Jules Feiffer Quotes

I love the idea of directing, I'm not confident enough, but I'm more confident in, well, I'd love to write. I've sort of written my whole life and I think I have a knack for it, so I'd like to write something and see what people think and that would be my first step to directing.

Certainly it is valuable to a trained writer to crash in an aircraft which burns. He learns several important things very quickly. Whether they will be of use to him is conditioned by survival. Survival, with honor, that outmoded and all-important word, is as difficult as ever and as all-important to a writer.

In some ways, my gift for music and writing was born out of tragedy, really, and loss.

Whenever you think you're writing what other people want to hear from you, and that it'll be commercial, you're doomed to disaster. Writing has to be as truthful and specific as we can make it. The minute we think that we're reaching more people and pleasing them, we get general. And audiences sense that and turn away, shun us.

I think I'm happiest when there are really talented people around.

People who can write a book usually do.

Yeah, I think it's like any God-given gift. You writers have the gift of perception. If you don't use it, you're going to lose it. And it's the same thing with you [Lorraine], it's God-given.

I really have no idea where the darkness comes from. Other writers have said that there are two subjects worth writing about, love and death; and since I'm a complete flop when it comes to love, I chose death. Too, maybe because of where I came from, I do find it easy to empathise with and write about certain groups of damaged or downtrodden people: the poor, the addicted.

Just keep putting out music. Don't think whether it's a hit or not and people will get you.

The secret of directing is working with really good people.

All writers, I think, are to one extent or another, damaged people. Writing is our way of repairing ourselves.

I think the mark of a good director is that they surround themselves with good people.

You spend your life getting walked on, you learn to recognize the tread.

I think there's a million talented people out there, it's just a matter of luck a lot of the time. And good training, which we were lucky to have. And I think that's what people are curious about - other people, and what they're like.

I think someday you're going to be a great writer," he said. "But" he added maliciously, "first you'll have to suffer a bit. I mean really suffer, because you don't know what the word means yet. You only think you've suffered. You've got to fall in love first.

If you want to write, you write. Talent is simply not enough.

It's logical that people from bad times will reflect their feelings in their communication. Music is part of the communication. If you lived it, you can do it.

I hope I never have to stop acting. I love it. But, I think the coolest thing about acting is working with these amazing people all the time, and writing represented a new way to meet those people and to tell stories, at the same time, which I've always wanted to do, and to tell jokes. I love comedy, so writing was a way of getting these jokes that I had down on the page.

If I'd succeeded right away at acting I wouldn't have sought out writing.

I've done far too many things that I felt were going to be genius that weren't and I've done some things that I didn't think were going to be much that really connected with people. So expectations are left at the door. But hope exists all the time.

What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.

When you're making your 20th movie, it might be the 20th most incredible thing that's ever happened to you!

Who taught you all this, doctor?" The reply came promptly: "Suffering.

It's a real testament to the amount of skill and talent involved, across the board, whether it's the production design, the construction, the costume design, the other actors, the way it's shot, the directors we had on it, or obviously John's writing. When things do go well, it sometimes seems easy, in a weird way, but it's actually down to a lot of cogs working in a big machine. But, I'm certainly happy to be going back. I'm excited to carry on.

If you cast really funny, talented people and let them do what they need to do, they're going to hit a home run for you without a script.