--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Basically, I'm a writer. I'm the…" description: "\"Basically, I'm a writer. I'm the proprietor of the vision. I alone know what I eventually want to happen on the screen. So if you have a valuable idea,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9c/mel-brooks-2308_direct_basically-i-m-a-writer-i-m-the-proprieto_710204.png" --- # Basically, I'm a writer. I'm the proprietor of the vision… ![“Basically, I'm a writer. I'm the proprietor of the vision. I alone know what I eventually want to happen on the screen. So if you have a valuable idea, the only way to protect it is to direct it.” quote by Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9c/mel-brooks-2308_direct_basically-i-m-a-writer-i-m-the-proprieto_710204.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9c/mel-brooks-2308_direct_basically-i-m-a-writer-i-m-the-proprieto_710204.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9c/mel-brooks-2308_direct_basically-i-m-a-writer-i-m-the-proprieto_710204.png) > “Basically, I'm a writer. I'm the proprietor of the vision. I alone know what I eventually want to happen on the screen. So if you have a valuable idea, the only way to protect it is to direct it.” [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative control means protecting ideas by directing them personally. **In simple terms:** Own your vision by leading its execution. Key Takeaway Take charge of your creative projects. Themes creativity ownership vision Mood playful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - film making - writing - project management - entrepreneurship Key Concepts direction intellectual property film production Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance control with collaboration? - When should you delegate creative decisions? A Different Perspective Creative control can limit collaborative input. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Direct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Happen Screen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happen-screen-5603376/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Proprietor Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proprietor-vision-5603374/) [Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect/) [Screen Valuable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screen-valuable-5603375/) [Screens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screens/) [Valuable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valuable/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Vision Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision-know-4349811/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Writer Proprietor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-proprietor-5603377/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [You have to have a vision and know that it's worth seeing it through. Other than that, just be true to your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-reeves/you-have-to-have-a-vision-and-know-that-it-s-worth-seeing-it-through/) [Jason Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-reeves/) > [I always have a vision when I go in, I always know what I want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-palermo/i-always-have-a-vision-when-i-go-in-i-always-know-what-i-want-to-do/) [Olivia Palermo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-palermo/) > [Vision? What do you know about my vision? My vision would turn your world upside down, tear asunder your illusions, and send the sanctuary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-freeman/vision-what-do-you-know-about-my-vision-my-vision-would-turn-your/) [Huey Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-freeman/) > [I have a vision, and I know I'm right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/i-have-a-vision-and-i-know-i-m-right/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [Give us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for- because unless we stand for something we shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/give-us-clear-vision-that-we-may-know-where-to-stand-and-what-to/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [Old age likes to dwell in the recollections of the past, and, mistaking, the speedy march of years, often is inclined to take the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lajos-kossuth/old-age-likes-to-dwell-in-the-recollections-of-the-past-and-mistaking/) [Lajos Kossuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lajos-kossuth/) > [I was once asked what I thought was the most disquieting thing you could see on the screen and I said, 'an open door.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lee/i-was-once-asked-what-i-thought-was-the-most-disquieting-thing-you/) [Christopher Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lee/) > [There's a whole journalistic-industrial complex dedicated to keeping newsprint, TV screens and radio waves clean of destabilizing scoops damaging to corporations or the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/there-s-a-whole-journalistic-industrial-complex-dedicated-to-keeping/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [It is important to be conscious of the message that you're putting out there. It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gugu-mbatha-raw/it-is-important-to-be-conscious-of-the-message-that-you-re-putting/) [Gugu Mbatha-Raw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gugu-mbatha-raw/) > [Not harder than it should be, no. We're about the business, we're about the work. It's all about the work, always. We have fun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-fuqua/not-harder-than-it-should-be-no-we-re-about-the-business-we-re-about/) [Antoine Fuqua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-fuqua/) > [A little bit more than 50% of what you see on screen is handcrafted and the other 50% was about emulating these textures on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/a-little-bit-more-than-50-of-what-you-see-on-screen-is-handcrafted/) [Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/) > [With any good projects, I feel like the off-screen chemistry factors on-screen. It's great when you don't have to force it, but when it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldis-hodge/with-any-good-projects-i-feel-like-the-off-screen-chemistry-factors/) [Aldis Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldis-hodge/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [If you’re going to die on screen, you’ve got to be strong and in good health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/if-you-re-going-to-die-on-screen-you-ve-got-to-be-strong-and-in-good/) [Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/) > [Televisions are devices with screens that things appear on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/televisions-are-devices-with-screens-that-things-appear-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) ## More by Mel Brooks > [Woody Allen is a genius. His films are wonderful. He's poetic, but he's also a critic. He artfully steps back from a social setting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/woody-allen-is-a-genius-his-films-are-wonderful-he-s-poetic-but-he-s/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [ Comedy is lively, comedy is joy, and that's what keeps us \[people\] going, we've got to look forward to little, little happiness's. Little, little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/comedy-is-lively-comedy-is-joy-and-that-s-what-keeps-us-people-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [All right, I am often brash, rude and brutally direct. Someday I'm going to die and I don't have time to toe-dance around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/all-right-i-am-often-brash-rude-and-brutally-direct-someday-i-m-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I don't think in terms of results at all. I think: what next insanity can I shock the world with?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-don-t-think-in-terms-of-results-at-all-i-think-what-next-insanity/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [My mother is very short - four-eleven. She could walk under tables and never hit her head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/my-mother-is-very-short-four-eleven-she-could-walk-under-tables-and/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [The audience. They see the name Mel Brooks, they want something really funny. They don't want to be moved; they don't want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/the-audience-they-see-the-name-mel-brooks-they-want-something-really/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I realised that all one really had to do was just observe. Observe and slightly exaggerate, and you had comedy. Instead of creating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-realised-that-all-one-really-had-to-do-was-just-observe-observe-and/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Life literally abounds in comedy if you just look around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/life-literally-abounds-in-comedy-if-you-just-look-around-you/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Look, I really don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive, you got to flap your arms and legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/look-i-really-don-t-want-to-wax-philosophic-but-i-will-say-that-if/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I knew it... I'm surrounded by assholes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-knew-it-i-m-surrounded-by-assholes/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I was in the army, and to me it was like a newsreel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-was-in-the-army-and-to-me-it-was-like-a-newsreel/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [But I have bad taste with a deep fount of intellectuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/but-i-have-bad-taste-with-a-deep-fount-of-intellectuality/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > ['Mad About You' was very fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/mad-about-you-was-very-fun/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Immortality is a by-product of good work. Masterpieces are not for artists, they're for critics. Critics can't even make music by rubbing their back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/immortality-is-a-by-product-of-good-work-masterpieces-are-not-for/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [If Ivan the Terrible had been kissed and loved between zero and three, he probably would have become Ivan Not So Terrible. If you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/if-ivan-the-terrible-had-been-kissed-and-loved-between-zero-and-three/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) [Explore all 173 Mel Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## More Direct quotes > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody can direct a picture once they know the fundamentals. Directing is not a mystery, it's not an art. The main thing about directing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/anybody-can-direct-a-picture-once-they-know-the-fundamentals/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [The method of magnitude estimation provided a direct measure of sensation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-smith-stevens/the-method-of-magnitude-estimation-provided-a-direct-measure-of/) [Stanley Smith Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-smith-stevens/) > [A place has almost the shyness of a person, with strangers; and its secret is not to be surprised by a too direct interrogation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/a-place-has-almost-the-shyness-of-a-person-with-strangers-and-its/) [Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [I'm currently trying to direct my own material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-skerritt/i-m-currently-trying-to-direct-my-own-material/) [Tom Skerritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-skerritt/) > [By the time you get into other kinds of music - R&B, country, or whatever - it becomes something that's romantic. It becomes something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/by-the-time-you-get-into-other-kinds-of-music-r-b-country-or-whatever/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [If you take all the food aid, America is by far the most generous country. If you take the direct aid, we're very generous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-you-take-all-the-food-aid-america-is-by-far-the-most-generous/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I understand the formula that producers hire directors and directors are hired to direct and actors are hired to act. I don't have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-trejo/i-understand-the-formula-that-producers-hire-directors-and-directors/) [Danny Trejo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-trejo/) > [They are the gateway for our modern esthetic development, the prophets of the new time. They are most of all, the primitives of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/they-are-the-gateway-for-our-modern-esthetic-development-the-prophets/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [I'm too direct and too unsparingly impatient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/i-m-too-direct-and-too-unsparingly-impatient/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Steven Spielberg seems to have wanted to be a director from 13. He put his dog in a certain position and made him eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/steven-spielberg-seems-to-have-wanted-to-be-a-director-from-13-he-put/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Violence is what people do when they run out of good ideas. It's attractive because it's simple, it's direct, it's almost always available as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/violence-is-what-people-do-when-they-run-out-of-good-ideas-it-s/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) [Browse all 3,391 Direct quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Basically, I'm a writer. I'm the proprietor of the vision. I alone know what I eventually want to happen on the screen. 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