Richard Thompson Quotes

That's the kind of TV I like to watch, where you just don't know what's going to happen.

The essence of comedy, drama, and horror is surprise. I have an uncanny ability to surprise people because they look at my face, and they don't know where I'm going.

Surprise is important. I think that's the essence of entertainment, really.

Shows are really strange. Sometimes you really don't know what to expect.

It's like a blind turn on a highway: You can't see what's coming, so you don't really know how to prepare.

I can be so blown away by story lines.

I don't think we should tell them what we're going to do in advance. Let them think. Worry. Wonder. Uncertainty is the most chilling thing of all.

There's not a moment on it that will sound too familiar, as soon as it sounds comfortably familiar then we like to do something with it to take away that comfortable feeling.

I don't like shows that are predictable. I like it when you're shocked and you have no idea who's about to die.

I like the idea of shows where I don't know where I'll be at the end of the season.

Part of my humor is the fact that I love coming out of left field. I don't want people to expect what is going to happen next.

I like a book better if I can't predict what's going to happen.

So much of television is incredibly predictable. You watch the first five minutes and you know where it's going to go. If you can just create an element of surprise in both the storytelling and tone of a show, you're going to be way ahead of the pack.

Nothing is more enjoyable for me than when I'm watching a movie or a TV show and there's that sense that anything can happen. It is the most fun feeling in the world.

Anything that keeps me off balance is vital.

The thing that scares us the most is when familiar things operate in unfamiliar ways.

A magic show and a concert are very similar in the way I like keeping things a mystery and not doing them the same way every time. The listener and the audience never know what's going to happen next.

No matter where I'm at - Home Goods, it could be a mother of two, and she'll be a fan, and it's, like, random as hell to me.

Life can be very strange.

One of the things I've learned is you can't really control what an audience is going to feel.

Expect the unexpected, is what I'd say about 'Taboo.'

When I watch television, I want to be surprised.

When I read the scripts, I'm always so excited to see what's going to happen because it's unpredictable.

Each kind of story has its own problems in writing, but my main concern really is to keep the reader on his toes, or to keep the strip unpredictable. I try to achieve some sort of balance between the two that keeps the reader wondering what's going to happen next and be surprised.

Good theater is not what is expected, but what surprises.