R. Madhavan Quotes

Originality is, for me, the most important quality in a script.

Not to sound too pessimistic, but I just don't see me having the film career that I maybe hoped for after 'The Birdcage.' I think people just didn't know what to do with me.

I like good stories above all else... and kickin' art really goes the final stretch to ensure a comic is good.

There are a lot of good stories out there, but I haven't found too many great scripts.

I will work with a director who has good material because at the end of the day, that's what counts.

You do small movies because the script is good and because you believe in the director. You don't care about the money. And when they disappear, it's a pity.

I always look for good stories and good characters, and if they're placed in a whodunit, then I'm interested.

A few can touch the magic string, and noisy fame is proud to win them: Alas for those that never sing, but die with all their music in them!

I'm very happy to be a part of a very successful piece of art, as the 'Saw' films have been. One gets into this to participate. It's the coming together of a good story. So, that aspect of it has been just splendid. It really has nothing to do with me or my popularity. I'm fascinated.

I'm just a sucker for a good script.

A book is never a masterpiece: it becomes one. Genius is the talent of a dead man.

The only thing that infuriates me is that I have more unwritten stories in me than I can conceivably write in a lifetime.

For me, it's always about what's on the page. I have tremendous respect for writing. When you recognize good writing, and you're lucky enough to get it, like with 'Lost,' that's what I follow.

As a writer, it's disheartening to write books that you pour your soul into and not have them distributed widely enough to find their audience.

The first thing that attracts me to any script is the writing. If I find myself becoming lost in a good yarn, then I feel certain that others will, too.

Middle age snuffs out more talent than ever wars or sudden deaths do.

When I wrote 'The Rozabal Line,' I had no preconceived notions of what a commercial bestseller should be. I have always viewed 'The Rozabal Line' as my first love and probably my best work. The fact, however, is that it is my least read work.

I make things of my own that aren't that glam, but I'm not known for that, which has always been a bit of a frustration for me.

I rage against Vincent van Gogh for needing to die at 37, after painting for only ten years.

If you have a good story idea, don't assume it must form a prose narrative. It may work better as a play, a screenplay or a poem. Be flexible.

It's a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more money writing or talking about his art than he can by practicing it.

I was very proud of my father, and I admired him, but I always thought he was more interesting than the shows he was working on.

I don't know if there's anything sadder than an actor who hasn't made a good picture, and at least I got a few good ones that will stand the test of time. I feel very fortunate about that.

I used to write books and plays in my mind, but I doubt that any of them would have been above the level of the cheapest dime novel.

It sounds so dramatic, but I'll say it: Hollywood just doesn't know what to do with me. And it's not for lack of trying.