Todd McFarlane Quotes

I think one of the successes of Gladiator is how we manage to turn on a dime the character from one thing to another where you believe he is one thing and he is something very different.

The thing that intrigued me about 'Breaking Bad' from day one was the idea of taking a character and transforming him.

Gray space is fertile ground for fiction. When I can see both sides of an argument and feel strongly in both directions, then there's a story there, then I can write real characters that I care about and believe in and champion on both sides.

In the best works of fiction, there's no mustache-twirling villain. I try to write shows where even the bad guy's got his reasons.

I like stories where there's a center that's mushy and complicated.

In most shows, there's usually a hero or a protagonist, and even if there are multiple heroes or protagonists, most shows try and make it so you really always know who's the good guy and who's the bad guy.

What I always studied in screenwriting from my mentor John Glavin was that the most interesting characters are characters with shades of gray.

I feel like, sometimes, characters that are just good and nice can seem boring or uninteresting.

Filmmakers tell stories to explore human nature, which is always a flawed thing.

I think conflicted characters are always more interesting.

My hope is that each of the villains I write will have his or her own motivation that readers can understand, whether they agree or disagree.

I suppose I do have an interest in stories that show complexity.

'Clockers' - as much as it is a very focused crime drama, it sprawls.

You can't play a guy who's just a snake, because what do you draw on?

One of the great things about fiction is you can use an issue and describe it in human terms.

I'm more comfortable writing traditional protagonists. But 'Steve Jobs' and 'The Social Network' have antiheroes. I like to write antiheroes as if they're making their case to God about why they should be allowed into heaven. I have to find something in that character that is like me and write to that.

If your character is just out there acting a fool, viewers are gonna say, 'Why am I watching this?' But if he's whispering, 'I don't really want to die,' there's a level of vulnerability cemented in these bad characters.

I hope they find some way to come up with a new story that involves Beast in my timeline.

The biggest lesson learned from 'X-Men: The Last Stand' or 'X3' was that if you are going to tell a Phoenix story, tell the Phoenix story. Don't make it the subplot of the movie. Make it the plot of the movie.

Having been raised by actors who love moral ambiguity and flawed protagonists, I feel like it's sort of in the blood to want to take it on.

My dad was always interested in characters he didn't understand - he was such a great bad guy in movies. And that is really the thing that calls me to the material often: something I struggle to understand in human behaviour.

I try to write from a point of view with my faith being always present and always there. don't want to write characters where everyone is saved. So this Madea character for me is not saved.

It's not that I don't enjoy a good mystery that comes and goes in a hour. I do, but God, 'Breaking Bad' and 'Saul' unfold like novels.

I used to be a good story writer. I could make up a story with like, eight people in it and tell you where they all lived, what color their houses are.

You don't put your personal viewpoints in a good movie. A movie should only be concerned with characters, not some big moral, although it's always underneath.