Deborah Tannen Quotes

Drama sells.

"You're next, after the feather dancers." And you had to get their attention, because otherwise people would go, "Oh, a poet." You really have to learn.

Once you get people's attention, you have a greater responsibility to tell them something of value.

You get notoriety when you fight.

A lot of comedians want people to listen to them. I don't think we've ever been that bothered about whether people would want to listen to us.

You want, whenever you're telling a story, to have a certain amount of range, and you want to be able to take the audience on that ride with you.

Hollywood thrillers give away almost 70 percent of the story in promos but still the film remains interesting. In India we do a lot of cuts and put in songs in promos to create an impact.

We had that horrible experience with 'Behind the Music' where they just made it all salacious. That's not about the band - that's a soap opera. If you're together with a spouse or a partner for 40 years, you're going to have arguments. But if you're with four other people, you're going have exponentially that many more things happen.

Some people call me arrogant and boo me but I love it, because at least they're buying tickets. Meanwhile, other people are thinking, 'wow, this guy's different, I'll come and see him again.'

As storytellers, we tend to want to force-feed everything and have everybody understand everything right away, and we freak out if they don't.

Ideally, as an actor, we all crave attention, appreciation, and to be recognised. What's the point of doing it yourself? It needs to come from someone else, and when that happens, I enjoy that moment.

I enjoy the making of the film and it's something for me to do. If nobody ever comes to my films, if people don't want to give me money to make films, that will stop me. But as long as people come all over the world and I have an audience and I have ideas for films, I will do them for as long as I enjoy the process. And I like the whole process of making a film.

My work is about making candy for the eyes. It's about grabbing your attention.

I like audiences to crane their necks.

Genius requires an audience.

ʺWe need someone to get the roomʹs attention,ʺ I said. ʺSomeone not afraid to make a spectacle—I mean, besides me, of course.ʺ

My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has got to go.

The audience loves it when you pay attention to details.

The great art in writing advertisements is the finding out of a proper method to catch the reader's eye; without which, a good thing may pass over unobserved, or lost among commissions of bankrupt.

Good rule to follow: never reward someone's incivility by giving them the headline they seek.

When a good writer is having fun, the audience is almost always having fun too.

I'm not the distraction in the room.' 'Oh? And what might be?' -Nora & Patch (PG 242)

You have only 30 seconds in a TV commercial. If you grab attention in the first frame with a visual surprise, you stand a better chance of holding the viewer. People screen out a lot of commercials because they open with something dull. When you advertise fire-extinguishers, open with the fire.

The audience, that's who I care about.

I feel like movies when they work they'll find an audience.