this idea of the powerful cinematic language from the novel that I couldn't let go of.” WritingYearsChildrenMadeIdeasFilmLanguagePowerfulCasesNovelWrittenLetting GoProjectsDoctorsScriptsFishesCinematicPez Author:Lucia Puenzo
“If I were an immigrant Latino not born in the US, I could not have written Searching for Whitopia: An Improbably Journey to the Heart of America book. And that is because many of the Whitopians would not have been comfortable talking about their views on immigration, talking about their views on taxes. And they wouldn't have spilled to me the new script on race and poverty as they did.” IfsHeartHas BeensBookAmericaBornViewsRaceTalkingPovertyWrittenJourneyTaxesComfortableScriptsImmigrationImmigrantsLatino Author:Richard Benjamin
“I had written a script called "Freed," which I had wanted to direct.” WantedWrittenDirectScripts Author:Dan Gilroy
“I had read the scripts that Nora Ephron had written as a movie about Mike McAlary. We were never able to make it at HBO because we couldn't cast it properly and when I left I called Nora and said, "Look, I actually think that the movie luckyguyindustry has changed. It's very unlikely that you'd be able to make this as a movie. I actually think it's a play."” ThinkingLooksSaidPlayAbleLeftWrittenChangedScriptsCastsUnlikelyMikeHbo Author:Colin Callender
“We usually start by asking the collaborators to submit a couple of ideas. Then, Larry and I will sort through all the submissions and choose the ones based on what we think will add most to the collection. Once the scripts are written, the stages are: rehearse, record, edit, sound design, foley and finally, the mix.” ThinkingIdeasSoundRecordsWrittenStageDesignCoupleAskingAddScriptsCollectionsSubmitSubmissionEditsLarryCollaboratorsSound Design Author:Glenn McQuaid
“You can always find ways to make it different, as long as it's a really well-written script and well-written character.” WayWellsLongDifferentCharacterWrittenScriptsWell Written Author:Georgina Haig
“I don't think the written word is important in movies anymore and the really great movies are done by great directors who in many cases write their own scripts. I think it's gotten to be more of a visual thing than an audible thing.” ThinkingWritingImportantDoneCasesWrittenDirectorsScriptsVisualsReally GreatWritten Word Author:Anita Loos
“I love making the backstory for myself. I think it's important. Every part I play, I work on the backstory. If it's fully written out in the script, or there are intimations of it in the script, fine. If not, fine, no problem. I'll fill it in, or I'll create what it is.” IfsThinkingImportantPlayProblemWrittenFineScriptsNo ProblemLove Making Author:Jeffrey DeMunn
“Most of the guys like sticking to the script and doing just what's written. If they're exploring, they're exploring ways of doing the script.” IfsWayGuyWrittenScriptsExploring Author:Jon Turteltaub