Screenwriting Quotes

60 quotes by 57 authors

Screenwriting is no more complicated than old French torture chambers, I think. It's about as simple as that. — James L. Brooks
And how deeply do I let business considerations affect [screenwriting] choices that might otherwise be more or less esthetic? . . . Do I choose… — Edward Zwick
What makes screenplays difficult are the things that require the most discipline and care and are just not seen by most people. I'm talking about… — Robert Towne
I've come to view screenwriting assignments as playwriting grants, because they provide a considerable financial cushion. However, they can also be extremely time-consuming. Film projects… — Donald Margulies
All these teachers and [screenwriting] books mean you see movies that have been worked over by more committees wielding more rules, that all originality and… — Paul Schrader
I've quit writing screenplay [adaptations]. It's too much work. I don't look at writing a novel as work, because I only have to please myself.… — Elmore Leonard
I usually write very few stage directions. I think a lot of that is a waste of time. The art of screenwriting is in its… — Scott Frank
For me, screenwriting is all about setting characters in motion and as a writer just chasing them. They should tell you what theyâ€™ll do in… — Justin Zackham
I guess I considered myself just sort of a sketch comedian, you know? Actual screenwriting hadn't really occurred to me as a viable job -… — Thomas Lennon
Whatever you do in terms of telling a story, the most important thing that you can define is who you are. — John Patrick Shanley
Working at Pixar has been like my graduate school for screenwriting. — Michael Arndt
I think, in a weird way, the reason I was drawn to screenwriting and the reason I really love doing it is because I love… — David Benioff
Audiences are harder to please if you're just giving them effects, but they're easy to please if it's a good story. — Steven Spielberg
I have always credited the writer of the original material above the title: Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Bram Stoker's Dracula, or John Grisham's The Rainmaker.… — Francis Ford Coppola
There is no point in having sharp images when you've fuzzy ideas. — Jean-Luc Godard
Once you crack the script, everything else follows. — Ridley Scott
[Making movies is] 80% script and 20% getting great actors. There's nothing else to it. — William Wyler
Give me a good script, and I'll be a hundred times better as a director. — George Cukor
If you put someone in a room with no script to direct, they're just going to sit there. Writing scripts is the execution for a… — John Patrick Shanley
The script, I always believe, is the foundation of everything. — Ewan McGregor

Who Wrote These Screenwriting Quotes

57 authors contributed a total of 60 Screenwriting Quotes, led by these top contributors: