William Goldman - Adventures in the Screen Trade (1983)

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There is one crucial rule that must be followed in all creative meetings: Never speak first. At least at the start, your job is to shut up.

William Goldman
Whoever invented the meeting must have had Hollywood in mind. I think they should consider giving Oscars for meetings: Best Meeting of the Year, Best Supporting Meeting, Best Meeting Based on Material from Another Meeting.

William Goldman
You don't want to be rude but you have to be careful - there are a lot of strange people out there. (Goldman attributes this quote to Cliff Robertson.)

William Goldman
The single most important fact, perhaps, of the entire movie industry: NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING.

William Goldman
Studio executives are intelligent, brutally overworked men and women who share one thing in common with baseball managers: They wake up every morning of the world with the knowledge that sooner or later they're going to get fired.

William Goldman
As far as the filmmaking process is concerned, stars are essentially worthless — and absolutely essential.

William Goldman
Being a screenwriter is not enough for a full creative life.

William Goldman
If all that's going on in your scenes is what's going on in your scenes, think about it a long time.

William Goldman
You have to protect your writing time. You have to protect it to the death.

William Goldman
It's an accepted fact that all writers are crazy, even the normal ones are weird.

William Goldman