Sam Esmail Quotes

When I go for a project, I wonder what underpinning a project will have that's going to give the audience some emotional access to it.

You can sustain visual beauty and innovative visual ideas for a certain length of time, but in a two-hour experience, which is really what movies are, usually audiences - whether they know it or not - most want an emotional connection to character.

I think good entertainment makes you feel something... it can be a variety of different feelings.

Audiences are very willing to be taken somewhere, and to ask an audience beforehand what it wants is probably, I think, a mistake. Much better you should tell them what you want and hope they agree with it.

I want people to laugh and cry, not just sit and stare at the TV.

There is always something wonderful about a live audience.

Why movies are so powerful is because you are right in there and you stay in there until they want you to come out, and then you've really gone somewhere.

The issue is: how do you engage the audience? And one of the things I talk to our communicators about is: The outline is great; the stories are great. But how do you engage them? How do you make it feel like we are on a journey, not you are just up there giving me information.

I just want people to get lost in the story and at the end kind of sag and say, 'That was fun.' It's hardly my desire for them to sit and think, 'What a great literary image.'

What I find frustrating about scripted television is that it's rare that you are surprised by how you feel about the character, or how you feel about the show.

I don't really make movies with an intention other than asking myself, 'Do I love the character, and do I love the story?'

That's the difference between even the best video game and what's going on in books. Video games can inspire a reaction, but not the emotions.

We could make the most beautiful film in the world, but if it doesn't have a heart beating underneath it, then no one's going to be interested.

Whatever films I make, the mandate is that it should touch the audiences and engage them from the first scene.

It's always useful to know that people are emotionally invested in a series because it means that you can take them down a certain road, and they should be interested.

A movie is like a person. Either you trust it or you don't.

Fans want to see a story with characters, and they want to see a story.

I love when people laugh. I love when they cry, I like a story to say something, and I hope the audience feels happier leaving the theatre than when it came in.

Writers write for one reason: to create an emotion in the reader, to reach across and make them feel something. You want a reaction. Yeah, it's nicer when the reaction is to throw flowers than it is to throw brickbats, but you have to accept both equally.

I've always tried to make movies that pull the audience out of their seats... I want audiences to be transported.

I can be so blown away by story lines.

You think about taking audiences on a journey.

Sometimes we need to step back and understand the power of video games. 'Dear Esther' does just that. Through visuals, audio, and narration, this title weaves a story around the player as they explore different areas in the game.

People don't come out for book events. They want to feel an emotion and be entertained.

I tell stories. Because I believe you can do things that joke tellers can't do, and that is, bring your audience along.