James Spader Quotes

As far as the creative side, the more I do this, the more I know that it's all about the writing. We don't always celebrate that enough, but without the writing, you can't do much. You got on a film sometimes, and it's sort of half-written, and they expect and think that the actor's job is to bring the extra part and the good part. It's not.

The few times I've tried to write original screenplays, it's a difficult process because I just don't feel like I know the characters the way I know them after the year or two it takes to write a novel.

If you put someone in a room with no script to direct, they're just going to sit there. Writing scripts is the execution for a show. Then the director takes that and hires people. It's like trying to build a house without any bricks. You need the script. I could build the house, but I have to know how.

When I write a screenplay - and I think this is true for a lot of people - you direct the movie. That's what writing a screenplay is.

When you make a film you usually make a film about an idea.

There's nothing more important in making movies than the screenplay.

If you want to be a screenwriter, take an acting class to get a sense of what you're asking actors to do. Learning other skills will help you communicate with people and respect what they do.

Actors can be good, say all these beautiful, wonderful things - but where does it come from? It comes from the writers, and people kind of forget that sometimes.

First and foremost, it's got to be on the page. It starts with the writing.

It seems to me the big weakness in most films is the writing. You can learn directing, but you can't learn writing.

I have no problems or issues with screenwriting in general.

I grew up doing theatre and spent a long time as a playwright. I still think very visually when I write.

I'm consistently blown away by 'Mad Men.' Having spent so much time in the writers' room, I'm cursed in that anytime I watch something, I'm always calculating what the writers are up to.

I think I might want to get into development, as in developing my own sort of piece, whether it be for the stage or the big screen or for television.

I like the detail work of telling a story in small pieces, as is done in movie-making, and also the long leap of faith needed to see a theatre performance through each night. Both require focus and self-discipline.

Writing a TV show is totally different than writing features, or just, what I started doing is writing features. You write a little bit more organically. You start from the beginning to the end, beginning, middle and end.

I enjoy looking at words on paper and visualizing how to make them come to life. As a director, the creative process is really amazing.

It's fun to improvise, but I still think it's better to have a great script, you know, like a Charlie Kaufman script.

When I wrote for TV, I was always thinking in terms of character and story. After fifteen years, it became hard-wired in me.

I spent a long time working in the movies to figure out that kind of acting and also how to write and produce for the screen.

Lizzy Weiss is such a great writer, and she really writes for the performances.

Every day, I learn something new. I think one of the most exciting things for a writer is to work on a TV show. It's like a novel. You have a really long time to develop and learn about the characters, and you can just really keep digging in deeper, every week.

My father was a screenwriter, and I kind of grew up in that world. I always had a mind for characters and dialogue, and my head was filled with that stuff, so it seemed like a good place to start.

Even as an actor, I think like a storyteller. My parents raised us to look at the script.

Writing film scripts is the hardest thing in the world. A script has to go to five or six drafts, and you need the feedback of other people and to keep coming back with a fresh eye, honing it down.