John Sayles Quotes

Nothing can ever be a rule in drama, because then you're saying certain things won't ever happen, and that would be very boring.

If you just love movies enough, you can make a good one.

I can't imagine directing from someone else's script.

As a director, you try to find what is creative.

It's not just about acting. I love film, I'm a director now, I love writing, I love producing, I love having a company that makes films and to be prolific and have a place to put all the ideas that are constantly bubbling up inside of me and that don't let me sleep at night.

I love writing. Given a choice, after directing for all these years, and if given an army of talented directors, I would not direct at all.

I like the opportunity to make films.

Writing and directing your own film, for me, has been the best experience of my life.

I wanted to express myself more fully through writing and directing. It just feels like a package deal. Anytime you create anything, you try to exert mastery over your world.

I have seen too many screenwriters of promise become formula addicts and slaves to stop watch structure. Spend that time watching movies, reading screenplays, reading plays, and most importantly - write from your gut.

Anybody can write a film script 'cuz it has been reduced to a formula.

The acting is something that will always be a part of my life, but the writing gives me a lot more creative freedom. You're a pawn in somebody else's chess game, whereas as a writer and as a director, you get to call the shots. And that's very thrilling.

I think romance is a tool, comedy is a tool and drama is a tool. I really just want to tell stories that challenge the viewer, move people, make you laugh, perhaps push an idea about being open-minded but never settle on a genre or an opinion. I hate genre. I like movies that are original in their approach.

When you're writing, it's all up to you, and you don't have to make any compromises. And when you're directing, there's this intense pleasure you get from working with all these really talented people, and pooling the efforts towards a common goal. I like all the aspects of film-making.

A filmmaker has almost the same freedom as a novelist has when he buys himself some paper.

I want to get into producing and writing more for myself - setting up my own films and seeing what kind of personal touch I can put on movies, as opposed to just being in them.

I'd like to be able to be like a director, like Richard Brooks, say. And be able to say, 'I did my best, and this is it, and there's nobody to blame but me.'

I like to produce my own movies.

It seems so cliched and obvious, but write the movie you want to see in the theater.

I eventually want to write and direct and produce my own stuff.

Acting is probably what I'm best at, but there are certain stories kind of rattling around in my head that I like the idea of developing over time.

I started writing screenplays myself and eventually directing.

When you are scripting, the scene, the dialogues, everything comes before you, taking final shape. That is truly the most creative aspect of filmmaking and that is what I enjoy the most.

I love television, and my love for it has made me curious about writing it. It feels like television's moving toward something more novelistic, and that's what I started wanting to do. But I can't say that I'm dying to get notes from a studio. The artistic control that you get as a playwright is worth its weight in gold.

Honestly, I don't try to guess at what most people want. I don't think I'd guess right, and I just think that that's not a good recipe for storytelling. I try to write what I like, what I think my friends would like.