--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With Westerns you have the landscape is…" description: "\"With Westerns you have the landscape is important, and it's empty, and only you populate it. When you populate it, you can tell any kind story that Sha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/lawrence-kasdan-24339_empty_with-westerns-you-have-the-landscape-is_3042002.jpg" --- # With Westerns you have the landscape is important, and… ![“With Westerns you have the landscape is important, and it's empty, and only you populate it. When you populate it, you can tell any kind story that Shakespeare told, you can tell in a Western.” quote by Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/lawrence-kasdan-24339_empty_with-westerns-you-have-the-landscape-is_3042002.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/lawrence-kasdan-24339_empty_with-westerns-you-have-the-landscape-is_3042002.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/lawrence-kasdan-24339_empty_with-westerns-you-have-the-landscape-is_3042002.jpg) > “With Westerns you have the landscape is important, and it's empty, and only you populate it. When you populate it, you can tell any kind story that Shakespeare told, you can tell in a Western.” [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Western settings are empty canvases where the creator populates the landscape, allowing any story type, similar to Shakespeare’s versatility. **In simple terms:** Western landscapes are empty canvases for any story. Key Takeaway Use setting as a flexible narrative tool. Themes storytelling setting creativity Mood analytical creative Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - film writing - theatre - visual arts Key Concepts narrative theory film studies Questions to Reflect On - How does setting influence character? - What stories thrive in minimal landscapes? A Different Perspective Empty settings can limit realism if not detailed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Landscape Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape-important-5019979/) [Shakespeare Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare-told-2458054/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Tell Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-western-5019978/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) [Westerns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/westerns/) [Westerns Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/westerns-landscape-5019977/) ## Related quotes > [“Shakespeare told us precious little of the man whom he entombed in his linguistic sarcophagus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/shakespeare-told-us-precious-little-of-the-man-whom-he-entombed-in/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The thing that I have a horror of is ideological theatre - Shakespeare never told us how to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-brook/the-thing-that-i-have-a-horror-of-is-ideological-theatre-shakespeare/) [Peter Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-brook/) > [But there’s a reason we recognize Hamlet as a masterpiece: it’s that Shakespeare told us the truth, and people so rarely tell us the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/but-there-s-a-reason-we-recognize-hamlet-as-a-masterpiece-it-s-that/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [William Shakespeare was the most remarkable storyteller that the world has ever known. Homer told of adventure and men at war, Sophocles and Tolstoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marchette-chute/william-shakespeare-was-the-most-remarkable-storyteller-that-the/) [Marchette Chute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marchette-chute/) > [The kind of pace that you want to use in a Western - just to acknowledge the land in the distance that everyone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/the-kind-of-pace-that-you-want-to-use-in-a-western-just-to/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [Your landscape in a western is one of the most important characters the film has. The best westerns are about man against his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/your-landscape-in-a-western-is-one-of-the-most-important-characters/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [The defining aspects of westerns are still pretty much in place - namely landscape and conflict. In other books the conflict can be internal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-crook/the-defining-aspects-of-westerns-are-still-pretty-much-in-place/) [Elizabeth Crook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-crook/) > [Any story that Billy Wilder told, you can tell in a Western.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/any-story-that-billy-wilder-told-you-can-tell-in-a-western/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [I was growing up with a single mom who'd be at work when I came home from school. So I'd just turn on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bailey-chase/i-was-growing-up-with-a-single-mom-who-d-be-at-work-when-i-came-home/) [Bailey Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bailey-chase/) > [The first Westerns I saw as a child were those little 8-mm. home movies put out by Castle Films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/the-first-westerns-i-saw-as-a-child-were-those-little-8-mm-home/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [I tend to lean more towards the Westerns of the 40s and 50s as opposed to the 60s and 70s. They get a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-macfarlane/i-tend-to-lean-more-towards-the-westerns-of-the-40s-and-50s-as/) [Seth MacFarlane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-macfarlane/) > [I wanted to have fun after 'Annapolis,' and make a Western.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-lin/i-wanted-to-have-fun-after-annapolis-and-make-a-western/) [Justin Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-lin/) > [“That era provided a profusion of wonderful actors and actresses to admire—and not always the ones remembered by posterity. Take Joel McCrea, for instance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wagner/that-era-provided-a-profusion-of-wonderful-actors-and-actresses-to/) [Robert Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wagner/) > [In a Western, you don't over-explain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dean-morgan/in-a-western-you-don-t-over-explain/) [Jeffrey Dean Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dean-morgan/) > [Don't ever for a minute make the mistake of looking down your nose at westerns. They're art - the good ones, I mean. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/don-t-ever-for-a-minute-make-the-mistake-of-looking-down-your-nose-at/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) ## More by Lawrence Kasdan > [Any story that Billy Wilder told, you can tell in a Western.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/any-story-that-billy-wilder-told-you-can-tell-in-a-western/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [The kind of pace that you want to use in a Western - just to acknowledge the land in the distance that everyone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/the-kind-of-pace-that-you-want-to-use-in-a-western-just-to/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [I mean, the trouble with some of the kind of relationship movies I've done, is there's only so many ways you can shoot a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/i-mean-the-trouble-with-some-of-the-kind-of-relationship-movies-i-ve/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [I loved Alien, and I loved Carrie, and I loved The Exorcist - those were big movies for me. They were just brilliantly done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/i-loved-alien-and-i-loved-carrie-and-i-loved-the-exorcist-those-were/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [Almost every other Western in the last ten years has failed, since Dances with Wolves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/almost-every-other-western-in-the-last-ten-years-has-failed-since/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [It's hard enough to get any movie made, and when you take on these tough genres - and I've done it a couple times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/it-s-hard-enough-to-get-any-movie-made-and-when-you-take-on-these/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [I want everything I do to have humor in it, because it seems to me that all of life has that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/i-want-everything-i-do-to-have-humor-in-it-because-it-seems-to-me/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [Being a writer is like having homework every night for the rest of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/being-a-writer-is-like-having-homework-every-night-for-the-rest-of/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [That was certainly true the first time, when I did Body Heat, the first movie that I directed. I was looking for a vessel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/that-was-certainly-true-the-first-time-when-i-did-body-heat-the-first/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [You know, Stephen says, in the movies no one ever goes to the bathroom. They shave, they brush their teeth. He goes right at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/you-know-stephen-says-in-the-movies-no-one-ever-goes-to-the-bathroom/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [I mean, I really liked those guys and the experience of doing Raiders was really good for me, but I did not really want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/i-mean-i-really-liked-those-guys-and-the-experience-of-doing-raiders/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [I really liked Carrie a lot. That was one of Brian De Palma's best movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/i-really-liked-carrie-a-lot-that-was-one-of-brian-de-palma-s-best/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [I didn't really want to do another sequel. I go to those movies, and I just sort of enjoy them like a viewer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/i-didn-t-really-want-to-do-another-sequel-i-go-to-those-movies-and-i/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [The movies that made me want to make movies were action movies, and thrillers, and Kurosawa films, you know, where you have an opportunity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/the-movies-that-made-me-want-to-make-movies-were-action-movies-and/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [What you hope for, like Unforgiven did a lot to give you a chance to do it again sometime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/what-you-hope-for-like-unforgiven-did-a-lot-to-give-you-a-chance-to/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) [Explore all 24 Lawrence Kasdan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) ## More Empty quotes > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [No sane local official who has hung up an empty stocking over the municipal fireplace is going to shoot Santa Claus just before a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-smith/no-sane-local-official-who-has-hung-up-an-empty-stocking-over-the/) [Al Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-smith/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [“Joe!” he groaned, attempting to speak clearly. “Joe! Good ol’ Joe!” “Captain, you’re drunk!” Lofflin said, stating the obvious while trying to keep his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/joe-he-groaned-attempting-to-speak-clearly-joe-good-ol-joe-captain/) [Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/) > [Why chase after thoughts, which are superficial ripples of present awareness? Rather look directly into the naked, empty nature of thoughts; then there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamgon-kongtrul/why-chase-after-thoughts-which-are-superficial-ripples-of-present/) [Jamgon Kongtrul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamgon-kongtrul/) > [Education turns an empty mind into an open mind. It turns information into behavioural transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiv-khera/education-turns-an-empty-mind-into-an-open-mind-it-turns-information/) [Shiv Khera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiv-khera/) > [He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. He that is empty shall be filled. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-that-humbles-himself-shall-be-preserved-entire-he-that-bends-shall/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Our real nature is not our imaginary, limited ego. Our true nature is vast, all-comprehensive, and intangible as empty space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anagarika-govinda/our-real-nature-is-not-our-imaginary-limited-ego-our-true-nature-is/) [Anagarika Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anagarika-govinda/) > [Adults look upon a child as something empty that is to be filled through their own efforts, as something inert and helpless for which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/adults-look-upon-a-child-as-something-empty-that-is-to-be-filled/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [I don't see the future as bright, language-wise. I see it as a glass half empty - and evaporating quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-don-t-see-the-future-as-bright-language-wise-i-see-it-as-a-glass/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I get letters every year from women who think Valentine's Day is an empty exercise, but are ironically pretty exercised when their boyfriends neglect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/i-get-letters-every-year-from-women-who-think-valentine-s-day-is-an/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) [Browse all 3,081 Empty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With Westerns you have the landscape is important, and it's empty, and only you populate it. When you populate it, you can tell any kind story that Shakespeare told, you can tell in a Western.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lawrence Kasdan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/with-westerns-you-have-the-landscape-is-important-and-it-s-empty-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Empty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/with-westerns-you-have-the-landscape-is-important-and-it-s-empty-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/lawrence-kasdan-24339_empty_with-westerns-you-have-the-landscape-is_3042002.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/lawrence-kasdan-24339_empty_with-westerns-you-have-the-landscape-is_3042002.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/lawrence-kasdan-24339_empty_with-westerns-you-have-the-landscape-is_3042002.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“With Westerns you have the landscape is important, and it's empty, and only you populate it. When you…” — Lawrence Kasdan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lawrence Kasdan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "With Westerns you have the landscape...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/with-westerns-you-have-the-landscape-is-important-and-it-s-empty-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/with-westerns-you-have-the-landscape-is-important-and-it-s-empty-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```