David Quotes
The movie has to be going somewhere. Other than that, you want it to be entertaining, but people usually disagree on what entertaining is and everybody has different tastes.
For me, directing is like writing with meat. I can write live, in real time, and change things and be confident that I'm helping the movie.
The movie on the screen is always going to be different from the movie in your head. How it makes you feel is what I'm after, what I'm chasing, and what I'm trying to construct.
The hardest thing, as a director, is that it's never right. Nothing you do is ever right. It's never exactly how you envision it. Making a movie is about making it better.
As a writer, you have to be willing to kill your darlings, and I'm a writer first. As a director, I've got no problem cutting the scenes.
When I make a movie, it's almost a relief to get shooting 'cause the hell is over, or part of the hell is over.
Even the scrutiny is good because it lets you know the world cares about your movie, and there is interest in it.
In the writing phase, normally I try not to envisage any particular actors because I like to let the characters sort of reveal themselves in that process.
Stories of friendship are very interesting to me. Artificial families are something I like to explore. Whether it's a bunch of guys or a bunch of ladies, there's something interesting about that.
It's important for me to take very famous, well-known people and not have them play themselves and not have them be seen as themselves.
The worst part of directing is always seeing the first assembly. It's devastating. It really is. It's like going into the delivery room and you can't wait to see your baby, and it's a crocodile.
We have a lot of problems in this country. It's going to put pressure on the budget and we're going to have to make some hard decisions. But the decisions we make are to prioritize the middle class.
The important thing is that the principles that Senator Obama outlined originally are now embraced and taxpayers will be protected.
You are never as smart as you look when you win and you are never as dumb as you look as you lose.
Guy Gavriel Kays Tigana is, in my opinion, one of the best, if not the best fantasy novel ever written. Its beautifully written, the characters are unforgettable, the worldbuilding is exquisite.
Writing about craft has forced me to think more about my own writing technique, and to break down my process in ways that have been enormously helpful to me.
I write every day for most of the work day, and I try to write 2,500 words per day... If I don't make it a routine and treat it like a job, I'd never get anything done.
I listen to instrumental jazz and bluegrass, but aside from my AM workout, I have no rituals.
The closer you can get to your setting and to primary sources, the more authentic your history is going to be.
I love magic and playing with magic systems. But to me, good fantasy like all fiction comes down to good character and plotting.
Wrote my first "novel" when I was six. Studied a bit in college, but then pursued history... But when I started writing professionally, it was mostly learn as you go.
The best writing advice I ever got was "Keep moving forward, don't retreat into rewrites." The worst came from a book that said "Writing fiction is like telling lies," which just seems stupid to me.
Take advantage of this great opportunity in your life to live it well, to be good, to have good works, and to influence other people for good.
Knowing that we should love is not enough. But when knowledge is applied through service, love can secure for us the blessings of heaven.
How did they manage to raise their children in righteousness? The principles become part of their lives, and when it becomes part of their life, it isn't difficult to do.
I hope that we have grateful hearts for the knowledge that we have and the testimonies we have and for the feelings we have.
Accordingly, it is not a Muslim ban at all, but a suspension of entrants from seven countries with conditions on the ground that both promote terrorism and make effective vetting impossible.
People should take every opportunity they can to save money because it really adds up, and the best way I know to do that is to make your savings automatic.
The earlier you start, the easier it is to accumulate major wealth. Still, it's never really too late to begin.
Remember that small steps can create giant leaps over time, so never think of any financial or spending matter as a small one.
I don't see the point of photographing trees or rocks because they're there and anyone can photograph them if they're prepared to hang around and wait for the light.
Actors are hard to photograph because they never want to reveal who they are. You don't know if you're getting a character from a Chekhov play or a Polanski film. It depends what mood they're in.
All I could do at school was paint and draw and that was the only time I ever passed any exam. It was the only thing I ever got right at school.
I was surrounded by strong women so it had never even occurred to me that women were anything other than equal to men.
In '73 I photographed the cannibals in New Guinea. They treated me OK but they didn't make you feel relaxed... I managed to escape unscathed though, I'm pretty good at that.
I was a terrible father. The most I ever did for my children was to teach them chess. At least they got that.
