--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If people have bought something of mine…" description: "\"If people have bought something of mine, they know by now that I will decline writing it for the movies\" — Patricia Highsmith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/patricia-highsmith-3982_bought_if-people-have-bought-something-of-mine_666609.jpg" --- # If people have bought something of mine, they know by now… ![“If people have bought something of mine, they know by now that I will decline writing it for the movies” quote by Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/patricia-highsmith-3982_bought_if-people-have-bought-something-of-mine_666609.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/patricia-highsmith-3982_bought_if-people-have-bought-something-of-mine_666609.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/patricia-highsmith-3982_bought_if-people-have-bought-something-of-mine_666609.jpg) > “If people have bought something of mine, they know by now that I will decline writing it for the movies” [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author refuses to adapt her work for film, indicating a desire to preserve artistic integrity over commercial exploitation. **In simple terms:** Author declines film adaptation of her work. Key Takeaway Protect creative control over your writing. Themes art ownership integrity Mood defensive pragmatic Type literary personal When to use this quote - publishing - film industry - literary estate Key Concepts authorial rights adaptation Questions to Reflect On - Why might writers reject film adaptations? - What are the risks of altering a story for movies? A Different Perspective Commercial pressure can limit artistic freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [At Juventus they told me that I was bought because I know how to manage the pressure, they trust me for everything I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthijs-de-ligt/at-juventus-they-told-me-that-i-was-bought-because-i-know-how-to/) [Matthijs de Ligt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthijs-de-ligt/) > [I've always loved to write. I've been writing a lot longer than I've been acting, and I hope to continue to do that and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-franco/i-ve-always-loved-to-write-i-ve-been-writing-a-lot-longer-than-i-ve/) [Dave Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-franco/) > [The thing I know how to do most is write a play. I came up loving plays and learning about plays and writing plays.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/the-thing-i-know-how-to-do-most-is-write-a-play-i-came-up-loving/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [The reason I started writing movies was because I kept getting parts that I just kind of stepped into. I didn't have to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-caan/the-reason-i-started-writing-movies-was-because-i-kept-getting-parts/) [Scott Caan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-caan/) > [Television is a great job for a writer in the way that movies used to be, way before my time. Back when writers in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-gilligan/television-is-a-great-job-for-a-writer-in-the-way-that-movies-used-to/) [Vince Gilligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-gilligan/) > [I'd been acting since I was a teenager. I'd come to the point where I was writing my own movies of the week for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvette-mimieux/i-d-been-acting-since-i-was-a-teenager-i-d-come-to-the-point-where-i/) [Yvette Mimieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvette-mimieux/) > [I like being able to bounce between writing movies for people like Kevin Sorbo to making very personal films like orange county hardcore sinister…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-jacobs/i-like-being-able-to-bounce-between-writing-movies-for-people-like/) [Evan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-jacobs/) > [The way you write dialogue is the same whether you're writing for movies or TV or games. We use movie scriptwriting software to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lake/the-way-you-write-dialogue-is-the-same-whether-you-re-writing-for/) [Sam Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lake/) > [I like writing for movies. It's nice to be alone working on fiction in your room, and then it's nice to be in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-like-writing-for-movies-it-s-nice-to-be-alone-working-on-fiction-in/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [We're writing movies that people buy without thinking about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ben-garant/we-re-writing-movies-that-people-buy-without-thinking-about-it/) [Robert Ben Garant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ben-garant/) > [Dolph writing movies. Dolph into fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-dolph/dolph-writing-movies-dolph-into-fashion/) [Young Dolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-dolph/) > [It was really fun to start writing movies because you could actually take characters whose voice you enjoy writing in and have actual things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-pell/it-was-really-fun-to-start-writing-movies-because-you-could-actually/) [Paula Pell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-pell/) > [I love directing. I love creating things that I don't necessarily even have to be in. I like creating worlds. So I'm getting into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-cipes/i-love-directing-i-love-creating-things-that-i-don-t-necessarily-even/) [Greg Cipes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-cipes/) > [I'm bullish on writing. Movies, radio, television, and now digital media - everything was supposed to push us away from text, to video or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-carmody/i-m-bullish-on-writing-movies-radio-television-and-now-digital-media/) Tim Carmody > [I don't really have any great interest in writing for movies. Comics, to me, is a much more promising field. There's still a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-don-t-really-have-any-great-interest-in-writing-for-movies-comics/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) ## More by Patricia Highsmith > [“Thinking no more about it, he stepped off into that cool space, that fast descent to her, with nothing in his mind but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/thinking-no-more-about-it-he-stepped-off-into-that-cool-space-that/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [I didn't hang around films. I don't know if I'd ever seen Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/i-didn-t-hang-around-films-i-don-t-know-if-i-d-ever-seen-hitchcock-s/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“I feel I stand in a desert with my hands outstretched, and you are raining down upon me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/i-feel-i-stand-in-a-desert-with-my-hands-outstretched-and-you-are/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [One situation – maybe one alone – could drive me to murder: family life, togetherness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/one-situation-maybe-one-alone-could-drive-me-to-murder-family-life/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“He felt he was about to experience again some ancient, delicious childhood moment that the steam calliope's sour hollowness, the stitching hurdy-gurdy accompaniment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/he-felt-he-was-about-to-experience-again-some-ancient-delicious/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“It was a kind of arrogance, perhaps, to believe so in one's destiny. 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It was just after 7 P.M., and the month was October.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/dusk-was-falling-quickly-it-was-just-after-7-p-m-and-the-month-was/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“What chance combination of shadow and sound and his own thoughts had created it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/what-chance-combination-of-shadow-and-sound-and-his-own-thoughts-had/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“Happiness was like a green vine spreading through her, stretching fine tendrils, bearing flowers through her flesh. She had a vision of a pale-white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/happiness-was-like-a-green-vine-spreading-through-her-stretching-fine/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“That's exactly where you're wrong! Any kind of person can murder. Purely circumstances and not a thing to do with temperament! People get so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/that-s-exactly-where-you-re-wrong-any-kind-of-person-can-murder/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [What was it to love someone, what was love exactly, and why did it end or not end? Those were the real questions, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/what-was-it-to-love-someone-what-was-love-exactly-and-why-did-it-end/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [It always gets late with you. - Is that a compliment?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/it-always-gets-late-with-you-is-that-a-compliment/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“Writing is a craft and needs constant practice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/writing-is-a-craft-and-needs-constant-practice/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) [Explore all 115 Patricia Highsmith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) ## More Bought quotes > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [One of the Internet's highest-profile companies, Priceline once dreamed of transforming the way consumer goods are bought and sold by offering customers the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/one-of-the-internet-s-highest-profile-companies-priceline-once/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [Companies are bought for their revenue, customer base, technology, or people. A few great companies offer all of these, but any valuable business offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/companies-are-bought-for-their-revenue-customer-base-technology-or/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [I've never bought this idea of taking a therapeutic distance. 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I bought a lot of 1990 Blanc de Blancs Champagne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-parker-jr/as-far-as-vintage-champagne-goes-i-loved-1990-it-s-a-great-great/) [Robert M. Parker, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-parker-jr/) > [I bought cars for all six of my children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-edochie/i-bought-cars-for-all-six-of-my-children/) Pete Edochie > [I can't be bought. I don't need to be bought. I'm not a careerist. I don't need to have a career in politics. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-goldsmith/i-can-t-be-bought-i-don-t-need-to-be-bought-i-m-not-a-careerist-i-don/) [Zac Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-goldsmith/) > [I bought tiny infant onesies while still in college and compiled a killer toy collection throughout my 20s and 30s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-swisher/i-bought-tiny-infant-onesies-while-still-in-college-and-compiled-a/) [Kara Swisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-swisher/) > [But the manager's bought wisely - the players who've come in have taken us on to a different level and the players who won…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-sheringham/but-the-manager-s-bought-wisely-the-players-who-ve-come-in-have-taken/) [Teddy Sheringham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-sheringham/) > [Large fish such as tuna are shown already cut into fillets and bought by the block. Fillets should be almost transparent. Avoid tuna that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nobu-matsuhisa/large-fish-such-as-tuna-are-shown-already-cut-into-fillets-and-bought/) [Nobu Matsuhisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nobu-matsuhisa/) > [I started collecting couture when I was about 10 or 11 years old, and the very first piece I bought was a Balenciaga suit from 1962.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamish-bowles/i-started-collecting-couture-when-i-was-about-10-or-11-years-old-and/) [Hamish Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamish-bowles/) > [Nothing costs so much as what is bought by prayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/nothing-costs-so-much-as-what-is-bought-by-prayers/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [I have a few pieces that I got for my birthdays or that I bought for myself: I acquire things that speak to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dasha-zhukova/i-have-a-few-pieces-that-i-got-for-my-birthdays-or-that-i-bought-for/) [Dasha Zhukova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dasha-zhukova/) Browse all 549 Bought quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If people have bought something of mine, they know by now that I will decline writing it for the movies", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patricia Highsmith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/if-people-have-bought-something-of-mine-they-know-by-now-that-i-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bought" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/if-people-have-bought-something-of-mine-they-know-by-now-that-i-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/patricia-highsmith-3982_bought_if-people-have-bought-something-of-mine_666609.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/patricia-highsmith-3982_bought_if-people-have-bought-something-of-mine_666609.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/patricia-highsmith-3982_bought_if-people-have-bought-something-of-mine_666609.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If people have bought something of mine, they know by now that I will decline writing it for the movies” — Patricia Highsmith", "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": "Patricia Highsmith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If people have bought something of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/if-people-have-bought-something-of-mine-they-know-by-now-that-i-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/if-people-have-bought-something-of-mine-they-know-by-now-that-i-will/#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 } } ] } ```