Mary Ellen Mark Quotes

The truth of the matter is coming up with a title is one of the most challenging things we do.

When you're producing, you're really just making a series of decisions.

What's hard, in hacking as in fiction, is not writing, it's deciding what to write.

The stories that I tell, the topics that I choose to write about, usually are suggested by something that I've done before.

Making a website is similar to making a movie-hundreds of people work on it, one person makes the final decision, and they make them every minute of the day.

I don't have to come up with the best idea. It is my job to make sure that it is always the best idea that wins.

The way I feel about rehearsals is that the best idea wins.

Always, when I do a play, there's got to be an equation of risks and potential failure. When you're working on a new play, it's like, 'How the hell do I do this, and do we have the time?' All of these huge questions engage, hopefully, the smartest part of me. And then when you're doing a revival, I went, 'Well, somebody's already solved it.'

I try to find a subject that is interesting to me and to the viewer both. If I can't, then I stop right there.

I'd never thought of directing as an option for me. I don't know why, because I'm incredibly bossy. I was surprised how collaborative it is. As the producer, you have to get the money and schedule on time, and that's not what I do best.

My gut is my No. 1 asset. I also like to draw from a lot of people, and I ask a lot of questions. I'll literally show my ideas to 500 different people and get their opinions, and, in the end, after digesting all their opinions, I just trust my gut.

A lot of us saw Blackadder in terms of problem-solving - 'Did that work in that episode?' and so on. We were very picky.

I have always tried to put content in my work. It is a consistent challenge.

Imagining what a character will do in a given situation - it's like an equation, and working it out is a marathon rather than a sprint.

Often, particularly towards the end of the process, I think of myself less as a theatre director and more as someone who just directs the traffic. My job is to move the ideas and bits of the show into the places where they work best. Sometimes my job is also to say, 'No.'

Making assumptions taught me a lot as a producer, because it's something I never do now.

Writing is sort of like chess for me. You have to think carefully before you move, thinking, planning.

It's a daunting task to create something that interests audiences.

My forte is editing and I am most experienced in that. I love the challenge of playing with material and imagination while editing.

If I have an idea in my head, within no time it's into the computer, it may take more time to make it sound right, but that's the only issue.

Finding a solution is the way to go.

I never really write the jokes. I just sit down over a week or two and try to figure out what I want to talk about. Once I narrow that down, then I start working on the material, like "How do I make this stuff funny?"

If you have all the research, all the ground rules, all the directives, all the data - it doesn't mean the ad is written. Then you've got to close the door and write something - that is the moment of truth which we all try to postpone as long as possible.

Writing a novel is like working on foreign policy. There are problems to be solved. It's not all inspirational.

Giving it to the audience is probably the easiest thing. Finding out what they truly want is probably the most difficult.