Possessions are usually diminished by possession.
We want to see ourselves reflected in our heroes. Unfortunately most of us don't look like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The life of a character doesn't just exist between action and cut.
I don't take a scene or word for granted.
The guy who kills 38 people is not the guy you'd want to have over at Thanksgiving.
When you get the call from Quentin Tarantino, it's the call of a lifetime. You don't allow yourself to be vulnerable enough or to be fool enough to expect that phone call to happen, in reality.
I wrote about wasting time, which I suppose is a part of the great human journey. We're supposed to wallow, to go through the desert without water for a long time so that when we finally drink it, we'll truly need it and we won't spill a drop. It's about being present.
Can't you. . . I don't know. Find a hobby or something?" "Being charming is my hobby," said Adrian obstinately. "I'm the life of the party— even without drinking. I wasn't meant to be alone.
Anyone can write five people trapped in a snowstorm. The question is how you get them into the snowstorm. It's hard to write a good play because it's hard to structure a plot. If you can think of it off the top of your head, so can the audience. To think of a plot that is, as Aristotle says, surprising and yet inevitable, is a lot, lot, lot of work.
My father gave me free run of his library. When I think of my boyhood, I think in terms of the books I read.
The best writing has no lace on its sleeves.